Let me start off this whole article by stating one fact: there is not ONE instance where any FHS child has ever reached a height of over 5 feet 1 inch. After years of shots, they still end up a little short. The doctors really don't know what to "do" with a child with FHS, the parents want the doctors to do something, so growth hormone shots are the easiest, simplest answer for the doctors because the children do have dwarfism-- or short stature.
When tested, they ALL have sufficient growth hormone results-- meaning that their bodies ARE producing the correct amount of growth hormone that naturally occurs in the body. Their bodies just aren't USING it in the right way for some genetic reason-- but giving them MORE of it doesn't help-- their bodies can't put it to use.
The only factor that seems to make any difference is the height of the parents. If the parents are around 6 feet in height, the FHS children will be more near the "tall" end of the FHS spectrum, around 5 feet. If the parents are short, like around 5' 2" then the FHS child will be on the short end of the FHS spectrum-- around 4' 6".
I have researched ALL of the medical journal articles ever published on FHS, and have contact with over 60 families in our support group. NOT ONE of them has included an FHS child who was over 5 feet 1 inch in height.
They WILL have an "initial growth spurt" in which immediately beginning after the start of the growth hormone shots, they will have a growth spurt and shoot up a few inches. HOWEVER, this is not LONG-TERM growth, they still end up between 4 ft. 6 in. and 5 ft. 2 in.-- DEPENDING on the height of the parents, NOT THE SHOTS.
There are parents in our group who have had their children on growth hormone for years and have not experienced any results. Some believe that the shots have helped-- but these are the children who have reached close to 5 feet, and guess what? The parents are around 6 feet in height.
Those are the facts-- period. Here is my opinion:
It is my personal opinion that it is not worth putting these already sensitive, challenged children through something painful and annoying like daily shots to gain -- at most--- a tiny bit of SHORT TERM growth. (Again, in then end there is NO long-term growth). I feel that it is very wrong to put something in their bodies that wasn't there to begin with, and won't do any good once it is there anyway. If a parent wants to feel like they are doing something good for their child, give them healthy foods, proteins and extra fats (which they NEED and can USE--see post on "DIET"), not artificial hormones which won't do any good anyway-- and could do some harm.
There are parents in our group which have worried about side effects that their children DO HAVE after years of growth hormone which include diabetes, extra facial hair on girls and additional behavior problems. I personally feel that it is simply not worth it. I hope this hasn't offended anyone, I just feel that it is really wrong to give these children growth hormone shots.
