Questions about short stature in a boy and getting HGH?

[poolander]

My ds is 8 and is in the 3rd centile for height as far as I can tell on the UK boys centile charts. His dad and I are not tall (approx 5'8" and 5'1") but he is much smaller than the rest of his class and he is starting to notice and getting upset. I am thinking of asking his GP if he can check to make sure he is producing the correct amount of HGH and the possibility of getting HGH injections for idiopathic short stature. Is this the right way to go or do I need to talk to his paediatrician (he has numerous allergies and ashtma)? He has grown approx 3cm in 6 months. I know he might just end up a short adult but I really want to try and maximise his height as my brother was a short adult and suffered a lot because of it.

There's no harm in asking about it, but I think it's unlikely that they'll do so because the rules on access to hormone replacement therapy are strict and even testing for deficiency has risks and isn't done lightly - my ds is short stature, within a universally tall family, and despite a lot of investigation and monitoring, he isn't being tested for hormone deficiency because his growth velocity is fine. 3cm in 6 months is normal growth velocity. If your ds was premature, I think there is scope to make a case, but apart from that they are mainly concerned with growth velocity.

I think unless he is under the centiles scales it is unlikely they would do anything. As aalya says, 3cm in 6 months is within normal.

Ds has his height monitored as he has a genetic condition, he is on the lowest centile line and has a slower rate of growth, but the Drs have never mentioned growth hormones.