Precocious Puberty (Female) - Anyone Gone Thru This?

[jal]

Maybe a little too much information for male members...

I have a family member who has an 8 year old daughter, soon to be 9 (easy child). daughter started her period yesterday. Parent freaked (naturally) and took daughter to GP. Immediately, thrust into blood panels and a hand xray to check bone growth today. Hand xray came back as bone structure of an 11 yr. old and has been immediately referred to pediatrician endochronologist for an emergency appointment.

daughter always needed more baths due to scent since toddlerhood. Deoderant use for about 8 months. Appearence of adult hair started about 4 months ago. Family member told that if this isn't stopped immediately (menses) child will likely no longer continue to grow (she's only 4'2").

Could be possible tumors, thyroid, adrenal gland issues etc. that may be involved, but won't know until more extensive tests are done. Lupron was thrown out as a possible stopper of period. Family member (her bio mom) has been given Lupron in past (extensive endometreosis, cysts, high yeast content in body growing up). Lupron she claims was like a toxin, couldn't stand the protocol and has done well with a naturopath for many years.

Any info would be appreciated. We are all so concerned.

 

[JJJ]

Lupron is a very powerful drug.

I think she is doing exactly what she needs to do. This is why there are pediatric endocrinologists. Hopefully by next week she'll have more answers on what her options are. It has to be so hard.

 

[keista]

Sorry no info/experience here. I hope they do find a way to stop or slow this. 4'2" is really short. I was concerned over DD2 being on the really early end, but she's full sized already.

Anyway, I'm just thinking growth and menses now, and thinking that if she's had her first already, it may be too late to "slow" things. If her hand already has the structure of an 11yo, then her "natural growth" may be done anyway. Although precocious puberty has it's problems, I'd think long and hard before throwing in medications that could have even worse ramifications with not much benefit.

((((HUGS)))) to you all

 

[jal]

Thank you both. My family member is my cousin & we are basically sisters. Only female cousins, only daughters with-a brother, a few months apart in age and our kids are 1 year apart. I got the difficult child, she got the easy child, but now this. She definately doesn't want to throw medications at her daughter. My cousin has been thru h*ll & back with her endometriosis and underlying yeast condition for many, many years. The only real relief she got was using a naturopath. Everything else was excruciating for her (surgery, medications, etc.) and I know she will be diligent in the protocol she chooses, dietary change, etc. whatever has to be done. But the Lupron reference has beyond terrified her, along with the fact that her daughter could stop growing. My cousin is on the short side, maybe 5'2", her husband is about 5'3", so there is no real height there...but the dr even mentioned a specialized car if this isn't somehow corrected... I am just not finding a lot of info out there.

 

[bby31288]

It's been Year's. But my niece was 9. She turned out fine. She is 5'7. While I understand your worries. There is a chance she is perfectly normal and just an early bloomer.

 

[keista]

I am just not finding a lot of info out there.

I researched this last year when I was worried about DD2. The only information and support groups I found were for REALLY precocious puberty - like during toddler-hood.

Just like we do with our difficult children, she's gotta go with her mom-gut for the course of action.

 

[JJJ]

My sister grew 7 inches after she started her period. Even if her body is 11, she still has plenty of growing time ahead of her.

 

[TerryJ2]

No personal experience, but I've read a lot about it. The parents are on the right track and I'm sure she will be fine. Try not to panic. She can have a nice, long life. It will just be a bit rocky until they figure out if it's a tumor, or what, and if she'll need medications or homeopathics for a while.
Many hugs.

 

[hearts and roses]

My friend's daughter had it: Pubic hair growth at age 8, period at age 9. She is somewhat short (5'2", age 22) but she's okay to drive. She did continue to grow after mensus started and it was an adjustment at such a young age, but she got through it. When my friend asked the pediatrician, he gave it the label, but said there was very little to do about it once the periods started without resorting to drugs (that he felt could have far worse effects than just going with nature). My friend's daughter is fine, healthy (a bit overweight) and has a two year old son.

 

[donna723]

I didn't think either that growth stopped when the periods started! If the doctors feel they should check to make sure that it wasn't caused by some abnormality, then of course they should do so. But the truth is that girls are reaching puberty years earlier now than they were just a few generations ago. It's not unusual now for ten year olds and even some nine year olds to start their periods so almost-nine isn't that far off the mark. My own daughter had her first period right after her tenth birthday and that was 25 years ago. I don't remember exactly how tall she was then but I do know that she hadn't yet reached her adult height of 5'8" at age ten so she continued to grow for several more years after that.

 

[AnnieO]

Growth doesn't stop when periods start, or I'd be 4'8 and Onyxx would be 4'9. We're both 5'3.

