My son hasn't grown much in the last year :(

[Doggiedog]

My wife took my 4YO son to the doctor for his annual check up yesterday and they said he's grown less than an inch in one year. He eats fine but his weight has stayed at 34lbs. His younger sister weighs more than him now and he's the smallest boy in his class.

The doctor recommended taking him to an endocrinologist to see if anything else is wrong. They might recommend growth hormones for him.

Anyone here have any experience with growth hormones?

 

[bootymac]

34 pounds? My sh1t weighs more than that

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

A buddy of mine had to take hormones to stop maturing. He was one hairy mofugger in 6th grade and the school required him to shave (no facial hair policy). He's still one of the hairiest mofos I know.

 

[nakedfrog]

I was short/small up until I turned 14. Then I shot up to over six feet.

 

[radioouman]

Did he just turn 4 or is he almost 5? I have a nephew that just turned four and he is still under 40 lbs, but he is big.

 

[cjgallen]

Pump him full of drugs. This is America, that's what you're suppose to do.

I dunno, I grew slower than everybody else.

 

[Gravity]

Be patient. Unless he's suffering from dwarfism you should be very careful when consider tinkering with his growth rate.

Read up on it. There are benefits but some research I have read indicates that GH might inhibit the natural endocrine system from doing it's thing.

Good luck with your boy!!!

 

[Doggiedog]

He will turn 5 in June.

Besides his weight, there's nothing else wrong with him. He's actually very bright so I'm hoping his body is working on growing the brain . My dad was short (probably due to the war) but I'm about 5'10". My wife's dad was tall 6' especially for an Asian so I don't think there is much to worry about but you know how parents worry.

I'm still concerned about his weight though. He eats normally but never gains any weight. I don't know where it all goes.

 

[ShowdOWN]

how tall are you and your wife? maybe he hasnt reached his growth spurt yet and you know that not everyone will grow the same.
my little girl on the other hand is the tallest kid in her class, not matter if its a girl or a boy. both of us are not even the average height
tho, around 5'7".

 

[Glavinsolo]

Wait til you start messing around with growth hormones. They alter the chemistry of your son. Might change his personality drastically. Look into it before you make your move. Do tons of research on other patients that have gone through the treatment. My advice is do it through herbal treatment rather than chemical injections.

 

[aidanjm]

Maybe he has tapeworms sucking up all the nutirents he consumes.

A friend of mine came back from an extended stay in Africa, felt sick, and vomitted up a huge, exotic parasitic worm she had picked up over there. So you never know.

 

[StageLeft]

Being shorter than his younger sister at this age would raise concern, but I'm no doctor, so see what they say

 

[SaigonK]

My daughter takes GH, once a day .9 dose each night.
She has Turner's Syndrome, and the GH will help her to grow at a normal rate. We have not had any side effects, the things to look for are bone growth trends. Forget the outside or the weight, your bones age much faster on GH than your outside does. You have to be careful.

 

[Doggiedog]

He's not shorter than her. He just weighs less. She's a couple inches shorter but weight 35lbs. He's about 37" and 34lbs.

 

[SaigonK]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
He's not shorter than her. He just weighs less. She's a couple inches shorter but weight 35lbs. He's about 37" and 34lbs.

That really isnt that bad, my middle nephew is about that big, while my twin nephews are huge kids...not fat or anything just big like their father.

Dominic is probably aournd the same size, he seems small...
While the bigger of the twins is like 4 feet tall and 60 pounds at 4 years old....

 

[blackunicorn]

It's a good idea to have him checked out, there are several condidtions that the first symptom is slow growth, and it's easy to treat early on.

Also, my neighbor's kid was always small and thin, and then he got the flu or something and it was especially nasty. They put him in the hospital, discovered that he had had a massive lymph infection for years, put him on antibiotics and what-not and very soon he started filling in and growing. He's in high school now, six-five or so, plays basketball. You never know. His parents are both really short, too.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
I was short/small up until I turned 14. Then I shot up to over six feet.

same here

 

[Doggiedog]

Originally posted by: blackunicorn
It's a good idea to have him checked out, there are several condidtions that the first symptom is slow growth, and it's easy to treat early on.

Also, my neighbor's kid was always small and thin, and then he got the flu or something and it was especially nasty. They put him in the hospital, discovered that he had had a massive lymph infection for years, put him on antibiotics and what-not and very soon he started filling in and growing. He's in high school now, six-five or so, plays basketball. You never know. His parents are both really short, too.

Thanks.

My son constantly has a runny nose that won't go away. He's been getting prescribed stronger and stronger anti-biotics but it hasn't helped so far.

 

[SLU MD]

I would take him to an endocrinologist and have all his hormones (HGH, T3. T4, ACTH, etc) checked out. More than likely he is just a little slow growing, but its worth checking out.

Keep in mind taking drugs alters other things, so dont do it unless really necessary.

slu M.D.

 

[Doggiedog]

Originally posted by: SLU MD
I would take him to an endocrinologist and have all his hormones (HGH, T3. T4, ACTH, etc) checked out. More than likely he is just a little slow growing, but its worth checking out.

Keep in mind taking drugs alters other things, so dont do it unless really necessary.

slu M.D.

Thanks. We are doing it.

 

[eyecandy86]

I wouldn't reccomend giving him any drugs. If he went til 15/16 without growing..then you have a prob.

I knew a kid in 4 grade that was tiny. His dad was tiny when he was young then shot up and is ok without drugs and crap.

Just let nature take it's course and stop worrying, he'll be fine.

 

[Doggiedog]

Not me. Its my wife.

If it isn't something like him having autism (which he doesn't) its always something else. However, his being small does concern me.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
Thanks.

My son constantly has a runny nose that won't go away. He's been getting prescribed stronger and stronger anti-biotics but it hasn't helped so far.

Have you had the vents/ducts in your domicile cleaned by a professional service? That might help.

 

[Doggiedog]

I'll take a look into it. I bought my house 2 years ago and the previous owners had cats. I thought I did a pretty good job of cleaning everything but have not looked into the ducts.

 

[anno]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
He's not shorter than her. He just weighs less. She's a couple inches shorter but weight 35lbs. He's about 37" and 34lbs.

that really is kind of small for almost 5.. my kids were always at the bottom of the height charts, 5 or 10th percentile, and I won't claim to remember their height/weights all along (the younger one is 18, today, I'd be a total freak if I remembered all that!) but they were both right around 36 inches when they turned 3 (and right around 36 lbs.. which is why I remember this.. I used to joke they were cubes.. 3 feet tall, 3 feet fat and 3 years old. )

I would take him to the endoc.. I can't spell this.. endo guy and get him checked out, just for my peace of mind.. you can decide whether to do anything once you know what's going on.

anno