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When to consider growth hormones?
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amother
Aqua


 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 9:10 am
Librarian wrote:
Here is what a prominent shadchan told me about "short boys" in shidduchim : "A short boy is as bad as a fat girl". Offensive, absolutely. Especially since "short" in this case meant 5'6".


Luckily, dh didn't see my weight as a problem and I didn't see his height (or lack thereof) as a problem.

Better yet, glad neither of us met that shadchan LOL . I think some shadchanim forget that people are individuals and what is a dealbreaker for one person is insignificant to another.

As evident in this thread. Dh is 5'2" and it didn't cross my mind to reject the shidduch because of his height.
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nchr




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 9:13 am
amother [ Ecru ] wrote:
What are the side effects of Growth Hormones? I still prefer short people than overly tall- which probably happens when 2 very tall people marry each other


Not sure what you call overly tall, but I assume over 6'3 for a female and over 6'7 for a male. That doesnt happen because two tall people marry, and honestly, rather 6'4 as a woman than 5'2. So I guess that is part of different strokes for different folks.
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amother
Royalblue


 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 9:19 am
nchr wrote:
My nephew was not GH deficient, but was very short so my sister did GH treatment. Since he ended up 6'2 and he was not GH deficient it is likely he would have been 6'0+ anyways because generally, in non GH deficient people, GH can only add a max of 1 or 2 inches. However, you're right that it may have allowed his bones to not fuse earlier which is what we are hoping with my niece because she is quite short and also not GH deficient.


This makes no sense. GH will not do anything for someone who is not GH deficient. It's not the type of thing that the more you take the taller you get. It sort of caps out at a certain point. It is only recommended for someone who is deficient, and will do nothing for someone who doesn't need it.

My DD was VERY petite as a child (like, for example, she wore size 3T in pre-1-A; she graduated 8th grade in size 7; we had to have her high school uniforms made for her as they didn't carry her size), but her hormone levels were perfect. The endocrinologist explained to me that she would have a longer growth period than most people because her bone age was younger than her actual age, and we should do nothing. The dr was right, she continued to grow till the end of her teen years (she even grew an inch at 19, and all her clothes were suddenly too short), while most girls stop growing well before that. GH would not have made a difference, and were not necessary B"H. She is 5'1 plus a drop....which is fine for a girl.
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nchr




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 9:25 am
amother [ Royalblue ] wrote:
This makes no sense. GH will not do anything for someone who is not GH deficient. It's not the type of thing that the more you take the taller you get. It sort of caps out at a certain point. It is only recommended for someone who is deficient, and will do nothing for someone who doesn't need it.

My DD was VERY petite as a child (like, for example, she wore size 3T in pre-1-A; she graduated 8th grade in size 7; we had to have her high school uniforms made for her as they didn't carry her size), but her hormone levels were perfect. The endocrinologist explained to me that she would have a longer growth period than most people because her bone age was younger than her actual age, and we should do nothing. The dr was right, she continued to grow till the end of her teen years (she even grew an inch at 19, and all her clothes were suddenly too short), while most girls stop growing well before that. GH would not have made a difference, and were not necessary B"H. She is 5'1 plus a drop....which is fine for a girl.


Yes, GH can add about 1 or maximum 2 inches when someone is not deficient. So your DD may have been able to be 5'1.5 or 5'2. Many people would try to help their kid be taller than 5'1 even if YOU are personally ok with that.

My nephew was extremely short and even though not GH deficient, he took GH because the endo felt even if we could get 1 or 2 inches it would be worth it. His bone age was a little younger but no one projected his height to be 6'0 (which it probably would have been regardless).

It just so happens to be that he grew a lot, UNRELATED to the GH AS IVE STATED MULTIPLE TIMES since he was not deficirnt. When he reached 5'10 my sister stopped the GH. So it may have helped him get an inch or two but not more since he was not deficirnt, but he was so short at 13 that even adding 1 inch was something my sister and the endo thought was worth it. This is way more common tha you think.

