Ok...Talk to me about Precocious Puberty!

[NoMoreMarbles]

My DD is 7 (as of yesterday), has epilepsy (absence) that was diagnosed in June 2012 and at the time I pointed out to the consultant that I was concerned about her recent body changes- she had started to grow pubic hair, had what appeared to be the beginnings of breast buds and was putting weight and height on very quickly.
He basically said we will monitor the situation and refer to endochrinologist if necessary and brushed my concerns off. Any who, she had another appt in August where he agreed that yes, the pubic hair was more pronounced but no other changes so monitor etc brushed off again.
We took DD back to the consultant again for her epilepsy follow up (under control finally!) and told him, again about further changes- thicker black pubic hair not like a full bush but 100% more hair than a 6 year old should have. She now has definite little breast buds and is getting little spots and greasy hair, body odour etc he said we can do bloods and X-rays on the hands to look at bone age etc and we will see, we then had a letter for an urgent ultrasound scan a week after the X-rays and bloods!
The scan appeared to be normal according to the radiographer apart from the left ovary being slightly enlarged with larger follicles but not out of normal parameters... A letter came from the epilepsy consultant yesterday confirming that all signs point to Precocious puberty with a list of results.
It says her bone age is 9.8years at the time of the X-ray, the bloods don't say the details just normal for most and repeat for some.
It also states her weight and growth differences and the difference shocked me a little! It says her height has increased by 10cms and weight by 7kgs! Her diet hasn't changed at all except for cutting back on all sugary anything and upped fruit and veg more as I was concerned how much weight she had gained and tried to slow it down as much as I could (hopefully this helped the weight gain be less than it could have been)

She is wearing age 10-11 clothes for length and width and has been for a few months so I knew and the consultant didn't listen! S I'm a bit annoyed by that but the referral has now been made so we are waiting again.

Now I know it isn't the biggest health problem but I'm worried :(

Has anyone had experience of this? Can anyone tell me what is going to happen next? Is it possible that the epilepsy and puberty changes are linked?

Sorry for the long winded ramble...

Are you going to see te endocrine team? 2yrs 8 mo advanced bone age might not be very significant , but if she is having a pubertal growth spurt too then push hard to at least talk through if she should have medication to try to prevent her loosing a lot of adult height ( precocious puberty in girls restricts adult height as the bones fuse early) .

I would think the epilepsy and puberty are linked yes.

Been through all this with dd2. Didn't have treatment in the end- the consultant who was going to treat her left and really, in retrospect when we were finally seen again it was too late. It upset me at the time, as looking at her graphs she might have been sub 5 feet tall, which seemed very short.

As it is (she's 13 now) pretty much exactly the same height as her big sis (5"2' when measured optimistically lol). So who knows if she is growth restricted or genetically small ( ds is 6"2' but DH and I are average height!) . She stopped growing in year 7 certainly.

Pm me if you want more info. It certainly isn't the "biggest health problem" and in retrospect I'm sure not treating was right for dd2. She has friends who are shorter than her still (and I assume are "normal"!) . When she got a bit miffed about not growing (and why will people keep saying " I expect you'll shoot up " even when I say she won't) we just did a bit of spotting sucessful short ladies- there are loads but you have think and look, which kind of proves no one notices if you are short if you are good at what you do!

theas18 thanks :) it is good to know that your DD doesn't seem worse for wear for the PP. I am worried that she won't grow taller than 4.5-5ft she is currently 4ft 6ins so very tall for her age (head and shoulders above her friends and already being called fat etc as she is visibly bigger :( ) were there any other tests your DD needed? Did she start her periods early? Sorry for the million questions

Note to self...Google is not my friend! According to Dr google and the Epliepsy society et al...it's a tumour!! Especially as she has aggression issues and is not dry at night as yet... Fucking hell! I have just nearly brought my dinner up just with the thought of it and now I'm crying a bit as I have scared myself! :(

STOP GOOGLING NOW. Try not to panic, there's nothing to be done about it tonight. Raise the issue with the consultant, but in all likelihood it's not as serious as that. I can imagine you're terrified, and I don't want to belittle your problems, but you won't help anyone by Googling, you get some crazy stuff on health websites anyway. May I offer you a hug?

I should know better than to google! I give the same advice out to others but can't help myself!

