When will my 15y/o son start growing

[katelar30]

My son was diagnosed after 2 1/2 years of no growth in height with Crohn's. At 5ft 3in he is in stage 2 of puberty barely and he's so sad and self conscious. He is on Remicade now for 1 1/2 months. Will he really star growing and when!

 

[Mj1gaynor]

I can understand how you feel as growth has been a concern of mine. Be patient and from all the parents on the forum I read that when imflammation is under control growth will come. it is different in every child. Sending support to you!

 

[my little penguin]

Typically 6 months after remicade is started
Tagging jmrogers

 

[CDJ]

My son is 14 and didn't grow at all for 2 years. He is slowly growing now and around 5' 3" . It has taken this length of time to see any height changes. He hasn't yet started puberty, just a few hairs along his top lip, which we are hoping is a start of puberty.
He is also on Infliximab [ remicide ] [ 3 infusions so far ], so I am hoping that this makes a difference for him.

His 3 elder brothers are all over 6' tall, and that is what he is aiming for. The one thing that does make him happy is that he is now taller than me

 

[Jmrogers4]

Have so been there! Thanks for the tag MLP. How's the weight gain going? We saw weight gain to start with. My son started remicade in Jan. 2014 after about 3 years of now growth weight gain. By April we still had no growth but weight was finally good so we decided to move forward with endocrinologist testing to see if it was something else causing the issue. Testing showed hormone levels were fine (he was early stage 2 as well). Well by July he had grown 3". Started out at 5'1" and 89 pounds. Growth has been steady since in fact his growth velocity was off the charts (the good way, not dropping off). He is now (at least 6 weeks ago) 5'8" and 125 pounds (down from 130 but he had been doing a lot of workouts). He is still growing like crazy. His friends are commenting that they have never seen anyone develop muscle faster. He went from only being able to lift the bar (this January) to now 135 pounds.
Puberty has also taken off basically seems to have gone through several years of puberty in 1 year. (Had to start shaving in December).
So as much as I hate to say it and I know how hard it is be patient it took a good 6 months for us and I know crohnsinct's daughter was the same way.
(My son was 14 1/2 when he started on remicade).

 

[crohnsinct]

Thanks for the tag JM...yep same here. You have to give the kids time to heal so they can start absorbing all their nutrients and then their bodies can grow. For us it took a good 6 months of Remicade to get my daughter to remission and then she started putting on weight. At about the 10 minth mark her height started coming along. Her velocity was also off the charts. She has grown 8 inches and gained 40 pounds since.

I know it is hard but try to be patient and concentrate on healing and the rest will fall into place.

Good Luck!

 

[malorymug]

Hi, could have written your post just a few months ago. When my son started remicade in January he was 5'2" and 83 lbs, no signs of puberty, at 14.5 years old. 4 months later, no height yet but he is topping the scales at 100 lbs.

We felt like the puberty window was closing so we went to see an endocrinologist. She checked his growth hormone levels and review his hand xray. She told us that because of the malnutrition from the 1+ years of crohn's, he is about 1+ years behind. She gave us hope that now that he is gaining weight, the height and puberty will follow.

Hope our story helps, maybe a trip to the endo would help you and your son.

 

[Jenn]

It's a good idea to check in with an endocrinologist, ask your GI for the referral. We go once/year. You want to catch it before his pubertal growth window closes. We've checked my son's hormone levels and bone age (hand xray). He is steadily 2 years delayed (no catch-up growth for him after 3 years on Humira) and just now starting puberty at 13. It is hard, he is so much shorter than all the other middle school kids, but should continue to grow after they are done. Getting into remission is key, first comes weight gain, then return to growth. Good luck!

 

[Ratty]

I was diagnosed age 14 (in 1988) and up until a couple of years before that, I was among the tallest of my friends of the same age and then I got left behind as a got ill. 3 years of flare ups and treatment followed and I hardly grew. I had a right hemicolectomy in 1991 and at that point and for the next 20 years I was in remission. I started to catch up to my friends quickly once things were under control and didn't stop growing until some time after them. This isn't scientific at all but I think that the body has a way of catching up. I am now 6ft 3in and I was about the same height as your son at 15.

 

[xmdmom]

5'3'' and stage 2 puberty would seem to have a very good height potential assuming health is good enough to allow growth spurt. While I'm sure your son is unhappy with his height and pubertal stage, he is definitely not alone. (There are certainly lots of men who end up at 5'3-- not that that will make him feel better.)

What is his weight? Weight gain catch up often precedes statural height growth. Hopefully, he will begin to grow soon. A bone age xray may be reassuring to you and him, and can give you some prediction of final height.