<p>One sign of growth hormone deficiency is excess weight around the waist and a chubby-cheeked baby face. Supposedly, these signs can be present even in gh deficient adults.</p>
<p>Regarding the need to be proactive with doctors, we found this to be the case. With girls, I think there is a bias against taking action, because many people think short girls are cute so what does it matter? In our case, it was the 3rd doctor I visited who agreed we should do testing, as my D’s growth curve had taken a downward slide for 2 years, and her projected height was under 5’ tall, and 5 inches shorter than what would have been expected based on familial height.</p>
<p>As our D did, your S will likely need to do the 5 hours of i.v. blood testing and the brain scan before a diagnosis will be made. It was an onerous process, but worth it in our case.</p>
<p>You all are not going to believe this coincidence. As soon as I read bay’s post about ‘baby-face’ features and thickness/weight in the waistline, I started researching gh deficiencies and came to the conclusion, for peace of mind if nothing else, my son should be seen. 30 minutes ago, my sister called and told me her oldest daughter who is 12 is going to be seen by an endocrinologist next week. We both use the same pediatrician who just retired, so she took my niece to a new doc last week. The new doctor was immediately concerned by her short stature and sluggish growth chart and ordered a wrist/hand x-ray which put her at bone age of just under 10. My niece looks very similar to my son (cute, cherubic features, stocky build, short stature), and my sister, at 5’ 8", is one inch taller than me. I told her I was actually looking at a website on gh deficiencies when she called!</p>
<p>So…it is decided. My son will also see this new pediatrician, and if it becomes necessary see the same pediatric endocrinologist at Texas Children’s as my niece.</p>
<p>Gosh…I am dumbfounded at this coincidence…and once again, my friends here at CC have provided invaluable service. Thanks everyone!!</p>
<p>Best of luck, ldmom, for your son and your niece. I also find CC an invaluable source of information and advice, even though my sons are nowhere near college age.</p>
<p>My niece is also very short for her age and was recently diagnosed with Celiac disease, which like Crohn’s, prevents absorption of nutrients, and causes malnourishment and corresponding growth issues.</p>
<p>My own DD is also very petite, and on a slow growth curve, but shows no symptoms of Celiac, which include stomach ailments, diarreah, etc. I still may have her tested, since it tends to run in families.</p>
<p>When tall people have very small kids, it is worth this exploration.</p>
<p>Best of luck to Idmom and son, and glad to hear the OP’s update.</p>
<p>My sister was always about 5% for height and weight when she was little. It turned out that recurring tonsillitis was stunting her growth–her pediatrician had said that tonsillectomies were an outdated procedure that were rarely performed anymore. Once she switched doctors and had her tonsils removed when she was about six, she started to grow again. She’s now about 5’4", which is short for our family but perfectly fine overall. I’m 5’6" and actually had a birth abnormality that can cause stunted growth (due to effects from disease); no idea if it actually did, but since I’m of a normal height I really don’t care all that much. My parents are 5’9" and 6’3". Anyway, it’s interesting stuff. Worth looking into for children.</p>
<p>Hi everyone! I know this isn’t quite the subject of this thread, but I thought I’d pipe in:</p>
<p>D, 5’2", 105 lbs.
