No sign of puberty almost 16!

[Magnalux]

My son has always been physically small, on the 9th centile. He was late to walk and loose teeth if that’s relevant, but he’s 15 (16 in 3 months) and he’s still very small and under developed. He’s otherwise healthy apart from some mild asthma, I took him to the doctor recently to rule out any underlying issues but she was really dismissive and more or less said what do you want me to do! Just looking for some reassurance that others have been through similar and have had late developers . Or do I get a second opinion?

Yes I would go back and ask to see a different GP if possible. When my son was referred he didn’t even have to be present, I measured him, knew his weight a shoe size and gave this information in a telephone consultation. I had to call back in 6 months and give them updated measurements and they referred to hospital then.

My DS was much younger than yours and you potentially have a shorter time scale to work with. His issues were more around slow growth rather than delayed puberty but the two are linked. They can only intervene before the growth plates fuse if height is an issue.

How does your son feel about this? What’s his height now? Has he no signs of puberty at all? I think no signs at 14 is the age that doctors start investigating so I would definitely go back.

Hi thanks for that, yes he’s definitely a slow grower too, he’s actually fine about it, although he says he’s the only one of his friends who doesn’t shave! He reckons he’ll grow when he grows and that he’s fine, I don’t make an issue of it but his 12 yr old sister is taller. He’s about 5ft 1 roughly. I’m 5’7 and his dad is 5’9. A very small amount of underarm hair but that’s it

www.nhs.uk/conditions/early-or-delayed-puberty/

Id go back and ask for a referral, I wouldn’t be happy be being brushed off

NHS advise that if no sign of puberty by age 14 then it’s worth investigating. See link.

DS is 16 and has delayed puberty, is small for his age, is being monitored by the hospital, and has had a number of tests to check for underlying conditions. At the moment they are monitoring but if they find he has lack of growth hormones he will be given hormones.

I am surprised by the response of your GP - mine took it seriously and referred him straightaway.

I don’t make an issue out of, but DS had become bothered and mentioned it to me.

PS I am hoping he’s just a slow developer and he’ll get there on his own, but I do want to make sure it’s been properly investigated.

He needs a GP who will run some tests , the GPs response was not adequate.

I know someone like this and he was taken to the doctor at 16. He is now 6’5 and massive 🤣

I’d see another GP. This happened to a friend of ours and he was given medication.

We took my son to the doctor at 16 at his request & it was taken seriously. It was affecting his confidence. He was referred for tests which showed he is coeliac. He went gluten free, then had rapid growth spurt & went through puberty. Grew 8 inches! We had no idea that he might be coeliac, no symptoms other than delayed puberty & lack of growth.

That’s interesting @SeekFreda
DS has had a lot of tests but don’t know if they have tested for any food intolerances. I will ask at the next appointment.

Thanks everyone ., I’ll definitely get a second opinion, the coeliac thing is interesting. Dh actually has a few aunts and uncles who are coeliac, but no closer relatives.

Agree with going back to see a different GP. My DS has always been on the small side but at 15/16 he was the smallest child in his entire year at school and looked at least 2 years younger. He became more bothered about it around 16 as he worried that he wasn't "normal" and I took him to see the GP who was completely understanding and straight away referred him to the hospital. Although he was over 16 we ended up in the paeds endocrine clinic as they provided a transition service for young people over the age of 16. They were very good and did all the blood tests, bone age X rays etc but ended up feeling it was a simple case of late/delayed puberty and not to worry too much about it (his dad and I were also late into puberty so the docs said it was probably a familial trait to be late developers). DS seemed reassured by this and on the positive side he has since had a little growth spurt, he is 17 and still on the smaller side for his age but definitely going through puberty so the doctors are happy to leave him to it now.
Good luck and I hope your DS can get some followup and hopefully some reassurance.