To ask about growth delay in boys

[Edenspirits]

DS was 14 last month and has been referred for tests by an endocrinologist as he’s short and is showing no signs of puberty. He’s 5ft and his predicted height is 5:10 according to consultant. Both me and his Dad are 5ft7.5 so she said today that I am on the 90th percentile for my height but DP is on the 25th for his.

I am worried- DS’s voice hasn’t broken, his hands and feet are still quite small (a sign apparently) and he still looks younger than his peers- no hair etc. I guess I am worried about bone fusion but assume that as puberty hasn’t happened, that won’t have happened yet. He’s quite stocky but still quite childlike.

Anyone had any experience of it? He has to spend a day in hospital having bone scans, bloods done etc & she said he’ll need a canula put in which worried me a bit but guess it’s to make testing easier.

I havent got any advice or experience unfortunately but could I ask how he ended up being referred for these tests, did you approach GP with your concerns? DS is 11 but I can see this kind of thing being in his future as he is very small.

It's better if these things are monitored before puberty starts as it's much harder to treat after.

Look on the Child Growth foundation facebook group - lots of advice on understanding tests & treatment options. Some boys do simply hit puberty later

Worth asking your DH if he or siblings/parents were late going into puberty

@Hellocatshome yes we went to Gp as DS getting very upset as he’s so small compared to his peers- he needs some reassurance basically - the consultant said she will intervene with testosterone injections

Yes but my son was diagnosed when he was 4 as he failed to grow, he hadn’t changed clothes or show size for a year. He had a glucagon challenge test and then a MRI. He was found to have an abnormality in his pituitary and has been on growth hormone injections since. He is also monitored every 6 mths and has regular blood tests and did have bone scans. I have to say I am surprised your only concerned now? My DH and I are tall as are my DS siblings and he stood out. He looked very young and still does, even with hormones he still
Isnt hairy where he should be and he is 15. My DS went from 99th centile to minus 2 so he took years with treatment to reach 91st I hope your DS gets what he needs to be to achieve the expected height but hormones are key for everything and not just height . My DS is also on thyroxine too. Your DS isn’t going to reach his predicted height as you you need to start treatment young. I hope you get the answers once he gets the necessary tests.

@theremustonlybeone he wasn’t noticeably shorter than anyone until his mates started hitting puberty though. He’s always kept up with his friends so we had no reason to worry until recently. The consultant thinks there is, at the moment, no reason why he won’t reach his predicted height but we need to find out if there is anything wrong first - it might just be that he’s late to puberty. My dad was 5’2 until he was 15 and he’s now 6ft so it might just be late puberty. Obviously I am worried though

Btw even late treatment can make quite a big difference. There are some really positive stories on the CGF group of kids who have had growth treatment in teens and caught up a fair bit but it depends what the underlying problem is and if they have started puberty etc.

I should add that Consultants don’t just give testosterone injections btw- my son is monitored for any interventions for assistance in puberty and we would prefer not to do testosterone if he doesn’t need it as that comes with its own issues

Edenspirits so it could be that your DS is like your dad. Which is good news for your DS. The glucagon challenge test should be ok as he is a teen. He will be nil by mouth and have an Iv put in place and given glucagon and they take regular blood tests through the day. They will do a bone scan of the hand which will give a bone age- it’s pretty thorough. Good luck with it all

Dc had a skeletal / bone age of a 5.8 yr old at age 10, started groth hormone at 11.

My (v basic) understanding is that while puberty has not kicked in there is opportunity to push tje growth via the hormone. Once puberty takes place and conpketes so has growth, so testosterone is given ince ready to compkete the frowth and bring on puberty if not gappenedcnaturally. Pkease posters correct me if I am wrong.

The daily injection is a breeze and dc deal with it on their own.

hmmmm OP could be describing my own DS in every way except DS is about 5'3", not 5'. I don't feel 3" means much.

I hope you're soon reassured about your son. I'm not in least bit worried about DS.

My cousins child has had similar issues and started hormone treatment about three years ago. Still probably on the smaller side but definitely much closer in height to their peers.
You're absolutely right to get it investigated. I'm a bit 😳 at the people with similarly sized kids who claim not to be bothered in the slightest ? Why would you not check it out at least??

My DS’s voice had not broken at 14 and he was 5’2. His voice broke at 14 1/2 and at 16 he’s now 5’9. He was late to puberty, but now similar height to most friends. I think you are right to get it checked out though and best wishes to your DS for some sturdy growth soon.

