Posted 1 day ago

Growth Pediatrician bypassing NHS

Hi all,

I hope someone knowledgeable can guide me on an issue I am facing with my son.

My son is around 7 years old, coming up to 8 years old. Since the start, he has had a petite body; he is visibly small compared to every year he has been. He is smaller than all of his cousins and friends. At every stage, he wears 2 years below clothing (e.g. at 4 years old, he was wearing 1-2 years clothes, at 6 years, he was wearing 2-3/3-4 yr clothing). It's only his body that lacks growth, he is normal in his studies, speech, and other usual things. The only other health concern he has had is he needs a blue inhaler whenever he catches a cold/flu/fever, his lungs struggle so he needs an inhaler at regular intervals. Apart from when he is ill, he never needs an inhaler. He runs around and plays around with no issues.

I am concerned with his growth. Based on the chart in his red book, he is at the lowest point so Doctors don't put us forward to any specialist as they don't think anything is wrong with him. I am not convinced as without any testing/diagnosis, it isn't conclusive. As he grows, I want to ensure an adequate level of tests/diagnosis is performed. I don't want to assume anything, but I have researched online about Growth hormone deficiency which might be/might not be the reason.
My question is, are there any tests I can pay for privately that might be able to tell me whether he has Growth hormone deficiency? Also, any specialist Growth Pediatrician who can listen to our concerns and provide a diagnosis. I am also open to going to a specialist abroad (Turkey, Eastern Europe) if that means we get a quick outcome.


I would appreciate people's input.
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  1. fisco2001's avatar
    Which part country you in as you need to find a pediatric endocrinologist
    BigBlackClock's avatar
    Author
    We’re based in Birmingham.
  2. Willy_Wonka's avatar
    My son was tiny until he was 14. Then he became the tallest in his year & now over 6ft tall.
    BigBlackClock's avatar
    Author
    Was that a naturally or was that through medical intervention? Until he grew tall, did you accept that he will be short/petite for life? Did you ever think about taking him to a specialist to perform any diagnosis?

    All these things run through my mind hence wondering others who are going/went through similar situations deal with it.
  3. Amaise's avatar
    Measure the heights of Mum and Dad and weigh that into the equation.
    DangerousBeans's avatar
    Even aunts, uncles, granny and grandad it's probably in the genes.
  4. DangerousBeans's avatar
    I know you said blue inhaler when ill but if he is asthmatic that can affect growth.
  5. airbus330's avatar
    Just adding this to help re-assure. My son was measurably and very noticeably shorter than the whole of his cohort throughout his school years. We kind of accepted it as there are one or two short males amongst his older relatives. At 16 he had such a growth spurt that he has stretch marks all the way down his back. By 18 he was 5' 11". I have no idea why this happened, but nature is unpredictable. A healthy diet with a plenty of calcium helps, I have read.
  6. tek-monkey's avatar
    Not much help but anecdotally I was a very small child, under 4 stone when I started middle school. I was the second shortest in my year til the second to last year of high school, and only because the shortest one moved schools! I had my tonsils taken out in the summer before my last year, was plagued by tonsilitis before that at least 4 times a year, probably just a coincidence but I suddenly shot up. Not to the tallest but 6'.
  7. TristanDeCoonha's avatar
    Call one of the nurses at pituitary.org.uk/
    Free advice, UK based, and recommended by endos in the UK. Might be worth registering your concern with your doctor. A simple blood test will give you a result within a day. You are looking for IGF1 amongst others.
    What is his appearance? Padded facially (Cushing's), enlarged, out of scale areas such as the jaw (Acromegaly) or other "differences"? If it is a pituitary tumour, it is not a major concern, although it is best to catch it early in its growth. It can cause spinal issues, growth of soft tissue organs, and other, or it might be as basic as a boney lump.
    I had my tumour removed in 2018
  8. psychobitchfromhell's avatar
    When I was a kid, the school provided P.E. Pumps for you. They didn't have any small enough for me. I think I was a shoe size 7 1/2 aged five. I'm still small, I never made five foot, but some people just are. Daniel radcliffe is under five foot five and it hasn't hurt his career, as was Charlie Chaplin. Isambard Kingdom Brunel was only five foot one. Winston Churchill was only five foot six.
    Don't worry unduly as kids grow at different rates. My son was on the 99th centile when he was born, but dropped to the sixth. I'd take him to get weighed every week as you do, and he would've put on an ounce. To look at him now, you'd never know.
  9. Xippi's avatar
    Have you managed to discuss all this with your GP and expressed your concerns? Were they not able/willing to help?
    It would be so much easier to move this forward conventionally by going through the GP, within the UK at least.
    Also be careful about whose advice you take. There are plenty of nutters, the well meaning ignorant and snake oil salesmen out there.
    I'd definitely endorse the Pituitary foundation link provided by TristanDeCoonha - they seem 100% kosher. They should be able to help.
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