These comments are made for the purpose of discussion and should NOT be used as recommendations for or against therapies or other treatments. An individual patient is always advised to consult their own physician.
[posted 06/15/2000]
Question: hello,
i am a 19 year old boy. my problem is my height is very short. because my mother and father’s height is short. my height is 5″2(five feet and two inches). i want increase my height more 5 to 6 inches. what any drug for me or www.ortopedi is better for me. my height is short because it is heridity. what is the way of height gain. please advice me what can i do? (my english is not good) sorry!!!
thanking you.
my e-mail: [email protected]
Answer: Administration of human growth hormone will help if your growth plates are not closed. See a pediatric endocrinologist.
[posted 06/9/2000]
Question: I am an Asian female who is 15 y/o at 5’0″. Some of the posts say that for females, their growth plates close around 16, but i started my period at 12. Do I still have a chance at gaining height using growth hormones? And also, is taking amino acids effective for height gain? thank you.
Answer: Unlikely if you are more than one to two years past menarche. The amino acids will be of no use also.
[posted 05/29/2000]
Question: Hello doctor I am 14 and 6 foot 4 and growing quickly I am happy with my current height and don’t want to grow any taller. Is there anything that can be done to stop this growth please help I don’t want to be abnormally big.
Answer: Not that I’m aware of unless you have a pituitary growth. This would depend a lot on the size of your parents and grandparents. If they are tall, there are no options that most physicians would pursue since they involve either radiation orsurgery to your pituitary.
[posted 05/23/2000]
Question: I would like to know if there are behavioral side effects from the drug protropin. My 4 year old son has been taking protropin for 12 months. Thank you.
Answer: Not usually, it is human growth hormone, a natural hormone in children.
[posted 04/8/2000]
Question: What is protropin used for? I need all the info on it for a class that I’m taking. Thanks
Answer: Protropin is a manufactured growth hormone which is identical to human growth hormone. It is used to supplement human growth and there have been several studies using augmentation in the elderly but research is currently ongoing. You can get the drug insert from a pharmacist or any bookstore or library which carries the Physicians Desk Reference. This will give you more detail, the insert covers a couple of pages and easy to xerox. The company that makes it is Genentech 800-821-8590.
[posted 03/15/2000]
Question: I am 20 years old and 5’3 will growth homormone help my height and if yes were can I go to get it perscribed any particular type of Doctor?
Answer: If male, you might have time if your growth plates are not closed. This can be determined by x-rays. Men begin to close in their early 20s and are closed by 25. Women are generally closed 2 years after menarche. Growth hormone after the plates close is of no use. As to the md, you will need to consult your local community. Start with the endocrinologists. Sometimes, pediatricians can give you the best leads since they are the ones who refer children for this therapy. Consequently, will know who will preform the treatment.
[posted 08/21/1999]
Question: I am a 23 year old male from India. I wish to know whether limb lengthening is taken as an accepted form of increasing height in an other wise normally statured human being. Specifically, I wish to know about the Ilizarov method. Can one increase his/her height by another 8-10 cm or so ? Is it now an accepted method of treating dwarfism ?
Answer: No.
Human growth hormone shots [posted 1/7/99]
Question: How can I locate doctors who are including HGH injections in their practice?
Answer: Call all the endocrinologists and check which ones would do this.
Growth Hormone [posted 11/10/98]
Question:I am 50 years old and have been suffering from ME/CFS for 3 years. I have tested positive (by PCR)for a new entervirus at 6 month intervals. I have also recently discovered that I am very deficient in Growth Hormone and have significantly low total blood volume, low plasma volume and low red cell volume. I have found studies linking low blood volume to ME/CFS and low growth hormone to low blood volume. I’m looking for an endocrinologist who has suggestions for treatment.
Answer: Well, some have treated this with hormones to raise red cell volume and mass. I would refer you to a paper by Streeten in the New England Journal about 3-4 years ago. I have treated several patients with epigen with mixed results;but, generally feeling better. However, getting insurance to pay is another issue. I have not seen studies of growth hormone replacement.
Can I Still Take Growth Hormones? [posted 10/8/98]
Question: I am 5 4inch, 26 years old, male I would like to know if growth hormones can still work for me. are there any side effects? what is the type of doctor do I have to go and see who specialize in that field.
Answer: Probably not at the age of 26.
Can I Still Take Growth Hormones? [posted 10/6/98]
Question:I am 5 4inches, 27 years old. I have tried to email several doctors, but go no response. I am hoping this time I get a response back. I would like to know, if it is too late for me to take any prescribe growth hormones to grow a 2-4 inch tall. What type of doctors do I have to see? Are there any side effects? Thank you!!
Answer: I’m not sure if Anand is male or female. Anyway, males can take growth hormone with results to about the early 20s, females til about one year after their period.
Can I Still Grow?
Question: I am a 22 years old Asian female. I would want to know at my age, can I still grow and if I can, how? please help me.
Answer: Once the growth plates are closed there will be no further growth. For women this usually happens about 1-2 years after the start of menarche(periods starting). At 22, it is probably too late to have any effects with any medical treatment.
Growth Hormones & Steriods
Question: I have a “FRIEND” who has purchased “Humatrope” or “Somatropina” growth hormone. He plans on stacking GH with Deca Durobolin and Primoteston(androgen). The use on the two Anabolic steroids is not in question…but the use of the growth hormone is. He is 24 years old and plans on taking a split dosage of 2 IU of Somatropina twice a week. I think my “FRIEND” is playing with just a little too much fire. What possible serious life threatening side effects can be considered and what consequences does using GH play on a healthy adult for the use of body building?
Answer: Use of growth hormone after the growth plates close is significantly different than before the growth plates close. Actually, a major complaint of patients with acromegaly(overproduction of growth hormone) is weakness. The bones tend to enlarge more than the muscles(adding weight but, not strength). Look up the symptoms of acromegaly in a medical textbook if you don’t believe me. Use of growth hormone before closure of growth plates (about 16 in women and about 20-22 in men) will produce height improvement and muscle growth;but, not after the closure of the growth plates. A list of general symptoms are fatigue, somnolence, weight gain, heat intolerance, coarsening of facial features, decreased libido, heart failure, kidney stones and joint pains.