Precocious Puberty Support Group
Early pubic hair, breast, or genital development may result from normal but early maturation or from several abnormal conditions. Early puberty which is normal in every way except age is termed idiopathic central precocious puberty. It may be partial or transient. If your child is going through early puberty, share your experiences here and get support.
I am new to this site. So I will give a brief history of my daughter...
My daughter was diagnosed with Precocious Puberty at age 7. She had hair under her armpits at age 4 and I was told it was just an overactive adrenal gland, nothing to worry about, but at about age 6, she started getting pubic hair. I was referred to a pediatric endo and they ran a bunch of tests and she was diagnosed at age 7 with PP.
She started getting monthly Lupron injections in her leg, and more tests were ran. I didn't think it would be so bad, but the first shot was awful. The needle is huge and is stabbed in her leg and has to be injected slowly. My daughter never cried, but I did. We would get the injections on Fridays and she would limp around all weekend, not wanting to move. After her first injection, she gained 10 pounds, I expressed my concern at our next appointment and they assured me this was not a side effect and it must be what she is eating. (My daughter's favorite foods are vegetables) We were told we had to have injections for 3 months and if it was working for her we could have the option to get the Supprelin Implant. It did appear to work. Her estrogen had dropped to a prepuberty level.
She got the Supprelin Implant in February 2015. This was a much better and less traumatic experience. She did not have to be put under, she was in some pain after the procedure but no pain during the procedure. BUT, in November at her follow up appointment with her endo, she had another bone age done and it had progressed. Her bone age is not 11 1/2 years old. Her chronological age is 8 1/2. This was a 6 month increase from her last test done in May, and her blood work showed that her puberty is "not fully suppressed" The doctor suggested that we start Lupron injections in addition to the Supprelin implant. There was no way I was going to put her through that again! The other option was to have her implant changed sooner. (Our doctor didn't think it was working anymore) So after verifying that insurance would cover her implant could be changed sooner , (at $50,000/implant I didn't want any surprises) we decided to have her implant changed in December 2015. That is only 10 months after the first one.
We will go in for blood work in a couple of weeks to see if it worked or if it is still "not fully suppressed"
In one year my daughter has gained a lot of weight. (25 pounds in one year) I am pretty sure it is from these treatments. She went from a size 8/10 to a size XL 16/ small petite Womens and has grown 6 inches. She is now 4ft. 8". She is very moody. She is irritable, and angry most of the time. She never wants to come out of her room. She has no hobbies or interests. I am not sure what to do. I am not sure if treating it is what is best for her. She has not gotten her period yet but I am wondering if this is worth it. Especially if she is still growing like that.
I am also worried about the long term effects that we don't know about yet. As far as I know Supprelin has only been used as a treatment for 10 years now, so how can they honestly say that it is safe? And if plastic and the junk in our food is what is causing this why can't things be done to make our food and environment safer? Even the implant in her arm is made of plastic. How can we really avoid that?
Not sure what to do. Has anyone else been having these issues?
My daughter was diagnosed with Precocious Puberty at age 7. She had hair under her armpits at age 4 and I was told it was just an overactive adrenal gland, nothing to worry about, but at about age 6, she started getting pubic hair. I was referred to a pediatric endo and they ran a bunch of tests and she was diagnosed at age 7 with PP.
She started getting monthly Lupron injections in her leg, and more tests were ran. I didn't think it would be so bad, but the first shot was awful. The needle is huge and is stabbed in her leg and has to be injected slowly. My daughter never cried, but I did. We would get the injections on Fridays and she would limp around all weekend, not wanting to move. After her first injection, she gained 10 pounds, I expressed my concern at our next appointment and they assured me this was not a side effect and it must be what she is eating. (My daughter's favorite foods are vegetables) We were told we had to have injections for 3 months and if it was working for her we could have the option to get the Supprelin Implant. It did appear to work. Her estrogen had dropped to a prepuberty level.
She got the Supprelin Implant in February 2015. This was a much better and less traumatic experience. She did not have to be put under, she was in some pain after the procedure but no pain during the procedure. BUT, in November at her follow up appointment with her endo, she had another bone age done and it had progressed. Her bone age is not 11 1/2 years old. Her chronological age is 8 1/2. This was a 6 month increase from her last test done in May, and her blood work showed that her puberty is "not fully suppressed" The doctor suggested that we start Lupron injections in addition to the Supprelin implant. There was no way I was going to put her through that again! The other option was to have her implant changed sooner. (Our doctor didn't think it was working anymore) So after verifying that insurance would cover her implant could be changed sooner , (at $50,000/implant I didn't want any surprises) we decided to have her implant changed in December 2015. That is only 10 months after the first one.
We will go in for blood work in a couple of weeks to see if it worked or if it is still "not fully suppressed"
In one year my daughter has gained a lot of weight. (25 pounds in one year) I am pretty sure it is from these treatments. She went from a size 8/10 to a size XL 16/ small petite Womens and has grown 6 inches. She is now 4ft. 8". She is very moody. She is irritable, and angry most of the time. She never wants to come out of her room. She has no hobbies or interests. I am not sure what to do. I am not sure if treating it is what is best for her. She has not gotten her period yet but I am wondering if this is worth it. Especially if she is still growing like that.
I am also worried about the long term effects that we don't know about yet. As far as I know Supprelin has only been used as a treatment for 10 years now, so how can they honestly say that it is safe? And if plastic and the junk in our food is what is causing this why can't things be done to make our food and environment safer? Even the implant in her arm is made of plastic. How can we really avoid that?
Not sure what to do. Has anyone else been having these issues?
concernedparent76
EDIT: Her bone age is *NOW 11 1/2 years old* instead of not.
ekbacharach
Hi concernedparent76, I am sorry to hear about your challenges here. I dealt with precocious puberty and growth hormone deficiency as a child. Inspired by my own story and the lack of conversation in the media about this medical situation's occurrences, I am pursuing a story as a journalist and graduate student on journalism on the decreasing age of puberty in girls. As such, I'm wondering if you'd be interested and/or willing to speak to me about your daughter's and your experiences with precocious puberty. I know, especially from personal happenings, that this is not the easiest topic to discuss, especially with a stranger. But I'd greatly appreciate you considering the opportunity to speak with me as your stories will definitely help my article shine the necessary light on precocious puberty and its challenges. Please let me know. I can be reached via email at ekbacharach@u.northwestern.edu. Thank you very much in advance!
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