My niece is very petite and not GH deficient but she is on GH because that is what we have decided. Even adding 1 inch is worth it to my sister and the endo because we dont want her to be 5'1 and if we can help her why not. If she happens to be 5'7 because she grows later, that's fine, but due to her being so short now, we need to try and help her.
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amother
Slateblue


 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 9:33 am
Librarian wrote:
And the pediatric endocrinologist told my friend that her son's ADHD medication was taking 2 inches off his projected height and there is nothing he can do about it. Being functional is more important than being tall. My friend was just upset that she was never told this could be a side effect. Perhaps that was a good thing Smile


I don't know if this is true from our experience. My son was projected to be 6' 1" by his pediatric orthopedist at 1 and again at 8. He took hip xrays and did some bone testing. He took a family history of heights.

My son took max ADHD medications for years. He left for EY this year at 6' 1". He did grow late and still was growing during the summer. Maybe he's done.
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giselle




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 9:34 am
nchr wrote:
Not sure what you call overly tall, but I assume over 6'3 for a female and over 6'7 for a male. That doesnt happen because two tall people marry, and honestly, rather 6'4 as a woman than 5'2. So I guess that is part of different strokes for different folks.

5’2 is pretty average in frum circles. 6’4 as a woman? That’s super tall. Nothing against it, but she will definitely stick out. Although maybe you like that...


Last edited by giselle on Thu, Nov 07 2019, 9:46 am; edited 1 time in total
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amother
Powderblue


 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 9:41 am
I can't relate to some people's ideas of short. I'm 4'10", dh is 5'3". We were concerned about our daughter, less about being short and more about premature puberty. She took the puberty blocker until 11. She's now 5' and still growing a bit.(she's 14). We're hoping she'll hit 5'2". I can't imagine injecting hormones for cosmetic (the difference between 5' and 5'2" for a girl.) The hormones we gave were rough enough with plenty of side effects. I just couldn't let her get her period on her 9th birthday.

My son is 12 and already 4'10". He hasn't really started his growth spurt. We took him to the endocrinologist who predicted his height at 5'3"/5'4". I can't rationalize a possible 2 inches for the side effects and headache.
My husband is 5'3" and manages quite fine.
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amother
Azure


 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 9:46 am
4.9 for a woman is not that bad than 5.2 for a man ( bc the first is more common in frum circles than the latter) Also a woman can be cute, when she is petite, a short man is not taken so seriously & not so well respected. We expect men to be taller. Short bochurim really do have a hard time with shidduchim.

There is a very tall woman in my community probably like a 6.6 or more, it is said that she was gh while growing up which messed her up, when she was getting too tall & given something to stop the growth it did the opposite & made her grow even further. I think she also doesn't have children.

Women that overtower the crowd, feel very conscious walking into the women section of a wedding, by dancing where everyone is huddling together, to see kallah coming in, where it is so obvious that they are sticking out of the crowd.
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flowerpower




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 9:56 am
I’m finding this post interesting. Dh family has short genes. My daughter was always short and now that she is almost a preteen she is barely 4.11. The pediatrician never sent me to the endo ( I guess he wasn’t too concerned) and she is likely almost done growing. Will I regret not pumping her with hormones daily for 3 years?
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amother
Brunette


 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 10:17 am
flowerpower wrote:
I’m finding this post interesting. Dh family has short genes. My daughter was always short and now that she is almost a preteen she is barely 4.11. The pediatrician never sent me to the endo ( I guess he wasn’t too concerned) and she is likely almost done growing. Will I regret not pumping her with hormones daily for 3 years?


Nothing is without risk. It surprises me that people are so dismissive of potential side effects of these things. How is it possible for the long-term side effects to all be known? If there's a deficiency, that may be a different story.

Also, how does she feel about it? Maybe it doesn't bother her.
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Rubber Ducky




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 10:24 am
Are there any longterm studies of whether growth hormones affect health or fertility?
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Queen18




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 10:26 am
I am finding this thread very disturbing. “...a short man can not be taken seriously and not so well respected” !???? Seriously? I have short kids and tell them all the time of our great short gedolim included Reb Moshe, Rav Yaakov, Rav Aaron, the Chofetz Chaim. Why so much prejudice from so called adults? Since when are the Jewish people so concerned with appearances that they would put a healthy child at risk to engineer different results? Let’s not forget Hitler, yimach shimo, and his ideas of a perfect Aryan race. This is not the value of OUR people! For all those people who’s kids get teased at school for being short - it’s obvious why. There are so many adults lacking values and perspective.
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Queen18




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 10:27 am
Rubber Ducky wrote:
Are there any longterm studies of whether growth hormones affect health or fertility?