Lupron will stop periods because it basically tells the ovaries to shut down. Short-term side effects can be crankiness, hot flashes, cramping... This is from my PERSONAL, 39-y/o experience.

11 y/o bones, 9 y/o body - not too far off, and she will probably be fine, if highly annoyed every month earlier than most other girls.

I think taking her to the pediatric endocrinologist was a very smart move. But please, don't let your cousin be pushed into medicating her daughter if she feels strongly against.

 

[jal]

The reason the growth may stop is because there may be an abnormality with the thyroid or adrenal gland that is causing the period to start, so that part needs to be ruled out which the endo will do (make sure there are no tumors, cysts, etc.).

No my cousin won't be pushed, she feels very srongly about the Lupron due to what she went through.

 

[susiestar]

Girls are starting their periods earlier and earlier now. Some ethnic groups start earlier than others, but overall the start of menses has gotten ealrier. No one really knows why though many things including better nutrition are suspected.

Do NOT buy the story that she won't grow any more after her period starts. I grew almost a foot, Jess grew more than a foot, and wehn I was a kid NO ONE thought that girls stopped growing when they got their periods. I have NO idea why it is "common knowledge" now, but I have heard it from almost every parent of a girl that I have heard talk about this subject.

Given short parental heights, esp if their families all tend to be short, I would attribute her height to that. My family tends to be short. I have a cousin who topped out at 4'10" and was a top gymnast when she was in high school, even though her parents had to go to court to get her to be allowed to compete because at the time their state said that you had to be taller than 4'10" or you were disabled (actually classified as a dwarf). Both families are just short, NOT disabled. I was diagnosis'd "failure to thrive" because I was so small and all of my kids were "high risk" because they were under the whatever percentile on the growth charts. Not just as babies, this went on until they were school aged. We got forced to extra doctor appts, etc... until we moved and took them to MY pediatrician who said they were fine, just from small parents. The other docs told all sorts of alarming stories about decreased intelligence due to malnutrition, etc.... . I was offended by that because heck, Wiz though that candy mean frosted mini wheats. He didn't have coke until he was 18 mos and that was just a small sip when most moms of kids we knew were giving their kids soda from happy meals at 9 mos. I was a stickler about healthy foods and not too much sweets, etc... and he ate like a hog.

Definitely see the pediatrician endocrinologist, but be careful as to what you actually do. Nature really does know a lot more about growth and development than doctors understand.

 

[HaoZi]

She's a little younger than normal to be starting but as they always tell us just because it starts doesn't mean the body is ready to breed - there's still a lot of growing left to be done before that's ready to happen. I put my kid on organic milk because one line of thought is the hormones in milk might be a cause of early onset. Kiddo started last month, age 10 - same age I started. Doesn't prove or disprove the milk theory, just adds to the genetic theory.

There's nothing wrong with making sure that something isn't causing her to start so early, but I don't feel there's real cause for panic just yet, either. Even back in my day I knew girls that started at 9 or even 8.

 

[Mattsmom277]

I really hope that there is nothing medical happening. That would scare the keepers out of any mama.

I just wanted to chime in about if there is no serious medical issue found as the cause, and if this turns out to be a simple case of a very early bloomer.

I was 9 years old when I had my first period. And I didn't have the normal initial irregularity issues either. I started at 9 years old, about 5 months from my 10th birthday. I have no idea how tall I was at that time, I stopped growing about age 14-15. I am about 5'4". That is average in my family for women.

I had issues due to being so young in terms of feeling embarrassed and unprepared. I had no clue at that age about a period, I was terrified the day I came home because there was blood all over my pants and ran to my bathroom and discovered I was bleeding from what I thiught then was my urinary tract. I wasn't even taught about a woman's body and until that time I didn't even know that there was more to the area than urinating from there. It was a crazy amount of shock to take in. Really I should have been educated to avoid the horror.

I hope to hear that your friends daughter is healthy and that she is just fine. Oh, my easy child started at 11. She had body hair start about age 9 and increase about age 10. I have found dark haired girls tend to start earlier too although that is just experience, not anything scientific or anything. Maybe it just shows more because light haired or blonde girls probably won't notice the pale hair as much?

 

[TerryJ2]

Good point. "We" are worried about the medical issues. "She" is going to be dealing with-emotional issues. I'm sending hugs through the DSL ... Poor thing. She's just a kid.

I had issues due to being so young in terms of feeling embarrassed and unprepared. I had no clue at that age about a period, I was terrified the day I came home because there was blood all over my pants and ran to my bathroom and discovered I was bleeding from what I thiught then was my urinary tract. I wasn't even taught about a woman's body and until that time I didn't even know that there was more to the area than urinating from there. It was a crazy amount of shock to take in. Really I should have been educated to avoid the horror.