S, 5’7", 125 lbs.</p>
<p>Both are perfectly healthy. We are all short. D loves it; S, thank goodness, is a laid back guy. His basic reaction to life is: “Whatever.” He did grow a beard to help him look older. D, at 20, still gets carded for 17, but looking as curvy as Salma Hayek, I don’t think she looks that young.</p>
<p>My pediatrician just look at me as if I was crazy when I asked about growth hormone. Maybe I should have pushed it, but I did read an article that it can’t promote growth beyond genetic programming.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to discourage those of you who are taking action. I think that’s great and appropriate. I just mean to say that some are short. Too bad our society sees it as a liability.</p>
<p>Some wanted me to keep S for an extra year of preschool because he was shy, young (Fall birthday) and short, but because he learned to read at three I demurred. Now that he is at Williams I think I probably made the right decision. The only problem is that because there are so many athletes at Williams everyone is, wait for it, TALL. LOL. David is already joking about it. In high school his two best friends were over 6 feet tall, so I guess he’s used to it. He also dated the most beautiful and intelligent girl in the school (because she pursued him, God forbid he should take action in any sphere) so I think he’ll be okay.</p>
<p>My 13yo son is currently on Saizen. He has been on it for almost a year and has grown 3 1/2 inches!! He started 3 standard deviations below the growth chart and has now hit the 1st percentile!!! </p>
<p>For us it was a different battle, it was with the endocrinologist. My son began seeing an him at about age 9 after not growing at all for 18 months. They did basic blood work (thyroid etc) & bone age, but did not feel growth hormone studies were necessary since my husband & I are very short (I’m 5’0, my husband is 5’2). The men in my family are 5’7-5’8, my husbands family are 5’6-5’7. The women on both sides are 5’0-5’5. So we are both the shortest in our families. I have a 1st cousin who was growth hormone deficient, so it runs in my family. The endocrinologist basically said short parents, short kid. They disregarded the fact that he was falling farther and farther off the chart. They said to come back in two years for further evaluation. </p>
<p>When we went back at age 11 he was even farther off the chart. They still did not want to do growth hormone studies. They basically treated me like I was an idiot and wondering why I was bringing my short healthy kid in again!! My sons pediatrician was dumbfounded. I immediately made an appointment with an endocrinologist in a different hospital system.</p>
<p>As soon as the new endrocrinologist saw my son’s growth chart he immediately ordered growth hormone studies. He said it was very obvious to him from his growth history that he need to be treated, we just needed the blood work to confirm. He said that my husband was probably growth hormone deficient (it wasn’t tested or treated when we were young) and you have to look beyond the parents height in some situations. His highest value on his stim test was 1.2!! Without growth hormone my son would be lucky to hit 5’0, with it he should reach his genetic potential of 5’5-5’6. I am so glad we were persistant.</p>
<p>We are fortunate that our insurance covers his Saizen 100% without copay. We have been told that most insurances require a 10-20% copay. My sons best friend was in the same situation as you. Their insurance excluded growth hormone. Eventually they got coverage from a state program for the uninsured. My sons Saizen costs $3134 per month for a dosage of 17 clicks per day. We get 7 cartridges per month. The Saizen (we have the one-click) is really easy to use. Good luck with everything. You will be amazed at how quickly he begins growing!! I noticed a difference after the first month!! </p>
<p>“GH can cause a drop in Thyroid hormone, so add taking oral thyroid meds to the regimine. Oh, and GH can result in osteoporosis, so be careful. S had a femur fx that might not have occurred had he not been on GH…so now add Fosomax to the regimine.”</p>
<p>My son (age 13 1/2) started on growth hormone this past May. We go for his check up next week so we will see how its working. I had not heard about the thyroid hormone drop but had read about the risk of osteoporosis (but it is not supposed to occur until later years). He just had his blood drawn today so we will see if the thyroid levels are an issue. </p>