Cancerous tumors are listed as a side effect
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nchr




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 10:41 am
Boys can also take MSH which does not increase height, but can help a kid catch up to his peers.
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dankbar




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 10:44 am
My son was was 4.10 by his Bar mitzvah. 78 lbs. size 12 suit.
BH today as an adult (almost 21) he is bh 5.7 in height. 110-120 in weight. Men's small.

He never took growth hormones but bh started growing by leaps & bounds right after bar mitzvah. He kept going up suit sizes every half a year. In first 2 years, he jumped like 5 sizes. He went from a children's size 12 to a children's size 20.
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amother
Tan


 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 11:11 am
Queen18 wrote:
Cancerous tumors are listed as a side effect


Is that the only side effect?
People keep saying they wouldn't do it because of the 'risky side effects'. What side effects? Is there proof?

I'm very curious because I got GH as a kid, and so far I'm BH perfectly healthy!
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amother
Royalblue


 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 11:17 am
flowerpower wrote:
I’m finding this post interesting. Dh family has short genes. My daughter was always short and now that she is almost a preteen she is barely 4.11. The pediatrician never sent me to the endo ( I guess he wasn’t too concerned) and she is likely almost done growing. Will I regret not pumping her with hormones daily for 3 years?


She may still have some growing years ahead of her. As a preteen, my daughter was tiny...she's still a small, petite person, but she's 5'1 which is a normal height for a girl.

Yes, I've had Shadchanim tell me they thought of someone for her but he's 6 ft tall and won't consider a girl who's under 5'4...oh well. Doesn't get me nervous. Obviously that guy is not basherte.

BTW my sister is 5'2 and her DH is 6'3. So you never know.

In terms of side effects, I have heard that the GH of today are way safer than they were years ago. Much more advanced and with less side effects. I'm still glad we didn't do them.
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amother
Cyan


 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 11:23 am
amother [ Tan ] wrote:
Is that the only side effect?
People keep saying they wouldn't do it because of the 'risky side effects'. What side effects? Is there proof?

I'm very curious because I got GH as a kid, and so far I'm BH perfectly healthy!

I always find this type of reasoning amusing. Increased risk doesn’t mean 100% chance of something happening.

But in life we generally avoid increased risk where possible. Driving without a seatbelt, even though chances are that nothing will happen, is an unnecessary increased risk that we try to avoid. We try to be safe.

You are right that chances are that nothing will happen to you from the GH. But it does not mean that you did not open yourself up to an increased risk.

Of course, there are trade-offs, and in your case I imagine it was felt that the increased risk was worth it for the probable benefit.
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amother
Wheat


 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 11:31 am
does anyone have a endocrinologist they recommend near Boro park?
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amother
Brunette


 

Post Thu, Nov 07 2019, 11:34 am
Queen18 wrote:
I am finding this thread very disturbing. “...a short man can not be taken seriously and not so well respected” !???? Seriously? I have short kids and tell them all the time of our great short gedolim included Reb Moshe, Rav Yaakov, Rav Aaron, the Chofetz Chaim. Why so much prejudice from so called adults? Since when are the Jewish people so concerned with appearances that they would put a healthy child at risk to engineer different results? Let’s not forget Hitler, yimach shimo, and his ideas of a perfect Aryan race. This is not the value of OUR people! For all those people who’s kids get teased at school for being short - it’s obvious why. There are so many adults lacking values and perspective.


This, 100%.

It's the parents who are insecure, myself included. When I had an open conversation with ds about how he felt about his height, he looked at me in shock. He said, Ma, we're short people! Daddy's short, uncle so and so is short...Why would I want to take medicine to be different than how I am? What's wrong with being short?

Bh he has natural self-confidence. Should I now convince him that there is something wrong with him, that he should wish to change?
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