Dr says 8 yr old might be hitting puberty - incredulous

[Vulture]

My daughter who will be 9 in December has been up the last couple of nights with spasmodic stomach pains so made that they made her cry out and flinch when they hit. I took her to the Drs this morning as I thought maybe urine infection or rumbling appendix. Dr thought maybe onset of puberty! I am incredulous. She is as thin as a rake and showing absolutely no signs of curves or any other indication of puberty. I am working on the theory now that it is simply trapped wind caused by a food intolerance. The symptoms are similar to baby colic. She is absolutely fine during the day and this always seems to kick in around midnight and last about 1.5 hours so I think it relates to digestion. Anyone ever experienced anything similar?

How curious. What did he base his diagnosis on? I thought you first of all grew breast buds and got pubic hair. Shows how wrong I can be. In case it is, does your DD know what could be around the corner for her?

No personal experience but my friends DD started her periods at 9yrs old. She was the only girl in her school to do so and had to use the teachers loos. She did have breast buds but AFAIK no other obvious signs of puberty. She's 16 now and completely the same as all her friends. It didnt seem to trouble her once she got the hang of periods.

It could be, obviously, but it seems an exceedingly odd diagnosis to come up with on the basis of what you've described here. Did the doctor do any tests at all?

No further episodes and definitely no sign of puberty. I have heard tales of early onset puberty but it is normally accompanied by other signs. I think that Drs need to think carefully about what they say. Luckily my daughter thought it was hilarious.