<p>My son has begun puberty (from what I can tell) but I don’t believe that I would want to give him any injections to stop puberty since, at 13 1/2, he is right on target. I believe that he is now about 4 ft, 9 inches tall (but will find out for sure next week at the checkup). We are hoping to get him to a least 5’8" (what they had originally projected for him from childhood bone ages) of height but we would be ok with 5’6" (his father’s height). I did not become proactive with his height issue until December of last year (the pediatrician insisted he was fine even though he barely grew 1 1/2 inches from 11 to 12). In September of last year i made an appointment with the endocrinologist myself after i measured my son and saw that he grew only 1 cm in 6 months. It took 4 months to get an appointment! My endocrine doc wanted to watch his growth herself for 3 months…and when my son’s growth still didn’t pick up, she ordered the tests to see if he was growth hormone deficient (which he sorely was). I am a bit ticked with myself for not listening to my inner voice a year earlier. His problem would have been picked up earlier and he would have had a year longer on the GH. Stopping puberty is not without risks (and lot of pain…those shots are into deep muscle), as a nurse and a mom…I am not willing to put my son through them at this point. </p>
<p>Idmom - You should insist that your son have a bone age done (you get a prescription from your pediatrician). It is a simple xray of his hand. Your son is at about the 3rd percentile in boys growth right now BUT, if his bone age is delayed, then you replot his height for the bone age. In other words, if it turns out that your 14 3/4 yr old son has a bone age of an 13 3/4 year old, then your son is really in the 10th percentile. The younger the bone age…the higher his percentile (more growth your child has left).</p>
<p>seiclan: The reason for the injections to slow or stop puberty, is that once puberty is in full swing or completes, the growth hormone will have less or little effect. You do not want your child to get too far along into puberty. Another thing to watch for are excessive growth of the nose (I know that sounds funny, but I imagine the child wouldn’t think so in later years)</p>
<p>Good luck to all. By the way, not everyone sees dramatic growth as Lisa has. We have seen some progress, but are hoping for 5ft 5 inches.</p>
<p>…and mythmom, 5 ft 7 inches is not short for a man… We would be thrilled for 5-7! And 5-2 is perfectly acceptable for a female. I am surprised that you would consider that short. GH is really for those where short is grossly below the norm…such as a 4 - 10 inch female or 5 -2 inch male.
Your MD was right not to treat your children as “short”.</p>
<p>I read once (don’t have the source any more) that the average size in America for a girl is 5’4" and for a boy 5’8."</p>
<p>Richard Burton was 5’7" and that’s good enough for me.</p>
<p>If you just said, “Who?” then you’re pleasantly young. He was a gorgeous Welsh actor who married Elizabeth Taylor twice, but drank too much.</p>
<p>Here, H is 5’6" and I’m 5’2". It hurt to see our two older kids come out even shorter by an inch, but the youngest towers above us all at 5’7."</p>
<p>My Dad skipped 3 generations genetically and was 6’ tall. My Mom, 5’2" and determined to marry a tall man, fell in love with him. Then he introduced her to his family, all between 4’10" to 5’4." But by then it was too late, she was in love and wasn’t going to dump him over it. My Dad’s height helped my younger brother (5’10") but my big brother and I came out exactly the heights of Mythmom’s kids. </p>
<p>My mom suggested we look into GH, but when we did, our doctor (Asian and 5’2") taught us about the genetic factor. He said it was genetics causing the shortness, and why would we want to alter it? I got the feeling he thought we were crazy to bring it up at all. We asked our sons and they didn’t want to be involved with it. Yet sometimes today they’ll wince over an experience or opportunity that skipped over them due to shortness.</p>
<p>Their uncle (5’4") – my H’s brother-- influenced them very positively by working out, sauntering into a room with pride (he took ballet and understood how to enter a room!). He also married a woman a head taller than himself. My S’s talked about that a lot. It gave them courage, and they date girls who are shorter or taller than themselves. I don’t know how many times they’ve been “shot down” for dates because of their shortness, but I imagine they’ve heard it. Ah well. Just wait for the next one, she’ll come along.</p>
<p>blucroo: I wasn’t complaining, but DS has heard his share of put-downs. He was the shortest boy in his graduating class. His luck is that he happens to be quite attractive and laid back and doesn’t seem to be suffering. His worst experience was when he was in middle school and selected to play in high school orchestra. Since he was short, even for a middle school kid, as he walked across the high school lobby daily, clutching his violin case, he was asked if he didn’t belong in elementary school. BTW this was from a school administrator and not the kids! It took gumption, but he persevered.</p>
<p>DD loves being 5’2". It does rule out clothes, but she enjoys her height. Enough said.</p>
