My Body Is Oddly Proportioned

[Natmatt]

Hello, I'm an 18 year old male. I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease when I was 11 years old. From 11 to 15, i had many treatments done on me. I've had lots of GI's and Remicade treatments to help me with my disease. I took a ton of medication to help me including steroids. Because of my disease, I feel that my body skipped puberty. I've always struggled with my height and weight. When I was in the 6th grade, I weighed 55 pounds and was about 5'0. When I was in the 9th grade, I weighed 90 pounds and was 5'2. I'm currently in the 12th grade and I weigh 100 pounds and I'm 5'4. I'm very thin and look akward compared to my peers. My body is also strangely proportioned. My torso is small and my legs are really short. My arms are freakishly long though and kind of make me look like a monkey (which isn't helped by my overbite and thin cheeks). I feel like I began puberty but got stuck half ways. I'm worried I'll stay like this forever. I was hoping my body might fix itself sooner or later but it never did and now I'm afraid it might be too late. Will my body fix itself and grow right or will i stay like this forever? Is there any way I can help my body grow properly at this point in my life? If it helps, my father is 5'10 and my older brother is 5'8 so me being 5'4 is very unusual.

 

[buttER]

Such a coincidence, my husband was talking to a friend today about something similar. His son regularly takes cortisone (for his asthma) and they are worried that each treatment is stunting his normal growth. I don't know anything about this, perhaps someone knows more.

 

[cantthinkstr8t]

My husband was a "smaller"(for lack of a better word) teenager. When he went off to college, he grew a few inches and gained enough weight to play Rugby and football.

Sometimes, it just takes a bit more time to grow into yourself.

 

[24601]

Hi Natmatt,

If you want to know for sure if you've finished growing then I think you could ask to be referred to a growth specialist (pediatric endocrinologist) who can see if your growth plates have closed.

At 18 you haven't necessarily finished growing and making sure your Crohn's disease is well controlled and that you are getting optimal nutrition is very important for taking advantage of any window of opportunity for growth - and it's important for your health and future health anyway to keep the disease controlled. So I would discuss all of this with your GI too.