Human growth hormone - too late at 13 years old?
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Anonymous
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My son went in for his sport physical at 13 years old (and 4 months) and we mentioned in joking way to doctor that he is late bloomer apparently (our son constantly over last year has claimed his friends are getting taller). Both my husband and I are 5.7 and 6' so we are considered tall.
He hasn't really shown signs of puberty so really took no concern. Doc said all good, that everyone hits puberty different times. Then called back next morning to say "wait.. in looking closer.. he has failed to grow in last 18 months"... so fast forward.. we have now spent last 60 days getting tons of tests from a larger town hospital and he came up as early into puberty but with low growth hormone (did all day testing and his number was 5... and should be 10 min for growth hormone response). So they are fast tracking Growth Hormone injections.... question... all his is happening so fast.. and totally took us by surprise. We hardly even have time for a second opinion, but based on everything I have read, he is WAYYYY late to the game in starting these... how much of a difference can we make at 13.5 years old!!! I'm so mad at our primary care doctor for not catching this sooner.. although honestly, he didn't seem to be showing the lack of growth until last year or so. Anyone have experience starting this late and again, he was showing stage 1 of puberty.. so he is very early on. We are just really struggling with this news and feelings of not having enough time to research this, get second opinion against the real concern of we have little time left. I have scheduled an apt at CHOP which is supposed to be best in nation, but that's month away. Any advice, thoughts or calming words? My son is devastated, although we try to be really positive that now we have some help and answers. It's all good.. although not so sure myself |
Anonymous
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How tall is he now? Did he also have a bone age scan?
Both of my kids take growth hormone due to hypopituitarism (they also take thyroid supplements) and have been taking shots since they were 10. When they failed their growth hormone stimulation test (the "all day" one), I remember their numbers being around 4.2 and 4.6 or something like that. Our doctor said anything under 5 is definitely treat and anything from 5 to 10 is maybe treat depending on other test results. I think you can expect to see good results. He still has a lot of room to grow in the next few years. Make sure you check for scoliosis every few months. |
Anonymous
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OP here.. thank you for that info above. I think his bone age was 12.7 (so roughly year behind) and his other blood tests came in normal, other than one other being low (can't remember but it was all initials and numbers.. not a word). His serum test was maybe 5.3 and his height right now is 5 feet.
However, he went from being in the 53rd percentile in height to the 17th. That and the 5.3 serum test is why the doctor says to push forward quickly and we still have couple years. He grew less than 1.5 inches in last 18 months. Would you get a second opinion or just proceed? And did your insurance cover everything? |
Anonymous
| Have you seen a pediatric endocrinologist? I would get there asap! Hopefully it isn't your gen. pediatrician that is doing all this |
Anonymous
OK, I see you are going to CHOP- are you not local? There are some good ones here, too. |
Anonymous
| Primary care doc sent us right to pediatric endocrinologist.... but local one ... our second opinion is with CHOP. |
Anonymous
| He is 2 inches taller than my 13 yr old DS and I'm not worried about him and neither is his doctor. He did say that boys who start puberty later tend to grow more. My cousin's son grew 6 inches one summer at the end of high school (maybe after junior or senior year). I honestly didn't recognize him when I saw him in photos. |
Anonymous
| It's OK OP! My 13 year old just started hormone therapy - he's actually almost 13 and a half -- he's been doing it for almost 2 months and it's going fine. It's ok to start any time, but the best time is right before puberty is about to start, so sounds like your DS is perfect. |
Anonymous
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My oldest went from below 25th percentile to growing from 5"3 to 5"9' from September to April of his sophomore year.
Prior to that he was always in the lower 25th percentile. He was very short comlared to peers in middle school through 9th grade. |
Anonymous
| The fact that his bone age is behind his chronological age is good for getting better growth from HGH. |