Big decision to make

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone, I am new to the group. One year ago we decided not to

start GHT for our son. He was doing some catch up growth at that

time but has now slowed down. We have an appointment in April and I

know the subject will come up again. The endo says it is ultimately

our decision but he suggested that we get some sort of " ok " from our

son before starting this. He is 6 and in first grade. He is very

athletic/coordinated and is friends with everyone. When I am in

school volunteering or at the bus stop and soccer games, I always

hear kids saying hi to him etc. We've only had one incident at the

beginning of the year in the cafeteria with some older kids. I feel

that my son knew how to properly handle the situation and it has not

happened again. I ask him regularly (in a round about way) if anyone

calls him names, picks on him etc. I am willing to try GHT, because

I want to know we tried everything we could but I am torn with it

also because I don't know if we should " put our son through it " . I

have discussed with him that there is some medicine that could

POSSIBLY make him taller and he says that he doesn't need it. It

seems to me that through all our conversations, my son knows that his

body is telling him to grow slower than other people and he is

absolutely fine with that. How do I make a life changing decision

for my son when he appears to be the most well adjusted kid you could

find?

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

My son is about the same age and is on growth hormone. He is doing

fine.

There is not much we have to put him through. He has asked to have

his shots at night when he is sleeping. He hardly ever wakes up and

never complains about the shots. We use a 31 gage needle which is

very tiny.

To me, the decision to use growth hormone is a no brainer. I look at

it this way. My son has a medical condition that needs to be treated.

The treatment is growth hormone. It is a medication like aspirin, or

antibiotic or whatever. However, it needs to be injected rather than

swallowed like a pill.

Also, I view RSS as a life altering condition and growth hormone as a

correction to that condition. We cannot recover all the height he

will lose to RSS but we help get him a few inches taller which will

make the quality of his adult life somewhat better.

Just my point of view.

I hope this helps.

Ken M

> Hi everyone, I am new to the group. One year ago we decided not to

> start GHT for our son. He was doing some catch up growth at that

> time but has now slowed down. We have an appointment in April and

I

> know the subject will come up again. The endo says it is

ultimately

> our decision but he suggested that we get some sort of " ok " from

our

> son before starting this. He is 6 and in first grade. He is very

> athletic/coordinated and is friends with everyone. When I am in

> school volunteering or at the bus stop and soccer games, I always

> hear kids saying hi to him etc. We've only had one incident at the

> beginning of the year in the cafeteria with some older kids. I

feel

> that my son knew how to properly handle the situation and it has

not

> happened again. I ask him regularly (in a round about way) if

anyone

> calls him names, picks on him etc. I am willing to try GHT,

because

> I want to know we tried everything we could but I am torn with it

> also because I don't know if we should " put our son through it " . I

> have discussed with him that there is some medicine that could

> POSSIBLY make him taller and he says that he doesn't need it. It

> seems to me that through all our conversations, my son knows that

his

> body is telling him to grow slower than other people and he is

> absolutely fine with that. How do I make a life changing decision

> for my son when he appears to be the most well adjusted kid you

could

> find?

[Guest guest]

Hi, . I had a whole reply in my head and then I read Ken's

email. He beat me to it! My son has been taking gh shots for 13

years now. As an almost 16 year old, he is just now starting to ask

when he can stop and balk a bit at the shots, but we tell him that

it is something he needs to help him grow. We told him that if he

had diabetes, he would get more than one shot a day, but he would

need those, too, and that helped him put it in perspective.

Please realize that as I type this, I understand that it is

ultimately YOUR decision, no one else's. YOU have to be comfortable

with it and educate yourself and talk to other people who have

decided to use them and not to use them. There is no wrong answer.

That being said, there are two more things I want to tell you. One,

Max was not teased at all about his height until he was in third

grade. Then it became a huge issue. I'm sure his learning

difficulties did not help, but those comments about his lack of

height really hurt him. Now that he is in high school, some kids

have jokingly called him squirt, but he knows how to respond and

uses a great sense of humor to help him along. (He is 5' now.)

Two, I will again share the story of a teenage boy that I met last

summer at the MAGIC convention. He was delightful, talkative and

just seemed like a great person. (I usually sit at Dr. H's station

to " counsel " and educate parents before and after they see Dr. H.)

Unfortunately, no one had ever told these parents that their child

could try gh to see if it would help him. Here he was, maybe 4'6 "

and just desparate to grow. But he could not grow anymore. He was

over 16, his growth plates had fused and he was going to have to

learn to live with the person that he was/is. His parents were

horrified and he was just so sad. If they had had the option to try

gh, just to get a few more inches, they would have.

The good news is that you do NOT have to start now. You can wait

until your son is a bit older and then give it a try. Just keep an

eye on those bone ages and make sure they do not exceed his

chronological age. There have been RSS kids treated for the first

time a 10 years old and have gained quite a few inches.

I hope this helps you make your very difficult decision.

Jodi Z.

[Guest guest]

Just wanted to add my two cents to your message regarding gh.

My son just turned 4 years old and has been on gh for 15 months.

Like all the other parents who must decide whether or not use gh it

is a tough decision. My son, like Ken's gets his shot at night

while he is sleeping.

I just wanted to add that above the fact that he will hopefully

obtain a taller adult height than without gh (he has grown 6 inches

in 15 months .... from not on the height chart to the 15th

percentile), but he is by far the healthiest 4 year old kid I know.

(Knock on wood). He has only missed one day of preschool this year,

and that was due to a doctors appt. in NY. All the other kids are

sick constantly and he barely had a mild cold this winter. Not only

has it made his immune system stronger, but he is physically

stronger from the hormones. He is running, jumping and much more

able to play on the playground like other kids his age. I attribute

this to the gh.

I know it is a tough decison, I just wanted to pass along a few

other areas where gh has helped.

Best of luck in your decision,

Alison

[Guest guest]

hi!!

i just wanted to let you know that we decided to give christopher

ght and he is 3. he has been doing them since feb 16th and has

already gain 8oz (doesnt seam like alot but since he only gain a

pound the whole year last year it is) he is eating alot more so in

turn he is alot stronger now. we bowl in a league, when we started

in jan. he couldnt even pick the ball up(he rolled it) now he is

carrying the ball up to the lane and giving it a heave!! gh not only

will give him height but some added body mass as well(and hi little

chicken arms and legs could use it!!! LOL!!)we give him his shot at

night before bed time , when he is awake and he is fine with it. it

is up to you, i know i wasnt sure at first either but i was thinking

of his life as a teen and adult and how it might be a little easier

for him if he could possibly gain a few extra inches. plus he has an

older and younger brother who are on track to be about 6' as an

adult so this way he wouldnt feel so out of place. plus he likes to

go on amusment park rides which all have height restirctions and it

would break my heart if his brothers and friends could go on and not

him!! good luck with your decsion.

jodie

(nicholas-5 nonrss, christopher-3 rss 23lbs 33 " ght genotropin .6,

johnathon-9m nonrss)