JoyOrbison they medical team don’t want to intervene with the puberty process and do a lot of wait and see, in boys they check the testicles and what your child view is along with blood tests before starting to consider any intervention. But where there isn’t a natural puberty process you are quite correct that they would have to intervene

We were also worried about DS. He's nearly 14 and tiny. We saw a specialist privately. He examined him - puberty hasn't started. We were referred for a hand X-ray which showed - I think - that fusion hasn't occurred so he still has "growing potential". We are to go back in a year for a review.

DS isn't worried about it but I know he hates being small.

Many years ago my son was diagnosed with delayed puberty. He was short and very finely built compared to his friends. It was really obvious after the summer holiday as they all came back with broken voices and were noticeably taller etc.
my son had a load of tests including an X-ray of his wrist. He was then started on a drug that I think was called oxandrolone spa and he grew steadily and caught up with his friends. It was a bit brutal hitting puberty like that but he's currently 6 ft 2 and madly into body building.

Why would you not check it out at least??

That's a fair enough question, so here goes:

1. I feel strongly that unnecessary medical intervention is a BAD thing.

1. How the heck does one even get an appointment? I had an earache in October; after 10 days I phoned surgery who offered telephone appt next day; they never rang.

1. MIL tells story about how she was always tiny until nearly end of school -- she's taller than avg women her age now

1. MIL tells story about how DH was "tiny" compared to peers at end yr10; he's almost 6' now

1. I mispoke earlier - nearly 14yo DS is 5'4" now. He's grown a lot in last year, very athletic, vigorous - just looks about 12. Maybe 11.

1. On 14th birthday, middle DS was 5'3". Seemed like he had grown

*6. On 14th birthday, middle DS was 5'3". Seemed like he had grown

So what’s happening with the tiny little teenage girls? Any medical concerns there?
Some blokes are just finely built. On one famous house party evening I swapped jeans with a friend of DH’s. I could barely get his on and my size 8 jeans hung off him. He’s smoking hot. Just a finely built svelte type. After two ginormous babies with DH I wished I’d opted for the friend as a mate instead

My 14year old is taller than me now (5'8)so not worried on that front. I don't think he's hit puberty tho, he's still very child like voice hasn't broke no hair etc, I've mentioned docs which he's refusing. Not sure if it's normal or not x

There is nothing wrong with seeking medical advice. Hormones are required for more than just growth and lack of them can have an impact. There is a lot of information available on line about this

my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/21201-endocrine-system

@likeafishneedsabike

So what’s happening with the tiny little teenage girls? Any medical concerns there? Some blokes are just finely built. On one famous house party evening I swapped jeans with a friend of DH’s. I could barely get his on and my size 8 jeans hung off him. He’s smoking hot. Just a finely built svelte type. After two ginormous babies with DH I wished I’d opted for the friend as a mate instead

What planet are you on? OP is worried her son might not go through puberty at all, not that he's going to be small afterwards.

Definitely worth getting checked medically for peace of mind but if it's any reassurance I was really worried about my DS. He seemed to stall at 5 foot 1 from about 13 to 15 - he just stayed the same size for more or less two years. I wanted to take him to the doctors as I was so concerned but he didn't want to go.

He had not really started puberty - he was still smooth skinned and baby faced compared to some of his friends who had full-on facial hair and manly faces. At fifteen and a half though his feet suddenly started growing. They went from size 6 to size 10 really quickly and he shot up in height soon after - he is now seventeen and is six feet two.

My DS was never bothered about food and was quite skinny so we made efforts to increase his calorie intake - I am not sure if it was coincidence or whether late puberty just kicked in. I remember reading that boys who start puberty later and have late growth spurts often end up taller - this was the case with DS who is now taller than his older brother who grew when he was about thirteen.

DP was the shortest in his year in yr 11; then the tallest by the year end.
This came to light because currently pregnant and our boy is showing 10 percentile femur length on scans.

He showed me the year photos and its crazy.

Hes now well over 6ft now with size 12 feet.

I think we all are just different. Don't worry!

About 95% of healthy boys have gone through puberty by 14, which means that a few percent of healthy boys won’t. He’ll likely catch up when puberty starts, a delayed bone age is reassuring, growth stops when growth plates fuse when testosterone levels are high so he’ll grow for longer than his peers.

Assuming he’s medically well, it’s a normal growth variant, if socially annoying.