Growth Hormone Injections

My son has been doing the growth hormone injections for three years (at Children's Mercy). After the pituitary stimulation test, they found he was not producing any growth hormone...so we started the shots. He was in 7th grade. We got all sorts of 'fearful' advice from grandparents, etc., because all they know is the 'sports enhancement' side of it. I googled like crazy, and also consulted several relatives whom are physicians. No adverse information cam forth, so, we started the shots. We began with the device call the 'rocket', because you can't see the needle going in. Unfortunately, you have to mix the hormone, and it becomes sort of a pain in the neck. He switched to the manual syringe, and has had absolutely no problems. The manufacturers make it really convenient. I am happy to say, that after 3 years, my son has gone from 4'11" to 5' 9". His growth has been very stable, and there have been NO side affects, other than reduction of his cholosterol level.....was 235, now is 177....yahoo. His adult height was projected to be 5'2" if we did not do the hormone....I can't tell you all the negative things that were happening due to his unusually small stature...particularly in middleschool. He was often bullied, but more often, he tried to be tougher than the bigger kids....lots of injuries. At the time, he said he liked being small, but I will tell you right now, he LOVES being a normal size. At age 16, his bone age is still only that of a 14 year old. So he will probably continue on the hormone for a few more years. His father was 6'4", and I am 5'7". His sisters are 5'8" and 5'6". We have a fairly tall family, and it had been so hard on him to be smaller than his younger sister (she is 4 years younger).

I don't have any websites to share, since we started several years ago. However, I am happy to answer any questions. For us, the growth hormone has been the key to any amazing change in his health and happiness.

J.

Here are some links you can check out for yourself

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&...

Here is another
http://www.medhelp.org/amshc/amshc685.htm

Good luck

Good Morning N.. I know some about the growth hormone injections. I have been associated with two different step-sons from two different marriages and they both needed the shots for different reasons. The shots are given by Children's Mercy and they are seen by their Growth Hormone Doctor every 3-6 months for check ups.

I noted that the shots did cause some pain in the hips and knees but it was from the escalated growth. Normally children will experience some pain in their joints if they have a growing spurt. These children are constantly in the growing spurt. Stay in touch with his growth doctor and keep a chart of any and all pains or side effects for the doctor. Another thing is exercise. Make sure he plays sports, rides his bike, swims, plays outside and so forth. The more he moves his joints the better for him. You might invest in an ice bag if you do not have one and maybe some sports cream for constant aches.

Do not plan on buying quality clothing or shoes during the coming years. You will be constantly buying clothes and shoes. I recommend garage sales, thrift stores and K-Mart. Buy a few nice things but do not expect him to wear them for long. Always remember to buy the shoes and clothing a size or two too big. Bring back "the belt" for clothing for when the pants droop then soon he won't need it when he grows. It is a continual chain of events. Sometimes I felt like I had a revolving door at the store just for us to use. Ha ha ha.

His appetite will increase even more. He will get into wanting snacks ALL of the time. I tried to offer 5 small meals a day and healthy snacks for the child. Weight is not a problem during this time so junk food won't hurt, I just tried to teach the healthy way of eating. Once they get older then they can take responsibility on their own for eating.

Be prepared for boughts of constipation. That is one reason why I made sure they ate lots of fruit, wheat bread, I used wheat flour to cook with and used lots of vegetables. Otherwise laxatives will be introduced to your child and he will not like it. Another good thing is lots of water and juice to drink. Both boys really never had headaches so I cannot tell you anything regarding that as a side effect.

As for long term effects.......I am still waiting to hear about them. I have not heard of liver or kidney disease but anything is possible with long time use of a hormone. All I know is that one boy is now in college and built like an adonis and the other has just began high school this past year and doing well.

Your son's body will mature at a much rapid pace. So do not be scared if he starts sprouting hair in strange places, his voice changes faster than you expected, his muscles start looking like a body builder's (usually after a year or two), his thoughts of girls changes rapidly all while still acting like your little boy.

If you have more questions just ask your growth hormone doctor. Children's Mercy is very reputable and they worked wonders with my questions. Write them down before going in and be prepared.

