Men and boys, do you have a problem with your height? Are you shorter than you think you should be?

Question

I have seen several questions like this, and I haven't seen a proper answer to the one that most disturbs me. If you are young, and if you are below normal short status, you need to see an endocrinologist. Don't believe all who tell you that you'll get a growth spurt. Find out the answer. You should take a test to see if you're making Somatomedin C, an essential part of Growth Hormone. If you're not making it, then you'll receive growth hormone. If you take the growth hormone, the chances are great that you will achieve a normal height. Tell your friends. Any comments or further ideas?

Darlings, I don't know about those whose height is a matter of vanity. I'm talking about 12-14 year-old posts that I saw of boys, whose heights are around 4'11 and 5'0. There is no reason for them, if they find they have this hormone deficiency not to get medical attention. There is a HUGE rate of suicide in extremely short people (men and women). We're not talking about normal or anything near normal. If you had a broken arm, I wouldn't advocate leaving it alone, and if I knew how to fix it, I'd tell you. But boys are crying out, and no one happens to know about testing for Somatomedin C, at least not in the answers they receive. My brother would have been a 4'11 man; everyone told me he'd have a spurt. I had him tested. The doctor hugged me, and said that without the GH, he'd not have grown an inch. He's now 5'10," which is plenty "normal"....

We are talking about an abnormality, not a person's regular genetics. The hormone can't make a person taller than he/she was genetically intended to be. I am merely discussing the FACT that doctors ignore this, and all they have to do is TEST for it. I know firsthand; as there is a growth hormone deficiency in several members of my family, and I also know that doctors NEVER seem to say, check it out; rather they sloppily say, "Oh, don't worry; s/he'll hav a growth spurt." No somatomedin C=no more growth, pure and simple. But I do see this is a very touchy subject, boys!

BTW, "normal short status" is a term DESIGNATED by the DOCTOR, who has been charting the person since birth, and is comparing his/her height to that of the general population. It's a sign to be watched, but it's my experience that doctors (unless they're endocrinologists) don't take it seriously.
We're not talking about desired height. Again, we're talking about simply being tested for a possible abnormality in the pituitary gland.

And again, I'm not even beginning to address what is NORMAL in height. My dad was 6'2," and his parents were 5'2" and 4'10." One can't tell "normal" by other members of the family, but if a child suddenly stops growing, it's cause for concern, and the least one can do is check for an abnormality. If none, then fine. No argument there.... (My brother, for example, had been growing at the rate of his peers; after a car accident, he showed no growth--then the discovery of deficiency in somatomedin C, but a discovery that had to be pushed on his pedicatrician, and found by an endocrinologist.) See my meaning?

Answer 1

I'm OK with my height, but some people are not as big as they should be, especially as teenagers. If the average height of my middle school presently is 5'0" now and the average height was 5'10" when i was in middle school, something is up. I think the FDA is approving too many drugs that can stunt growth in children.

Answer 2

This is a very complex question and the correct answer should be from a endocrinologist. I have a excellent endocrinologist checking my kid. He's stop growing near 15 or 18 months old. At 4 years he looks similar to his 2 years sister and in few months the sister was bigger. After many exams and evaluations we found that he's body is producing the growing hormones but is not absorbing them correctly. Is not a normal case. We start the treatment with Norditropin five years ago and the response was incredible. He's now complete normal related to the bone age.
Remember that the body of many people are not intended to be normal according to the standard heights. The standard curb use by many doctors are for Caucasians and others groups like Hispanic (in my case) deserves different measures because the bodies are a little smaller (in general). Is important to understand that this is not for everyone because if your are predetermined to be 5'-3" for example a hormone treatment is not going to make you bigger than that. The high of the parents and other family members are the principal standards to follow the growing of a kid.
When I was a teenager one of my friend was like 4'-11" high and no member of his family are bigger than 5 feet. He was completely normal.

Answer 3

Ummm...no.

This is bad information. The answerer above me is correct.

People are way to concerned about height when there is nothing that will change the genetics alread programmed in...growth hormones are dangerous, they are also banned subsances in sports and they will not cause you to grow beyond what you would have normally, nor have they been proven to help someone who is shorter than normal grow any taller.

If someone is getting their regular check-ups the doctor will already know if they are below average or not. If they are below average the doctor will have already started the testing process to see why.....

so stating that a growth hormone is the answer is fool hardy especially if you are not medically qualified to make such statements...

Besides, half the questions about height, weight or penis size are asked either by trolls, or somebody who is advertising...just ignore them...

****Side note...I'm 6'1" and I did get a growth spurt when I was 12...my son is 14 and 6'2" and he is in a growth spurt...so do not discount people who say there will be one...it is the generally the rule, not the exception.

Answer 4

Guys on here are way toooo worried about their height. They have to understand that if most of their family is 5'0 then their chances of being 6'5 is VERY SLIM. Plus, what are you calling a NORMAL height? You are going to mislead people into thinking that you can run to the doctor and get pumped full of growth hormones and all problems will be solved. THAT IS NOT THE CASE, and in MOST cases this WILL NOT HAPPEN.
If young people are getting the proper medical care and the doctor suspects that something is wrong, tests will be performed and the condition, if there is one, will be treated. Don't cause a mad rush to the doctor just to be disappointed.
Rare diseases characterized by inability to make or respond to IGF-1 produce a distinctive type of growth failure. One such disorder, termed Laron dwarfism does not respond at all to growth hormone treatment due to a lack of GH receptors. The FDA has grouped these diseases into a disorder called severe primary IGF deficiency. Patients with severe primary IGFD typically present with normal to high GH levels, height below -3 standard deviations (SD), and IGF-1 levels below -3SD. Severe primary IGFD includes patients with mutations in the GH receptor, post-receptor mutations or IGF mutations, as previously described. As a result, these patients cannot be expected to respond to GH treatment.

The IGF signaling pathway appears to be playing a crucial role in cancer. Several studies have shown that increased levels of IGF lead to an increased risk of cancer. Studies done on lung cancer cells show that drugs inhibiting such signaling can be of potential interest in cancer therapy.[1] * Velcheti V, Govindan R . Insulin-Like Growth Factor and Lung Cancer. Journal of Thoracic Oncology 2006;1:607-10

IT IS RARE THAT THIS DEFICIENCY WILL OCCUR. YOU ARE MISLEADING PEOPLE LADY!
Paramedic in SC

Answer 5

hi ... I'm 5'10'' and yes it comes a times that i was bothered by my height cuz I'm the oldest brother and all my younger brother's height are about 6' .... but now I'm ok and I'm not bothered by it anymore

Answer 6

iam a man and my height doesnt bother me. iam as tall as my dad, iam 5' 7 and iam ok with that.