Thanks for the Hug thedarkestnight much appreciated. I have come away from google and put the TV on so I can try and take my mind off it all!

How are you today, NoMoreMarbles? I hope you're feeling less worried. I've not got much practical advice, but I'm thinking of you.

I went through precocious puberty and have had epilepsy since I was 3.
I have no idea if the two are linked as I was too young really to question and now my doctor just mumbles about various reasons. I can tell you it does not mean a brain tumour in all cases as I dont have one, proven by various scans.
I'm 5'3, which isnt too bad, but I stopped growing at around 11. so I was huge for my age then stopped growing as everyone else shot up.
give your dd lots of reassurance and support, and give her as much info as you can. when my period started, I thought I was going to die as the subject had never been raised!
stop the googling though, it never ends well

also, regarding aggression, medications used to treat epilepsy can possibly cause this, thinking of keppra as a prime example of this.
and not being dry at night is still relatively common at 6.

Hugs from me. Have you rung your consultants secretary to tell them you areworried? I'm sure they have thought of this and dismissed it because they have evidence that she's fine.

Dd started her periods about a week after she finished primary school, so not really that early, and, like her height she was spookily 11 yrs 3 months-as was dd1!

(just don't ask me about breast development, that he's been a sort of issue in that she has been very narrow backed with substantial cup sizes, and a bravissimo gal since age 11. Never ever take your dd to m&s, we've had awful comments about how she should be in a wired bra at her age (no one makes un wired ones in that size! ) it even very nearly a "no one has norks that size". Butagain, a well fitted pretty bra and careful choice if clothing and it's fine. Girls school and a positive spin helps! )

Thanks everyone

I feel a little calmer today. I called the endocrine consultant team and they said that the appointment info has been sent to the patient appointment people who will send it out this week in the post. My MIL works with an adult Endocrinologist and asked him about it and he said that it could be something of nothing so don't even speculate until the consultant has seen her.

onceupon if you don't mind me asking, are you of normal weight for your height too? As an adult I mean as I am worrying that DD will struggle with her weight and if she ends up smaller than her full potential height then she will be out of proportion etc she is above the 99th percentile for both weight and height but the weight is slightly higher in proportion to her height...she has a relatively good diet and there has been no difference as I said to what her diet has always been except for higher fresh fruit/veg and lower sugar/fat but there has been a spike in weight gain in the last 6 months!...

I'm not usually a worrier but 2012 has been a big health year (scary too) for DD and I feel myself getting more and more anxious about it when I sit down and think on it...

I don't mind, I'm overweight but my medication regime at the moment means that I'm feeling hungry all the time and find it hard to lose weight.
I did gain weight quickly despite lots of exercise and a healthy(ish) diet as a child, but that could have been from a number of things.
it must be hard for you, but if your dd gets the proper referrals and support it will be okay.

Hand offered to you for this. We're going through investigations with DD(2.5yrs) & Dr Google sent me crazed thinking about all the ifs, what's etc - please do leave it alone. I know easier said.
However, you already have fantastic news that the ultrasound is normal - you know there are no tumours there. I know the other results are worrying but please try to remain positive until they can be explained to you by an endo, it could be many things. Btw I can't believe they sent you that just in a letter & no call!!
Thankfully our tests so far are normal so we're possibly looking at premature pubarche, although she also has BO . Endo did state its a possible indicator for PCOS for DD which means imperative to maintain healthy weight & activity. I'm borderline PCOS & was always a chubby child but am a healthy size 10, without too much hard work .
Did your DD have a stimulation blood test? (Hormone given & then further blood drawn to see reaction) Apparently that's the gold standard to see what's going on with the hormones. Our next port of call.
A note for you, if I'm not jumping ahead, but our endo did indicate that if DD was 6yrs+ at this point they'd discharge & not investigate further. If there are no underlying causes then they quite possibly wont want to treat PP.
it is hard for us to comprehend but early puberty isn't seen as something warranting a lot of concern.

NoMoreMarbles Sorry that you are going through this with your dd. There are a few of us on here currently going through this and we have a support thread, I'll find it and bump it up for you.

My dd is 6 and has pubic hair, breast buds, greasy hair, spots, attitude like you wouldn't believe. We were told it could all be nothing but subsequent initial tests have shown something to be wrong but not what exactly. She's currently having scans and more blood tests done to pin point what is wrong. Come over and join us on the other thread .