Good Luck! :)

Hello,
I don't know alot about this however I do know that when my brother was younger, about 6, my parents had alot of tests run to find out why he was not growing. Mind you that he was about 3 1/2 foot tall and weighed about 35 lbs. The same size now as my 4 year old. They had his growth plates tested in his wrists and found out that he was maturity level behind the other kids his age by about 3 years. My parents didn't have any injections done or anything they just waited it out. In junior high and high school my brother never was behind in fact his size made him work harder in sports and ended up winning 3rd place in the national weight lifting competition. He never played football in high school but he did in junior high, he played basketball, and alot of other sports and was never a misfit because of his size. My brother is now 24 is about 5'8" and weighs about 175 lbs. He is proportionate and has never had any problems fitting in. Maybe your son is just the way god intended him to be. But like someone else said go with your gut and discuss it with your son, he is old enough to understand what is going on. Find out what he wants.

My mom takes it. At first he will get horrible bruising from the injections. If anything it makes you retain water, and most likely they will put him on a diuretic. As far as I know pretty much everything out there can cause damage to your liver and kidneys. If the company doesn't mail the meds to u directly get the script filled at a compounding pharmacy, and then ask the pharmacist any questions the dr hasn't covered. Pharmacists know way more about drugs than drs do. U might try medlineplus.com. I use it for school and it is a plethura of info there. I'm not sure if your insurance will cover it or not, but out of pocket its around $1000 a month, but alot of pharm companies have programs to help u pay for it ok I just looked on medline plus and here are the side effects

Swelling in your arms and legs
Arthritis-like symptoms
Carpal tunnel symptoms
Headaches
Bloating
Muscle pain
Diabetes
Abnormal growth of bones and internal organs
Hardening of the arteries
High blood pressure
but it then goes on to say that it is mainly in older adults

I don't know much personally, but I've only ever heard growth hormones are ineffective. So my advice is Go With Your Gut! If it feels right, do it. If it feels wrong, don't do it!

N.,
My son has been taking growth hormone injections since Jan. 2001. He was diagnosed at Children's Mercy by Dr. Huseman. (She's great!) At the time of diagnosis, he was almost 10 years old and was only 3'11. He only weighed about 50 pounds. He wasn't even on the growth chart, must less in a percentile. He is now 16 years old. He continues on the injections and I can proudly say he weighs about 130 pounds and is 5'5". It's probably more, since we are due for a checkup next month. This whole experience has been nothing but GOOD! Keep in mind that the growth hormone injections that my son takes is totally different than what you hear about in the media. These injections will help my son as long as his growth plates have not fused, which happens normally during the last phases of puberty. These kids have a low functioning pituitary gland that needs to be supplemented. Much like those of us that take Synthroid for a low functioning thyroid gland. I must admit that at first it was a struggle to give him the injections, but they have really neat little "injectors" that completely hides the needle. Several years ago he became confident enough to give his own injections. He mixes it, draws it up and administers it himself without the aid of the "injector". The staff at Children's Mercy will teach you and your family how to give the injections. I am a nurse, so I taught my parents and in-laws how to give it in my absence. It is really not hard at all. It is more intimidating than it really is. When he went to Scout camp, he would just go down to the medic's office and take his shot. I was fortunate enough to go to Scout camp as a leader, so I accompanied him to get his shot, however, the health staff are qualified to administer the shots.
Emotionally, it has been great for my son. Without the injections, he wouldn't have gotten any taller than about 4'9" as an adult. With the shots, he will reach a full estimated height of about 5'8". I am only 5'2" and my hubby is 5'9". Socially, he felt horrible about being so little. He was teased constantly by kids. The adults were even worse. They would say stuff like "Well, you can't be 10 years old. You look like you are in kindergaren! Why my 4 year old is bigger than you are." I'm not kidding... grown people say this kind of things to kids. I would smile sweetly and respond "Yes, the Lord gave me a huge present in a little package. I'm glad that my 10 year old can still fit on my lap for reading." That usually shut them up. Now, he is taller or the same height as many of his classmates. As far as side effects, I don't really recall any to speak of. At first, he did have a few leg cramps, but nothing bad. His nipples became a little swollen too, but quickly as his body adjusted to it, they reduced to normal size.
I would really like to talk to you more about this if you want. Email me privately and we'll exchange phone numbers. We feel like having the growth hormone injections has been such a God send to us. We feel blessed every day.
S.