Troubling prescription for early puberty
Quote:
>A good friend of mine has an eight year old daughter who's starting
>to show the first signs of puberty, though she hasn't yet begun to
>menstruate. My friend is concerned that entering puberty this early
>will prematurely stop her daughter's growth. She's currently just
>4 feet 4 inches tall (132 cm).
>A pediatric endocrinologist has prescribed a drug called Depotlupron
>(probably a trade name), which is supposed to delay puberty and give
>my friend's daughter a chance to reach her full stature. Monthly
>injections would go on for two years or more. What troubles my friend
>is that the endocrinologist is insisting on a full gynecological and
>{*filter*} exam every two months -- this is a minimum of 12 exams between
>the ages of eight and ten, possibly more. I can't help agreeing with
>my friend that this sounds intrusive at best, bordering on abusive.
>The girl has already had one exam for the diagnosis, and didn't like it.
>The doctor has conceded that it's not a matter of checking for dangerous
>side effects -- he just wants to minutely track the effects of the drug.
>My friend feels that whether the drug is working or not will be
>apparent over time without intrusive examinations.
>I'd appreciate any advice on behalf of my friend, who is wondering
>whether the social difficulties that go with being well under 5 feet
>tall would be preferable to subjecting an eight year old to so many
>intrusive exams. Do other parents see this as a legitimate concern?
>Can anyone suggest alternative treatments, or how this treatment
>might be handled in a more sensitive manner? Unfortunately, this
>endocrinologist reneged on a verbal agreement to forgo the regular
>exams, and won't return phone calls to discuss it -- not exactly
>a model of medical sensitivity. Neither the patient advocate or
>the clinic administrators seem to be much help either.
>Thanks for any comments or suggestions.
>--
>Warren Jones | To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution
>Seattle, Washington | of intelligent tinkering. -- Aldo Leopold
My niece is 8 1/2 and over the past year she put on 10 pounds and
started developing {*filter*} buds. Her mother was a bit alarmed and told
her pediatrician. He just brushed it off. He said he would never put
a child on {*filter*} to stop it. He feels she is not too young. She has
no other signs of puberty. The reason I am writing this is because I
had never heard of a child's growth being stunted from going through
puberty early. Her mother is only 5 feet tall and we were hoping she
would be taller for her sake. Thanks for any additional info. Oh,
by the way, her father was shaving at age 12 and was his full {*filter*}
height and weight also. We just attribute it to her following his
pattern.
