When to consider growth hormones?

amother

Magnolia

Wed, Nov 08 2023, 11:58 am

amother Eggplant wrote:

I did not read the whole thread but my daughter who is turning 11 soon has been taking growth hormones for almost a year. She was the shortest in her class and off the charts completely. Preliminary bloodwork showed low growth factor. We did more extensive testing and the results showed that she was growth hormone deficient. Since starting she has grown 4 inches. The shot is not such a big deal and she does it herself. Insurance will cover if if you are deficient. Your copay will depend on your insurance policy.

if she was so off the charts how come you didnt notice any other symptom? gh is not only for growth.

amother

Eggplant

Wed, Nov 08 2023, 12:32 pm

amother Magnolia wrote:

if she was so off the charts how come you didnt notice any other symptom? gh is not only for growth.

I'm not sure but the endicronologist was not concerned. It's possible it would have kicked in on its own as she got older but we couldn't afford to wait in case it didn't.

amother

Eggplant

Wed, Nov 08 2023, 12:52 pm

There are no visible side effects and our doctor said the dosing and medications have evolved a lot to be much safer. My daughter is old enough to realize that being able to take GH is a privilege and she's thrilled that she's grown. She's still very short compared to her friends but at least there is momentum.

amother

Firebrick

Wed, Nov 08 2023, 3:12 pm

We just started with my son.
Insurance covered with a prior auth because we did the several hour stim test (after regular blood text, bone age X ray...).
Yes there are copays but with commercial insurance (ie not medicaid) we got onto a copay assistance program that covers a lot of it. BH.

The whole process to get on it took almost a year. We noticed he wasn't growing. We tried diet changes. Nothing helped. Then started this whole long process. BH we got it and he started.

amother

Orange

Wed, Nov 08 2023, 3:36 pm

I have/have had 4 children taking GH. All of them did the GH stim test, 2 were found to be GH deficient, and the other two were not GH deficient but qualified for GH to be covered by insurance because of their extreme short stature. (My husband and I both are short, but not exceptionally so; I'm 5'1 and he's 5'5.) They all started taking it around age 8-9. The GH companies (my kids have been on Norditropin, Humatrope, and Genotropin) offer copay assistance that completely the covers the monthly copay (which I believe is $150 or $200 with my private insurance), so BH I haven't had to pay at all. All you need to do to get the copay assistance is be on private insurance and request it (it is not income-based or anything like that).

For reference, DD with GH deficiency reached an adult height of barely 5 ft with 7 years of GH. DS with GH deficiency looks like he will reach an adult height of 5'5-5'6 with 7 years of GH. I am so glad they were able to get this; who knows how short they would have been without it?

DS without GH deficiency has always been around the first percentile in height. Once he started taking GH he went up to the 10th percentile. At one point the insurance stopped covering GH for idiopathic short stature and I had to appeal to get them to cover it (BH successfully). During the 6 months that he stopped taking it he dropped back to the 1-3rd percentile, and as soon as he started taking it again he went back up to the 10th percentile.

I am grateful that GH is available for my children. I have no problem with being short, but some extremely short heights can really impact a person's life (as I've seen from extended family).

anon23

Wed, Nov 08 2023, 3:52 pm

amother Firebrick wrote:

What is the copay assistance program?

amother

Firebrick

Wed, Dec 06 2023, 11:15 pm

anon23 wrote:

What is the copay assistance program?

It is a form my doctors office sent to Pfizer (I signed a release). Basically sent in that my son was getting prescribed their medication, here is our insurance (proving not Medicaid), and that I agree to sign up. It was totally free and I got my copay waived up to a certain dollar amount a year.
They sent me the information that I gave the pharmacy with the card number etc. And it was covered.