Constitutional growth delay - Children's Health Message Board

omega57 · 12-01-2003, 08:14 AM

Hello all!
I have a one year old son who has fallen from the 60th (at 4 months old)to below the first percentiles for growth and weight. He is not a big eater, but is in otherwise perfect health. After much research on my own (doctors have been of little use!) I am suspecting "Constitutional Growth Delay". This is characterized by slow growth, delayed puberty, a bone age younger than actual age, and is more common in boys. I am DESPERATELY looking for other parents that are questioning their child's growth, or have children diagnosed with such a delay. Please write!

amlawrence · 12-01-2003, 08:46 AM

Hi!

I have a nine year old son who is due to have a growth hormone deficiency test on Wednesday. Although his growth was normal at first, (despite being born 8 weeks prematurely), in the last two years his growth has slowed considerably, which we noticed not only because he is the smallest in his class now, but also because his identical twin brother is now 13 cm taller than him!

Have the doctors told you to wait a bit longer before they will carry out any tests? It is a lot to put your son through at that age, and if he is other wise healthy, maybe there is time before you need to do anything. It depends on how drastically deficient he is in the growth hormone I suppose.

My son had to have 3 or 4 blood tests to rule out other possible causes of slowed growth, which he didn't enjoy one bit and I am dreading the test on Wednesday as it is very long and involved. He has to have another blood sampe taken, then an injection of growth hormone, then be attached to a cannula from where they will take furhter blood samples over a period of about four or five hours. Nausea, vomiting and diarrohoea are possible side effects too. To top it all, if the results are inconclusive, he will have to go through it all again - which will take some persuading. We have been told that if the results prove there is a deficiency, then he will have to have an injection every day until he is about 18!

I don't know if having to go through all this would be better or worse for a one year old that you can't explain it all too.....

I would also love to hear from other parents whose kids have perhaps already been through these tests already...

Good luck with whatever you decide to do for your son, anyway...

Quote:

Originally Posted by omega57

Hello all!
I have a one year old son who has fallen from the 60th (at 4 months old)to below the first percentiles for growth and weight. He is not a big eater, but is in otherwise perfect health. After much research on my own (doctors have been of little use!) I am suspecting "Constitutional Growth Delay". This is characterized by slow growth, delayed puberty, a bone age younger than actual age, and is more common in boys. I am DESPERATELY looking for other parents that are questioning their child's growth, or have children diagnosed with such a delay. Please write!

omega57 · 01-30-2004, 11:07 AM

Hi again - It's been awhile, but thanks for your reply. I will be making arrangements soon to have him x-rayed for bone age, but I would still be very interested in hearing from other parents with similar problems Thanks

mom_of_five · 02-02-2004, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by omega57

Hi again - It's been awhile, but thanks for your reply. I will be making arrangements soon to have him x-rayed for bone age, but I would still be very interested in hearing from other parents with similar problems Thanks

My son was growing quite well until he got a round of vaccines. We don't have anything else to attibute his sudden failure to grow. The drs have been unable to find anything else wrong. All his problems started within a day or two of being vaccinated, and is evident where the problems began by viewing his medical charts. His appetite dropped off as well. It's been a few years now, and his appetite has improved steadily, but he is still very small for his age. But back on the charts where he used to be.

j_cricket33 · 02-14-2004, 07:33 PM

My daughter is 3 1/2 years old. She weighs only 24 lbs with her clothes on, she has always been very small for her age. The other day I took her to her 3 yr check-up with Ped and since she hasn't gained any weight in past year they are sending us to an Endoc Specialist (sorry I'm not sure how to spell). I know they are gonna be testing her hormones, kidney's etc, but I really doubt they will find anything wrong with her. Our other pediatrician had tested her thyroid, immune system and also for CF and all came back negative. I have always felt in my heart that there is nothing wrong with her, she just has a very fast metobolism and burns it off right away. Its seems like when she does eat really well (very picky at times) she just poops more. In spite of all that I still worry all the time, she's so skinny and I would love to see her fill out a little. I don't ever want to have to give her hormone shots, I just don't think I could do that to her.

I believe she probably has this growth delay and will eventually catch up to her peers, I hope. I also think its much harder for kids to gain weight than lose it, not many kids these days are trying to gain weight. Its not the norm anymore.