Human Growth Hormones in children

[Carpenters]

Posted a long reply, and it got messed up somehow, but bonus for you guys, I'll now do the shorter version.

My oldest son was put on GH after a whole lot of testing when he fell off of the growth chart at about age 11. After years of the daily injections, he reached 5'8" and is still very happy he received the treatment. When we started, they were projecting a height of 5'5", so he surpassed expectations.

My daughter went through precocious puberty at age six, so in addition to the shots she received monthly to stop the puberty, she later had to get GH to allow her to achieve 5 feet and half an inch. Without treatment, she would have been shorter than 4 feet tall.

We are very comfortable with our decision to put them both on the GH. It wasn't fun or easy, but it was worth it.

 

[Carpenters]

Just wanted to add that when they were estimationg 5'5" for my son, that was with GH. Without it, he'd have been closer to 5'0".

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My dd was on GH from 1st grade to 6th. Right now I don't have her on it.
Her bones are almost fused and she is practically done.
She will hopefully be 4'11.

Without the GH she probably would have been 4', maybe.

 

[Disney Ella]

Even if you don't do it now, be sure to see an endocrinologist every year. My nephew went and they said he was a candidate, but my sister thought she had a few years to see if he would grow on his own. They went back when DN was 15 and not happy with being 5'3". At that point, the growth plates had closed and nothing could be done.

 

[janets]

My friend's son recently started Nutropin. He was 14 in June but his bone tests showed that his bones are about a year behind, so they believe they have time before they fuse. They have been seeing drs for quite some time, and it took them a while to find the right dr. who did the right tests to determine his situation. When he started he was a barely a hair over 5'. He's absolutely the smallest kid in HS.

One of the other things that he has is missing teeth. After finding out about his GH deficiency, they discovered that the teeth that never formed are an indicator of this problem. No one thought about it since he was moving along the growth chart for a while before it slowed down. It's only been the last year to 18 months that they've really realized that there was a serious problem. Unfortunately for him, the dentist pulled baby teeth that could have served a place holders for him until they got to the point of implants, so he has gaps in the front of his mouth that shouldn't be there in a 14 yo and make him self conscious.

I know that at this point, she's doing the injecting, but I think they are working towards making him self sufficient. Their first visit to the dr post injections is next month so we're hoping for some growth then.

 

[Anne MN]

Had to go searching for this post-

she has had her growth plates looked at previously- bone age is way younger than she is.
this is all due to her medical issues- she still has most of her baby teeth also
I know that if Endo is going to recommend, they will have to "get thru" her transplant team first (she just received a new heart) do not know what it will do to that or her breathing issues.
DD has made all her Dr's from birth scratch their heads and go "huh" like they do something and know what the expected result is- she does something between "normal" and completly opposite. like the recipe for choco chip cookies. you mix everyting together, taste it, and you get peanut butter choco cookies instead.

anyone have any insight into growth hormone with immuno supressed kids? or kids with complex med issues?

thanks

 

[Goofyluver]

Had to go searching for this post-

she has had her growth plates looked at previously- bone age is way younger than she is.
this is all due to her medical issues- she still has most of her baby teeth also
I know that if Endo is going to recommend, they will have to "get thru" her transplant team first (she just received a new heart) do not know what it will do to that or her breathing issues.
DD has made all her Dr's from birth scratch their heads and go "huh" like they do something and know what the expected result is- she does something between "normal" and completly opposite. like the recipe for choco chip cookies. you mix everyting together, taste it, and you get peanut butter choco cookies instead.

anyone have any insight into growth hormone with immuno supressed kids? or kids with complex med issues?

thanks

My son is severly immuno suppressed and has many many complex med issues. The most severe being Addison's disease.

The HGH have not affected his immune system...he is an ill child. He always will be.

The endo was not concerned, nor was his immunologist, or his ped with the HGH's affect on his immune system.

 

[Princessbaby]

I personally don't believe in giving this unless there is a need. If her tests are normal (did they run an actual IGF-1 test?) then I would not give it to her. I was 13 when I had my surgery, they offered it to me then but didn't know a lot about it (1979) I decided against it at the time. I am 4'11" and yes, sometimes I wish I was taller. But, I have some pretty tall friends and they don't like that either. Besides not being able to easily find pants that fit I really don't care.

Good points. I don't think it is an option at this point- the Dr. is still 'watching" her growth and I really appreciate this from the doctor-she's not rushing into anything. And those are my feelings too- why give them to her if the tests have come out normal. If the discussion comes back up again- my instincts are to say no. Ther are MANY people who are functional in the 5 foot range!!! I work with a couple nurses and they are about 5'-little less- and i have asked them before what they did to to make up for the lack of height and they all said-"I learned to climb!". Which I find funny because not long after, my DD has taken up the art of climbing to prove her independence! I say good for her! Plus, I don't think I could ever give her daily shots-if she had a deficiency that would be one thing, but to give them for the sake of giving her a few inches- she will adjust to her God given inches!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

but to give them for the sake of giving her a few inches- she will adjust to her God given inches!

This is not just about height. That is important to understand. This is about OVERALL growth of the body, organs, weight, bones which includes, skull, your spine, teeth, jaw, feet, etc....

I just wanted to point that out because it is a consideration that needs to take in regarding the growth of a child.

The first thing my dd did when she started GH was to finally put on weight and her feet finally grew.
When your child has the same size feet for 2+yrs as a preschooler, you really have to examine GH seriously.

 

[Princessbaby]

This is not just about height. That is important to understand. This is about OVERALL growth of the body, organs, weight, bones which includes, skull, your spine, teeth, jaw, feet, etc....

I just wanted to point that out because it is a consideration that needs to take in regarding the growth of a child.

The first thing my dd did when she started GH was to finally put on weight and her feet finally grew.
When your child has the same size feet for 2+yrs as a preschooler, you really have to examine GH seriously.

Thank you! Those are important things to keep in mind- which is proabably why the endocrinologist is seeing her every 6 months to see how she's doing. I guess the endocrinologist will bring it up again when she feels that the time has come.