<p>I appreciate your comments; I wanted to make sure no one thought I was not okay with my kids heights or them. However, I can definitely say society has made clear it does consider them short.</p>
<p>As someone who has been 5’2 3/4" since sixth grade (female), I like to think of us short people as “needing fewer resources.” We eat less, can drive smaller cars, require less fabric in our clothes, less leather in our shoes. And we contribute less to global warming, too, since less muscle requires less respiration, and therefore produces less CO2 ;)</p>
<p>Wow. To an extent I am actually glad I didn’t know any of this. I do not know what I would have done and what impact it would have had on my son. </p>
<p>Here’s the deal. I am just over 5’5". My dad is 6’3", but my mom only 5’1". My son’s dad is 6"1’ and from a tall across-the-board family, boys and girls. </p>
<p>My son was quite short at 14 too - maybe 5’1" when he entered high school at 14 and half. I just kept hoping he’d grow, that statistics were in our favor. It was hard for him to be short, because he was and still is very skinny. Runs in both families. But we didn’t do anything about taking him to a doctor. Finally, maybe a year into high school, he began to grow. Has now finally hit 5’11", although he is only 130lbs still, LOL.</p>
<p>I know had I thought I would have been tempted to have him tested, since although there is short on my side - my moms side, and my father’s dad were both short - I was sure my son should at least hit 5’10", since that’s my brother’s height, and all men on son’s father’s side are over 6. But since I didn’t know I just gritted my teeth and hoped. If we had taken him, I am sure he would have tested negatively, since he never had any fat around his waist at all. I mean, you wonder where the kid keeps his guts…</p>
<p>But the temptation, given the importance of male height in this society, would have been difficult to resist.</p>
<p>I am very glad this therapy is available for those people who really need it. I am only glad that I didn’t really know about it, and therefore wasn’t tempted to indulge my neuroses at my son’s expense. </p>
<p>I am not in any way saying any of you have done this, believe me. I am only confessing how hard it is to stay on the right path in child rearing sometimes…</p>
<p>My older son has reached his adult height of 5’ 6". When he was around 10 years old, his pediatrician suggested GH. I looked at her like she was nuts: I’m 5’ 0"; my H is 5’ 8"; paternal grandfather was 5’ 6"; paternal grandmother was 5’ 2"; maternal grandfather was 5’ 6"; maternal grandmother was 5’ 2". Tall is good, but he’s right where he should be, geneticially.</p>
<p>Now, S2 is another question – he’s 5’ 10", and I’m beginning to wonder if I had an affair I don’t remember. . .</p>
<p>I think there is more to the issue than vanity or social acceptance. Many things cause gh deficiency including malignancies. If there is any chance that a child is not producing enough gh and this deficiency is the cause of failure to grow, it should be investigated. In our case, we will do that because there are too many red flags…short height with cherubic features, failure to lose baby teeth, growth chart with several instances where no growth was observed in 24+ month periods, etc… If, ultimately, an endocrinologist recommends gh, we’ll also do that as well.</p>
<p>For a boy, 5’1" at 14 would have put him on the growth charts between the 10th and 25th percentile. I doubt you could have found a doctor in America who would suggest growth hormone testing or therapy for him.</p>
<p>Those of us who went through this process have kids who were likely below the 3rd percentile on the charts, or who had experienced no height increase for a sustained period of time, or who’s linear growth showed a downward slide, or who had other symptoms of gh deficiency.</p>
<p>Alumother,
DS1 is a senior, 16 yo, 5’10" and 117 lbs…I WISH he could get to 130!<br>
His 15 yo brother is 6’3", 230. When DS2 was younger (I started to say “smaller”), we told him “food or college.” Last year after the latest growth spurt, he took up football. I think that’s his means of dealing with both!</p>
<p>I’m 5’8", and my best friend in middle school (and many years after) is 4’11". She had no problem getting dates. Me, on the other hand…let’s just say that tall nerdy Yankee girls didn’t go over well in the part of the South I lived in 30 years ago…</p>
<p>I never thought s would turn out to be growth hormone deficient. I was absolutely positive we would be sent home with the assurance that all we needed was patience. But what we got was the news that his pituitary doesn’t produce growth hormone and never will. That if we do nothing he is unlikely to reach even 5 feet in height. So we’re not trying to make him a basketball player (well he’s not much of an athlete in any case) just hoping to get him to a height on the curve.</p>