Growth Hormone Deficiency in kids? - Page 3

[JaneS]

And it probably would be worth mentioning that if only TSH is checked for thyroid function it might not be sufficient... TSH is a pituitary hormone only. If there is problems with the pituitary, TSH will be low. Testing it only will make the doctor say, "What great thyroid function you have!" when in fact the pituitary (or hypothalamus) will not be firing the signals correctly. I'd be looking for other thyroid hormones to be tested as well.

[mbravebird]

Originally Posted by chlobo

So is there an A supplement that is good to use other than high vitamin clo?

My son has a bleeding disorder and can only do CLO twice a week, when he's high on his meds, and even then I have to give him just a miniscule amount or he gets huge bruises. So we are big on alternatives to CLO for him. He is six, and will swallow pills, so I give him frozen liver "pills" -- basically just raw frozen liver cut into pill-size pieces. If that doesn't float your boat, you can add liver to hamburgers, etc. Liver is very high in A.

This year I started rendering our own lard and using it as our main saute oil. It has a good amount of D in it if it comes from pastured pigs. I also supp with extra D. As a side note, we are burning less easily this summer so far -- even my son who doesn't get fish oil, so I'm wondering if the lard is helping with sun tolerance.

Liver also has K2 in it. Goose liver has the most, chicken liver next, then beef liver. I'm currently searching for a source of grass-fed goose liver.

[mbravebird]

Originally Posted by Cascadian

Hmmm...we have a nightlight in the hallway, and there's a clock radio with a display in her room...interesting. I might close their door at night to block light (their door is next to the stairwell, hence the nightlight). Thanks for the tip!

Are there any studies about longterm use of melatonin in kids, and for what dosage?

Yes, even a flashlight shone behind the knee can stop melatonin production. The skin senses light, and light stops melatonin production. Look on the hibernation diet thread in the TF forum for links to those studies. Streetlights matter too.

There is some evidence that long-term use of melatonin may suppress the body's ability to make its own. I can't find the study right now... maybe look on pubmed?

Melatonin is also one of the body's big defenses against cancer. People working the night shift have increase rates of cancer because of their decreased levels of melatonin, a finding confirmed in mouse studies. So, yeah, turn out those lights! You can also buy a red lightbulb if you really need light -- red light allows 70% more melatonin production to occur than regular light.

Melatonin also is what shuts the adrenals off and gives them a rest, and regulates fertility hormones, and supports weight loss/healthy weight. The list goes on. A couple of TBS of honey right before bed, combined with sleeping in darkness, will stimulate the body to make more melatonin on its own.

Was that more than you wanted to know?

[Alison's Mom]

Man, oh man, is this ever confusing!

The latest: we got a wrist xray done which says her bone age is 4.5 VS her chronological age which is 5.5 Dr says this is good, because it probably means she will continue to grow to 14 instead of 13, for instance. I stopped growing at 12, but DH doesn't remember when he did, and I guess it's possible he was a 'late bloomer' in terms of growth and she inherited that from him.

We actually got into the ped endrocrinologist earlier this week - they took a complete history, and did ask some about diet and supplements, but of course were of the mindset that a multi vit once a day would be enough for the kids. The Dr mentioned Vit D with our northern climate and all, but said either CLO or a multi would be enough. He was adamant that a Vit D deficiency wasn't the reason she was short.

Blood test came back negative for Celiac (what a relief!), and normal levels for all the other stuff, but like someone mentioned, the thyroid levels are the TSH, which may not indicate a problem. The only one that hadn't come back was IVF5 or something like that which is a byproduct of growth hormone. They test for that first, and if it's low, then they test for growth hormone which is more time consuming and invasive for the child. They said a GH deficient child would not follow any sort of growth curve, like my DD is doing. Her curve is following roughly the same slope as the regular curve - it looks as if she just few very little maybe between 1 and 3. They want to monitor her growth and see her again in 6mo and after a while will determine if GH testing is needed. He said GH therapy is very expensive, about 10-20K per year and is it worth that, and daily injections for 10 years to be taller by a couple of inches? He said if she is GH deficient, that's one thing, but apparently some people who aren't deficient still take the therapy to be taller.

We are still generally off soy, with tofu maybe once a month only. I phoned Carlson's about the Vit A in their CLO and was told it was 'the natural palmitate'. Not sure about whether this is good or bad, but hopefully good?

I got some flying fish and masago roe today and DS, who loves fish, tried some and declared it yucky. I've been trying to find a tolerable multi with the highest levels of D and A, but since palmitate is bad, I've been looking for beta carotene, which is not the best, but not as bad as palmitate? I also got some Vit D drops with 400IU of cholecalciferol, which is good if they get around 1000 IU daily?

I'm still doing the bone broths, and make soup 1-2 times a week which they'll have some of, and use it to make rice and quinoa, which they'll also have some of, but they have refused to have it plain.

