Update & Bone Age Testing

[GlutenFreex4]

On the prompting of several of you (thanks again!) I contacted my son's paediatrician on Monday and requested blood work and a bone aging X-ray be done on him. I requested the X-ray as well because both a family member requested this done on his child (the child's result came back with bone age spot on their actual age) as well as a friend (the child's bone age was delayed). In both these cases, the children were very small for their ages. I learned yesterday that they seldom do this X-ray because often the results are somewhat devastating for children/parents who are hoping to find out more growth can be expected. And, often this is not the case. They are just destined to be smaller people.

My son's appointment to review the results isn't until next Friday however, we also had an appointment booked for yesterday at the allergist. I hadn't anticipated his tests or X-ray results to be so quick nor that the allergist (both work under the same umbrella of paediatric care) would have the results in his file. He did!

After I gave him a rundown of why I was concerned my son may have either a wheat allergy and/or issues with gluten he told us the serum blood work was negative for celiac. He also said that while celiac was outside his specialty somewhat, he felt the likelihood of celiac was low at best even before the test. Then he said that my son's bone aging X-ray, and the reason that he is so tiny, came back at age TEN! My 13.5 year old son has bones most similar to a ten year old And, given this result, which according to the allergist is unbelievably great news, it means that my son is a late bloomer and will simply grown later/longer than his peers. Furthermore, given his result, his growth chart needs to be adjusted and now places him just off the 75 percentile in both height and weight. It felt like Christmas for my son yesterday! All I had hoped for with the X-ray was to show that he was a least a little bit delayed so that he would have some extra growth. I never once thought it would be so substantial.

All that said, we are still gluten free and will be discussing the results of the serum test with his doctor next Friday. I still want to see what, if any improvement, we will find being of gluten. Though, I must admit that I'm feeling quite sluggish these past couple of days and think I'm might be going through withdrawal! Did anybody else find this?

[nvsmom]

Congratulations! I'm glad he had good news. and I hope a gluten-free diet kick starts his growth and he catches up quickly.

We're going through the exact same with my 9 year old son. His growth has steadily gone down the chart. He's getting his Xray within the next week, and he's just switched to gluten-free. I hope we get promising news like you did.

And yes, I went through a withdrawl from gluten. I was very tired and cranky for well over a week, but it did go...thank goodness

[maximoo]

Nearly 2 yrs ago our pediatrician ordered a bone age scan on my then 12.10 yp old dghtr. She was 4'7 and hadn't grown in 1.5 yrs. Her bone age was like 10.7, so almost 2 yrs behind. 1 yr later at almost age 14 her bone age revealed an equivalent age of 12.3 & she was 4'10. We will be doing another in Jan & she is just shy of 5 ft.

As soon as she went gluten-free she grew 3 in within the year. There is a lot of short stature in the family, so we know she will be petite. But I'm hoping she'll make it past 5ft. Both grandmothers 5'2 dad is 5'4 & I'm just under 5'6. She did get her cycle a few months ago so I hope there's still space btwn her growth plates. I've heard 2 different theories: 1) girls don't grow much after they get it, and 2) they can grow for up to 2 yrs after they get it.

Then again I've heard some celiacs can grow until age 25. Only time will tell.

Your son will grow. Observe his foot growth 1st. They are the 1st to grow & he may even skip sizes.Good luck tp you both!

[frieze]

Nearly 2 yrs ago our pediatrician ordered a bone age scan on my then 12.10 yp old dghtr. She was 4'7 and hadn't grown in 1.5 yrs. Her bone age was like 10.7, so almost 2 yrs behind. 1 yr later at almost age 14 her bone age revealed an equivalent age of 12.3 & she was 4'10. We will be doing another in Jan & she is just shy of 5 ft.

As soon as she went gluten-free she grew 3 in within the year. There is a lot of short stature in the family, so we know she will be petite. But I'm hoping she'll make it past 5ft. Both grandmothers 5'2 dad is 5'4 & I'm just under 5'6. She did get her cycle a few months ago so I hope there's still space btwn her growth plates. I've heard 2 different theories: 1) girls don't grow much after they get it, and 2) they can grow for up to 2 yrs after they get it.

Then again I've heard some celiacs can grow until age 25. Only time will tell.

Your son will grow. Observe his foot growth 1st. They are the 1st to grow & he may even skip sizes.Good luck tp you both!

Probably won't gain much in hgt. "growing" also means "filing out" ie becoming more female shaped. she may well make five feet though.good luck

[mommida]

I am so glad for your son!

Yes there is a withdrawal period when you remove gluten from your diet. I also think it takes about 4 months for your taste buds to adjust to gluten free.

Maximoo,

Can you find out more infomation about growth after a girl's cycle starts? I have heard both theories, but why?

[maximoo]

@ frieze: if DD would ingest enough calories she will fill out although she already has a cute little figure. I am sure she is still growing upward.

@mommida: The endocrinologist said girls can grow up to 2 years after menses begins, and the Dr. herself was barely 5'0. However most other health care personnel & lay ppl tell me girls will not grow much at all. But I believe the only way to tell is with a bone age test. Each person's growth plates fuse at a different age/stage. So until DD's fuses I will have hers checked every year. I am sure however that when a girl starts menses at a very early age like 9-10 they will be very short. I have seen evidence of this first hand. So I have to say in those cases the plates must fuse early. Nothing is absolute of course.

[mommida]

My 10 year old daughter has started at 10 years, one month. I'm just hoping she can get at least one inch taller than me (5' 1"). Oh well.

[maximoo]

@mommida-you might want to get her bones scanned & then you 'll find out if her plates are fused or what her equivalent bone age is. I will keep getting my DD's done yrly until her bones have fused.

[mommida]

The poor kid has Eosinophilic Esophagitus too. She usually is hospitalized once a year for dehydration. She goes into a cycle of vomitting and she just has to get an I.V. I can't say that I would opt for any further medical tests at this point over height. I will mention it for her next yearly physical. (fingers crossed that will be the next time at the doctors)

[maximoo]

poor baby! Hope these hopitalizations phase out.

The bone age scan is a 10 sec xray--over b4 you blink. It certainly wouldn't hurt to take a look-see at her growth plates. How tall is she again? and she is 10?