Would you treat you son with Growth Hormone therapy?

[AvalonX]

So for 2 years we have been tracking my 7 year old son at a pediatric endo. He has fallen off the charts for growth and we need to get his growth hormone checked. He is currently projecting to be close to 5', he doesn't really gain weight much but other than that seems pretty active, healthy. I am worried about the risks with these kinds of things but equally worried about his quality of life at that height. What do you guys think?

 

[flfsurveyor]

Don't get too hung up on the height. Napoleon Bonaparte was barely 5' tall and he conquered most of Europe and had an active sex life. As long as your son's condition is not a physiological abnormality, then growth hormone therapy may not be needed. Never make your child feel that he is abnormal or inferior because of his size. That will surely destroy his self-esteem and affect his quality of life more than his height.

 

[writer811]

I don't know. The only way I can see it happening is if he actually wasn't producing enough of his own growth hormones and then yes, I would consent to it. I would have to see some evidence first, though. A doctor's report at the least.

 

[Dan]

I don't think they'd prescribe a growth hormone unless his bone age was very different than his actual age. HGHs have been around for over 30 years so they're pretty safe.

 

[micromachne]

I understand how you feel. You don't want the child to be small by time he reaches manhood. But I've always hated injecting science into people. Just make sure you have all the facts and info before you start doing this.

 

[Babar]

How can they really accurately predict your son's final height when he's still quite a few years away from puberty? I wouldn't worry too much, unless he has a proven medical condition. Sometimes the "runts" end up being taller than those who had a growth spurt...this was the case for me!

 

[Waynefire]

Why mess with mother nature. She knows best and maybe your son is meant to be shorter. I mean I was supposed to only be 5'5" and now I am over 6 foot. So if I had been treated with that garbage I would have ended up way off the charts.

 

[JRDeep]

Unless he's got hoop dreams, and wants to compete in dunk contests for a living, lack of height isn't that big of an issue. You can be 5 feet tall, yet have the personality that makes you seem like a seven footer.

 

[AvalonX]

His bones are about a year and a half behind. We are taking him for the GH test Wednesday so I will post back once we have results. Don't get me wrong, its not about him being tall to me. It's if he is healthy. I am scared to death of like cancer increase and that stuff but he is smaller than most kids the grade below him. Again, it's his height, they are telling us he is growing the percentage he should be for his age.