Petite dd-endocrinologist?

amother

Mon, Nov 17 2014, 10:11 pm

DD is 4. She is just 4th percentile in height. Her siblings are/were all a much higher percentile. the Dr. is not really worried, but recommends she see an endocrinologist just to be sure-especially since she is so much smaller than her siblings at that age. She is also a bat-zekunim for me. With her next sibling being 10 years older. as in maybe its because of my advanced age that she is so small.

Is there a need to go to an endocrinologist?

Health is a Virture

Tue, Nov 18 2014, 4:35 am

I don't know where you live, but chances are she won't qualify for growth hormone because she is in the 4th percentile (for some of us that's a good height :-). but I do recommend that you to go to an endot. She could have celiac or some other illness that the secondary reaction is short stature. It can't hurt to take her to the endo and do some blood work just to make sure all is okay.

chani8

Tue, Nov 18 2014, 4:39 am

Is there a reason why you don't want to go to the endo? Does your insurance cover it?

I certainly would not accept growth hormones for her, but to have a good blood workup might be helpful.

It's probably nothing. But once a doctor requests going to an expert, how can you say no?

treetop12

Tue, Nov 18 2014, 7:59 am

I have been taking my son to an endocrinologist for the last 9 years (he is 12 now). We go once a year and he receives blood work and a full exam. He is a very petite boy. The endocrinologist has told me that our insurance will not cover growth hormones at this stage since he is on his curve (below the 5th) but is otherwise very healthy BH. Being that be just started puberty there are some other options that we may consider, although the current endocrinologist said that he wouldn't administer them but would send to a colleague for another opinion.

I would definitely recommend that you go if you are concerned. It is well worth it just for your peace of mind. If the doctor feels there is a purpose, he/she would order a growth factor test and if that is low they would order a 3 hour growth stimulus test.

Feel free to PM me if you would like.

amother

Tue, Nov 18 2014, 9:40 am

You realize that if she is on the curve at all that is good news right? It doesn't matter what the rest of her siblings are, as long as she is consistent in her curve.
We took our son to the dr at age 5 because he dropped off the charts in height and weight and was very skinny.
The dr, also said he was not really concerned bc in a lot of these kids its just a stage and they are fine long term. But just to rule anything out he sent us to a gastro dr. to rule out celiac and the like. Then he sent us to an endo dr. who did a bone scan which is like an x-ray where they see what age the bones are. it turned out that ds was behind in his bone growth over a year which means that it was normal he was so small and he would continue growing later than his peers.
it was a relief for me to hear that and I could stop worrying about whether he ate lunch that day. He is still a picky eater and still skinny at age 7 but his height is much improved now.
I would go but its not an emergency, you could wait a few months and see how she is growing then.

Chayalle

Tue, Nov 18 2014, 9:47 am

You do realize that growth hormones are not always indicated? My DD has been off the charts most of her life - 0-3 for height and weight.

Her pediatrician was never worried because she was always on a consistent growth curve, even though it was off the charts.

I took her to an endo at age 10 and her hormone levels were perfect. Her bone plates indicated that she had lots more growing to do, and at around age 13 she grew 4 inches in a year! She's almost 5 ft now at 16 - getting there (for a girl).

I'm glad I took her to the endo because it gave us peace of mind. We knew we had checked her out and B"H she is healthy and petite. Good things come in small packages.

Volunteer

Tue, Nov 18 2014, 11:55 am

You mentioned that your dd's siblings are all taller than she is. Are there other short people in your family? Most short children are just... well... short, because they inherited "short genes."

amother

Tue, Nov 18 2014, 10:22 pm

OP here.
Dr. asked if I wanted to go now or wait until next year and see how she does. There are no short genes in my family. My mom is the shortest at 5'3"-and she was that height in 5th grade. My other children are all taller than me-or almost there anyway. I am 5'6".
I am leaning towards going to the endo. Posted here for opinions and info-which I now have. Just makes me feel more comfortable in going and knowing others stories.
I am really not worried about dd-but want to make sure anyway.

(I keep saying that hashem gave me a petite child because at my age, I can't carry a large one Smile

)

amother

Tue, Nov 18 2014, 11:14 pm

I would have a pediatric endo. evaluate the chlld. A thorough examination will go beyond the bone density test and measure pituitary gland activity when spiked with different catalysts. The sooner the diagnosis, the more time there is for catchup growth.