[Siennaflower]

I just wanted to update that we finally have a diagnosis for my dd, she has hypothyroidism. Which now that I've done some research on it, makes sense because besides being short she has also not had any teeth fall out yet, and she is almost 7 1/2. She will be taking Synrthroid and will be retested in about 6 weeks to see if the levels need to be adjusted.

Also want to add that her bone age scan showed that she had the bones of a 4 1/2 year old, if that information helps anyone here!

[chlobo]

Originally Posted by Siennaflower

I just wanted to update that we finally have a diagnosis for my dd, she has hypothyroidism. Which now that I've done some research on it, makes sense because besides being short she has also not had any teeth fall out yet, and she is almost 7 1/2. She will be taking Synrthroid and will be retested in about 6 weeks to see if the levels need to be adjusted.

Also want to add that her bone age scan showed that she had the bones of a 4 1/2 year old, if that information helps anyone here!

Glad you have a dx & a course of action. What were her symptoms besides being small? Did they dx by blood test?

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by Siennaflower

I just wanted to update that we finally have a diagnosis for my dd, she has hypothyroidism. Which now that I've done some research on it, makes sense because besides being short she has also not had any teeth fall out yet, and she is almost 7 1/2. She will be taking Synrthroid and will be retested in about 6 weeks to see if the levels need to be adjusted.

Also want to add that her bone age scan showed that she had the bones of a 4 1/2 year old, if that information helps anyone here!

I would read this site to learn about the serious problems with Synthroid T4 only medication and also the misinterpretations of testing using TSH only.
www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

Did you have her anti thyroid and anti tpo antibodies tested for Hashimoto's? That is the most common cause of hypothyroidism and has other implications for treatment rather than the standard mainstream medicine view (most dr's won't test it b/c they view it as the same but it is an autoimmune disease with non celiac gluten intolerance as a primary etiology.)

[Siennaflower]

Originally Posted by chlobo

Glad you have a dx & a course of action. What were her symptoms besides being small? Did they dx by blood test?

Yes, she was dx by blood test. I don't have her numbers yet but will update once I do, I didn't think to ask when her Dr called. Besides being small (having gone from 30 percentile in height to 1 percentile over the last two years), she had not yet lost any of her baby teeth, has extremely dry skin, she fatigued quickly during physical activity and had bouts of constipation.

[Siennaflower]

Originally Posted by JaneS

I would read this site to learn about the serious problems with Synthroid T4 only medication and also the misinterpretations of testing using TSH only.
www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/

Did you have her anti thyroid and anti tpo antibodies tested for Hashimoto's? That is the most common cause of hypothyroidism and has other implications for treatment rather than the standard mainstream medicine view (most dr's won't test it b/c they view it as the same but it is an autoimmune disease with non celiac gluten intolerance as a primary etiology.)

Thank you for the information. She has only gone through the first round of testing and I'm barely learning about her condition so bear with me . She has not been tested for Hashimoto's but I will talk to her Dr about it. She was tested for celiacs but those results have not come in yet. Is the treatment for non celiac gluten intolerance a GF diet?

[jmarroq]

My husband is about 5' 4". He had growth hormones as a child, but it was experimental back then. He was from Central America and his family drove him to NY a few times in the 70s and 80s for injections but it became a hassle, so they continued with a doctor in their country who supposedly could get the hormone. I read that a lot of the kids who got the hormones, both in the US and abroad back then ran into problems in adulthood, because often times the hormones were taken from people who were sick...they didn't test people who donated...something like that. I am sure it is a lot safer now.

In any case, I am guessing they didn't know much about growth hormones back then, and he didn't get enough of it, or he didn't get it soon enough..otherwise he would have grown a bit more. His dad is at least 5' 10", but his mom is about 5'0". One of his sisters is at least 5'9" and one is about 5'5" and the other is 5'0". The sister who is 5'0" married a man who is on the shorter side 5'8"ish, and their two boys are very small. She is going to do growth hormones with both of them. Not sure why. I asked her if the doctors know why they are so small and she looked at me like I was dumb and pointed to her mom and herself. I just thought that growth hormones seems extreme unless there is a genetic issue or a gland that is not working, etc...If they turn out to be their father's height, I don't see a problem. If they turn out to be my husband's height of 5'4" obviously it isn't a problem for me, but I guess men can be discriminated against when they are small, and perhaps certain jobs require a certain height/weight, etc. Her boys are very into "boyish" things like four wheelers and baseball...I suppose to play ball or race professionally, you have to be a certain height. She mentioned that the doctors will also "stop" puberty from happening with drugs, because that will buy them some time to grow a bit. I suppose once you hit puberty, the growing comes to a halt.

I haven't had to research it much, as my son seems to be pretty average height so far (I have good height on my dad's side, and I am average height, BUT my mom's side has some serious height issues, as my mom is only 5'0" and her dad was only 5'3". There may have been some poverty/war, illness, rationing of food, etc which contributed, as they are from Europe. My sister's husband is tall, and one of her girls is tiny, but she had tons of steroids due to asthma/allergies. My son has had quite a bit of steroids too, but he hasn't fallen into the "small" category since he was a toddler. He's still pretty average.