Growth Hormone Deficiency

wiggyslilsis

Anybody familiar?

I had it as a child and had to get shots daily from age 4-13 and then weekly from 13-16. Mine was unexplained and therefore we have no idea if it is genetic or not but there is some evidence leading doctors to believe it is.

My daughter is 2 now and that is where it all began with me. I grew normally for the first two years then basically stopped and it took two years to get diagnosed and start treatment. DD's pedi knows my history and says she is still growing well but she went from being in the 96th and 75th percentile pretty consistently to the 10th-25th percentile now. Clearly I am concerned and she doesn't have another well child appointment until she is 3.

I am going to keep an eye on her and call her doctor with concerns but I just want to know if anybody else has gone through this with their child. My mom's experience has been helpful but that was twenty years ago.

wiggyslilsis

Yeah I have had SO many tests run on me and they have no answer. My pituitary gland just didn't produce enough.

They aren't ready to run the growth hormone. Tests yet since she is growing right and we are a small family so she may just be slowing down because she is going to be like my mom's side of the family. She is still growing so they aren't concerned yet.

I think I will probably call her doctor in a few months and see if we can come in for a growth check just to ease my mind...or catch the deficiency early.

bumpuser1691848

I'm going through the same thing with DS, so I'm going to follow this thread for advice. I didn't have any problems as a child, but DS's growth has slowed down (almost stopped) and he's not even on the charts anymore.

bumpuser1691848

ChickenOnSunday said:

nonniedee said:

My daughter is ten months, and petite. I was told at her nine month visit that if she doesn't move up in percentiles she'll have to go to an endocrinologist. I explained to the ped that both sides of her family are kinda small. At 5'4 I'm the tallest of all my sisters. My MIL is a borderline Hobbit. As a kid I had a very hard time gaining weight, and I didn't grow much. However, as an adult I'm overweight, so I'm not overly concerned. She's small because she comes from a small family.

No, not really.  I'm 5'10" and DH is 6'1" and I have a tiny kid.

A downward curve on the growth chart should be investigated.

Exactly. If her growth curve is continuously in the lower percentiles, that would be an indicator of her just coming from a small family. If her growth curve starts at say 75% and starts going down, that's where there's a problem.

wiggyslilsis

Thank you for sharing your story @TheEmpireNeedsYou‌

They told my mom for over a year that I was just small because she was small and that I would catch up eventually. I am so glad she fought for me and found a doctor on her own who would take her seriously. I am terrified of having to go through the testing and shots with my own child but I would so much rather find out early and make a plan than ignore the early warning signs.

wiggyslilsis

Thank you! I called the pedi's office and left a message with the doctor stating my concerns (my history and the decrease on the charts) and asked if she would be okay with doing a growth check in 3 months.

I just can't take any risks with this.

wiggyslilsis

I haven't checked for a Facebook group but that is a good idea.