Growth Hormone Treatment - pease share

amother

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 10:20 am

If you have any experience in this, please share.

My son (age 8) might be starting soon. He already had his growth hormone test which showed an average of 4, compared to the threshold of 10.

I felt pretty comfortable with the idea, even looking forward to it. Now that it appears more real I’m feeling very nervous.

Please share your experience, any tips…

Thank you

amother

Chestnut

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 7:52 pm

There are some old posts about this topic you might want to look for. My son took growth hormones for 4 years from ages 13-17. He grew to just over 5'8. Without GH the endocrinologist predicted he would be 5'2. It was really worth it. At first I was hesitant but once he started at every check up I was always petrified he would be disqualified because of some side effect. Since this is not really a health issue there is zero tolerance for side effects. BH that never came to pass and he was able to continue his full course of treatment. This is a very common treatment - my son told me there was always a line at the nurse's office in camp for kids waiting for their injections. My son was old enough to self inject. As soon as your son's endo feels he is ready to self inject you should really encourage it Hatzlocha Smile

denise1

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 8:15 pm

My son started taking growth hormone shots at almost 12. That was a yr and a half ago. Bh, no side effects and he has been growing and gaining weight bh. The first few months I did the shot for him and then he started doing it alone.

amother

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 9:35 pm

I might need to work on my inner self, but I’m a bit worried about people, specifically my in laws, knowing about this.

Not about judgement. But they’d be very upset over this, and that’s an understatement. And everything then becomes a whole family drama with everyone ganging up on me with their opposition, and I’m just not wanting that. But I can’t put the burden on my son to keep it a secret.

amother

cornflower

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 9:46 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Talk to your Rav and let him know the doc recommended this tx but you’re worried about your in laws. Then anytime ur in laws say anything just say we discussed with our rav and really don’t want to talk about it

amother

Starflower

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 10:27 pm

Hi,
My daughter started growth hormone last year I was really nervous before but it ended up being so not a big deal.
There is an old post that I started here at that time. She ended up having a friend that was also doing it which made it really easy for her.
She is 10 and doing it on her own. It is much simpler than it used to be like a diabetes pen. It is pre-filled. They even have ones that you can’t see the needle if the kid is scared of the needle.
You would be surprised how much more common it is nowadays. If you would like to speak in person I would be open to sharing my screen name and we can private message

amother

Khaki

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 10:42 pm

#BestBubby wrote:

Is this covered by insurance?

It is if there’s a medical need. Not always so easy to get approval but most doctors will help with that.

I have/had two children doing growth hormones injections. One got approved easily (based on some testing) and the other we had to fight for approval. Both have done well with no side effects.

amother

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 10:47 pm

amother [ Khaki ] wrote:

It is if there’s a medical need. Not always so easy to get approval but most doctors will help with that.

I didn’t check with the insurance but the doctor said my son would be approved based on his test results.

amother

Seashell

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 10:55 pm

Just know it's extremely common nowadays.

My son began 6 months ago and he just turned 13. He is very very motivated to take it so he's willing to power through the discomforts.
Not gonna lie. The prick barely hurts but the medication going in burns and was quite painful in the beginning. At this point he's used to it but he still winces.
In the beginning he used to ice the area for 10 minutes prior and that really helped with the pain. He would also take out the medication from the fridge about a half hour before to bring it to room temperature. That's also supposed to help with the pain.
From the start he was determined to administer it by himself. Occasionally I'll do it for him if he wants to switch up the injection site to a place he can't reach on his own.
He went to sleepaway camp and managed very nicely all on his own (btw he wasn't the only one in camp taking it). In camp he dropped icing the area and the bringing it to room temperature. He had no patience to wait. He learned to tolerate injecting it straight out of the fridge.
By now it's part of his night routine. It still hurts him. But it takes a second. And he's growing nicely b"h so he's happy to do it.
Good luck!

amother

IndianRed

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 10:58 pm

Hi OP
My DC started growth hormone 10 months ago. DC has a (rare)chromosomal issue and so we BH got approved right away. I was extremely nervous to start because we didn’t know if it would work or not and this was really our only option. DC was really short and really was not growing. My other children are all extremely tall and it was becoming a confidence issue. Chasdei Hashem we were sent the right shaliach and we are so so grateful that it appears to be working! The difference in my DC is amazing! Besides the growth there is a confidence that you want there before. We daven to Hashem that the growth should just continue! Right now I still administer the injections. Bh my DC experienced no side effects.
Wishing you much Hatzlocha!
We told our DC that it is not a secret but it is private information that is not necessary to share with everyone. Dc is smart enough to understand. We didn’t want to use the word secret bec didn’t want any negative associations with it.

amother

IndianRed

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 10:58 pm

amother [ IndianRed ] wrote:

Hi OP
My DC started growth hormone 10 months ago. DC has a (rare)chromosomal issue and so we BH got approved right away. I was extremely nervous to start because we didn’t know if it would work or not and this was really our only option. DC was really short and really was not growing. My other children are all extremely tall and it was becoming a confidence issue. Chasdei Hashem we were sent the right shaliach and we are so so grateful that it appears to be working! The difference in my DC is amazing! Besides the growth there is a confidence that wasn’t there before. We daven to Hashem that the growth should just continue! Right now I still administer the injections. Bh my DC experienced no side effects.
Wishing you much Hatzlocha!
We told our DC that it is not a secret but it is private information that is not necessary to share with everyone. Dc is smart enough to understand. We didn’t want to use the word secret bec didn’t want any negative associations with it.

amother

Seashell

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 10:58 pm

amother [ Lightgray ] wrote:

Whats the pain level of the injection

So we kept on hearing that it's no big deal, doesn't hurt.
But for my son it was really painful and I was surprised because everyone made it sound so easy.
But the truth is you get used to it. It's not pain free but the gains are tremendous.
Again, the needle prick didn't hurt, it was the medicine going in.
I think it's better to be realistic and be honest with the idea that it may hurt.

amother

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 11:01 pm

What do you do when they go away overnight, when they’re young?

I don’t think I can trust him yet to do it by himself - he’s very young, but I cannot either rely on my in laws family to help when they’re adamantly against such things (even if we go the rav route). My kids rarely go, but if they do… I guess I’m just thinking of all the what if’s right now. I don’t want to panic in the moment.

amother

Seashell

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 11:02 pm

Oh and b"h my son has zero side effects so far.

IndianRed- we told him the same. It's private but definitely not a secret.
My son was the one that wanted to tell my parents and inlaws about it. And we gladly allowed him to be the one to share.
But if your inlaws will be difficult about it I don't see why you need to say anything.

amother

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 11:02 pm

amother [ IndianRed ] wrote:

I agree. Especially as a boy, being extremely small is very very challenging.

amother

Seashell

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 11:03 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

It's not ideal but it's not the end of the world if you skip a night.

amother

Thu, Oct 14 2021, 11:04 pm

amother [ Seashell ] wrote:

But if your inlaws will be difficult about it I don't see why you need to say anything.

Because my son talks about everything. And if he’ll need to do it there or at any of the family’s homes.