Small stature/no puberty

[tryingtohelp]

I'm not sure if I'm in the right place here but I thought it might be a starting place. Hopefully someone here can help or point me to the right place.   My best friend and I are starting to get concerned for her child.  She is almost 14 years old.  Intellectually, emotionally, socially - she's perfectly normal. But if anyone had to guess her age they would probably think that she was 9 years old.  She has absolutely no signs of puberty.  Her older sisters and mother both started puberty at a usual age and got their periods at 12 and a half.  We kept thinking she would start growing...she would start growing...she would start growing... but nothing.  And now she is is starting to stand out in her class and around her friends. 

Are we worrying for nothing?  Does this sound "just slow"?  She's only 4 and a half feet tall and 70 ish pounds.  The women aren't huge in the family, but none are this small.  She has always been on the low end of the growth chart  for height and weight but now she's dropped to the bottom.   Her sisters were also on the lowend but both started puberty normally.  Any suggestions of where or what to start looking for?  Or is there no problem and she just needs to give it more time?

Any advice appreciated!

[QueenOfTheMeadow]

Has she been checked for celiac disease?

[beachcomber]

I strongly recommend a general physical to start with. Talk to her GP about these concerns and ask him or her to check for growth hormone levels, pituitary issues, do x-rays of joints to check for normal development, etc. She may have a problem with her pituitary gland and growth hormones would solve the problem. Or it may be something else. Either way, best to start with the GP and go forward from that point. I would not leave it any longer as there is a window of opportunity for growth hormones to be effective.

[AmyDeaf1987]

maybe she have turner's syndrome its female chromosome disorder that she only has one X instead of usual two it usually causes short stature and not starting puberty unless recieve hormone replacement therapy

[tryingtohelp]

Thanks for some starting points!  Her mom has scheduled an appt with the pediatrician to get things started.   We'll start researching celiac and Turner's now on our own.  Thanks for your help!

[LaurieG]

My daughter has Turner Syndrome.  The situation you describe is very common.  Girls with TS often will not stand out as different in any way except for short stature and failure to go through puberty.   I point this out because as you do your research you will come across a list of physical features but it is important to note that most of these are quite mild and nobody has every one of the traits. 

[KimPM]

It's good to get it checked out.  But - just to let you know that it may still be in the normal range, I didn't start menarche until age 16.  That may have been a bit late by typical standards, but I didn't have any particular syndrome or anything that I could point to.  I was quite skinny...and was kind of short, until around 14-to 15 where I grew about 4" that year.  I did end up putting on a few more pounds too, in addition to growing taller at that time, but I was still considered skinny.  I was also heavily into a particular sport, thus also keeping the weight low.  In my case, I think it was my body's way of saying "I'm not ready to have children" at any earlier age.

[tryingtohelp]

UPDATE:  My friend took her daughter to the pediatrician and the endriconologist.  She just got the initial lab results back.  No chromosomal abnormalities were found (I'm assuming they were looking for Turners).  They did find that she is producing high levels of luteinizing and follicle stimulating hormones, however she has very low estrogen.  The endrinconologist told her that basically it means her ovaries are not responding.  Her next step is an ultrasound of the ovaries.  Does anyone have any experience with this?  Thanks.  (If I should be posting somewhere else please let me know)