The boys and their growth issues

Well, if you rememebr all the way back to January, both boys were referred to an endocrinologist because one of them has a low Insulin-like Growth Hormone (IGF) and the other had a high according to the peds office. So, today was our appointment...finally! Nothing like 7 1/2 months of waiting! The endo is wonderful though! I really like her a lot, and the kids do as well.

So, we started with Jacob. He is still in the 5th% for height. His bone age scan (the xray my peds office supposedly couldn't get was miraculously there in the office) shows his bone growth as delayed by about a year. From what she explained, the IGF they tested is not actually a hormone, but a protein that binds to the bones. It increases as you grow. Jacob's isn't actually low like the ped thought...it is actually in the low range, but borderline. She thinks he is what they call a late-bloomer. They start out mid to high on the growth chart and then steadily decline until they level off. He pretty much has leveled off at the 5% now, which is great. She did a full exam and said he is still missing 2 of his 6 year molars which goes right along with the delay in bone growth.

The awesome thing? She said most parents have been told there is a window of opportunity that you need to get growth issues taken care of in. It is not true and we have plenty of time to just observe him and see what happens. Most likely he will stay at this % and wind up a normal height but on the shorter side. My brother stopped growing when he was about 8 or 10 and stayed the same height for 5 years...he is taller than me now. :) She said it is definitely something that tends to run in families, so this isn't really surprising. So, basically he has likely found his place on the growth curve and that's all. Yay!

Joshua had the bone growth x-ray today and we will get the results by the end of the week. The reason he was sent in was because his IGF was high according to the ped. Now, that wonderful office never bothered to send over his test results for some reason (I guess 7 months wasn't enough time to get them over) I told this doc what I was told and that I don't know whether or not it really was high since they weren't correct about Jacob's. She said it wouldn't make sense for it to be high, but she will look into getting the results from the lab and see what they say. So, when I call for the bone age scan results I can get that info as well. She may decide to run more tests. At this point though, Josh seems to be following the same path Jacob did and will likely be fine as well. Yay!

So, we go back in 6 months to check and see if they remain on their paths and will likely go twice a year for a while. I can deal with that. :)

The funniest part was the fact that Josh loved talking to her. She has a GREAT bedside manner and he just took right to her. The questions on paper asked about delays developmentally and I put on there about his HFA. She said she was really surprised he is autistic because he is so chatty and friendly. His eye contact wasn't great, but it is nice to know we have progressed to being able to even fool a few docs now for a little while. ;) He really has progressed a lot socially, so I am very pleased. :)

So, that's it. No hormone shots, so I am SO relieved! LOL 7 months of worry have been lifted off my shoulders in just a few hours time this morning. I'm not even worried about what Josh's test results will show from today because it is likely the same as Jacob and will be ok.

Oh! I also asked about the girls and whether or not we will see the same pattern. She said it might happen, but it is more common in males. Weird, huh?