Delayed Puberty Treatment - Injections or Gel

[Homersmum]

My DS was 15 last week and going into Year 11. He is very small for his age (just 5ft), with very little sign of puberty. The GP referred him in March to a pediatric endocrinologist and bloods have come back normal ( inc hormone levels).Bone age x-ray was done when he was age 14.5 y and came back as age 12.
His weight is also quite low side and was advised back in March/April to really up his calorie intake. He has put on about 5kg in the last 5 months, which is pretty good for him as he doesn't like sweets/junk food so I've been fortifying his diet with lots of cheese, butter, cream etc.

Everything else is normal! Just to add he was born 7lb 6oz, always followed the 50th percentile line as a child and growth seemed to slow down at year 7.
My hubby is 6', I'm small, just 5' but older son (age 18) is 5'11.

The Pediatric consultant suggested we could wait a few more months as it's probably delayed puberty to see if anything changes naturally, or start some hormone injections/gel to kick start puberty.

DS is veering towards the gel but I know you have to be super careful with contact etc. He's not great with needles and is a bit worried about feeling sore for a couple of days afterwards.

I have read some people on here have experienced the injections for their kids and was wondering if anyone would be able to share their experiences.

Thanks!

This is exactly what my son was diagnosed with. Boys are considered in late puberty if no signs of it beginning at around age 14.
We were offered injections for him but the consultant said his height would only increase by 3 inches. He also said that the later boys go into puberty the taller they will be.
We chose not to go ahead and within a year he had sprouted up and is now 6"1 at age 24.
I remember how worried me and his dad were so I hope this is reassuring.

This was my son- also an August-born child. I totally understand your worries but wanted to let you know that we watched and waited a bit longer- and his voice broke maybe 4 months prior to 16th birthday. He grew that summer holiday, too. He's no giant admittedly- he's 5ft 9 inches - but a perfectly respectable height. He's just turned 18 and maybe he'll grow a bit more- I know I should be happy with where he's at now- but you never know.
I wonder if, @Tretchikoff you'd mind saying when your son stopped growing? Thank you.

He was about 13 when I noticed he was the smallest out of his friends. Some of them were about 5"8 with five o'clock shadow although interestingly they peaked at that height where Jack continued growing and overtook them by about 17.
He had a bone scan at 14 which showed a result of age 12.
We didn't opt for treatment as the consultant said the max height of 3 inches would have only made him reach 5"5.
As I say he's now 6"1.

thanks for that info, Tretchikoff :)

Mine is similar, 14 and no signs, we were told to come back to the gp if no changes by 15

Hi, my son is 15 (16 in Jan) and he started puberty a couple of months ago and shot up to 5ft 5 within days! I would wait a few more months esp if there is no medical reason it's much better to let these things happen naturally x

My ds1 had delayed puberty he was a little older when we saw the consultant and as he had started puberty by then they said to watch and wait, he was offered treatment if he wanted but he was happy to wait. Bone scans showed age 13 so the consultant said there was plenty of time and boys can keep growing into their 20s.

He is now nearly 21, at 5' 8" he's not the tallest but he doesn't stand out and everything happened as it should, just a bit later than everyone else!