Celiac And Poor Growth

[maramelia]

The doctor in Boston called today with some of my son's test results. His testosterone level is now 51, which is an increase from the level 19 test that he had back in May. The doctor suggested that he would recommend holding off on administering any testosterone shots for now, since it appears that he is seeing an increase being produced naturally by his body, perhaps in response to the gluten-free diet. I should receive the written report within a couple of days, which should have other lab results as well.

anthony, great news!!!!!!!

hope that your son will improve more and more, in everything that the gluten had done to him all these past years...

This is just the beggining... Congrats to all!!!!!

[AnthonyinMaine]

Just a quick update on my son's condition for those who were following his progress. After 1 year on a gluten-free diet, our son is now 5'4 5/8" tall and weighs 116 lbs. He is still noticeably younger-looking than his peers of a similar age, and his voice has still not really changed much. Now that he is 16+, I would think he would start to experience the change in voice that others of his age have gone through by now. Also, he still has not really started to fill out throughout regarding his body mass. He is extremely skinny compared to his peers.

My question is, would it do any good to request hormone or testosterone supplements at this point from our doctor? He starts his Junior Year of High School in a couple of weeks, and he still looks like a 7th grader! We have been very patient with the conservative nature of his doctors in not doing anything beyond the gluten-free diet, but I selfishly would like to see him be able to have an easier time during his last 2 years of high school by being developed like most high school students are.

[maximoo]

2 inches of growth & 12 lbs gained that is fabulous!! I would not consider hormone & testosterone supplements at this point. I would get his bone age retested. I had my DD retested & at 13 yrs 10 mths (in dec11)she showed a bone age of 12.3 however she has grown another 1.5 inches this yr, and has made it to an "A" cup. (that's big news for females)! Well you did have a good result with normal testosterone levels earlier this yr. Remember boys can grow to 21 yrs of age & I recently learned that in some cases up to age 25 for certain celiacs. It sounds like his secondary male characteristics (facial hair, etc) haven't appeared yet? You said previously that he was in stage 3 of puberty-has he moved to stage 4 yet? Keep pumping him with high calorie food, good supplements, if he can have milk shakes they are very good too.

Sometimes the worse thing we parents do is compare our kids to others. I know in our society tall men are better respected in many cases, however many short men have accomplished extraordinary feats so Just let your boy be himself' & develop his interests & talents & skills. He should have confidence in himself no matter his height. Please try to stop physically comparing him to other boys. I know its hard but its for the best. Good Luck!