Difference between revisions of "HGH"

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(Added section warning against "HGH supplements")
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He's still small - 24 in long and 11 lb 8 oz at 5 months, but he's growing.  His head control has improved incredibly and his legs are getting much stronger.  I know that the GH affects our kids differently, but so far it has been like a miracle for Georgie.
 
He's still small - 24 in long and 11 lb 8 oz at 5 months, but he's growing.  His head control has improved incredibly and his legs are getting much stronger.  I know that the GH affects our kids differently, but so far it has been like a miracle for Georgie.
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== Don't buy "HGH supplements"! ==
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 +
Much of the information you see about HGH on the Internet (including, unfortunately, the Google ads that may appear on this page) are not for the FDA-reglulated Human Growth Hormone.  Instead, they are largely fraudulent pitches for herbal supplements that they say "release" or "activate" HGH.  In fact, these ads and products have nothing to do with HGH, which is a very powerful drug that is controlled by the FDA.  Please do not get confused and believe that that these cheap (and, frankly, worthless) herbal supplements are any replacement for physician-prescribed HGH.  Nearly every HGH ad will try to create that confusion.  These "supplements" are in no way effective for PWS sufferers (or for anyone else).

Revision as of 13:54, 23 March 2005

Contents

First Steps

In the haze that follows a new diagnosis of an infant, there are several things that you can start doing right away.

  1. Make an appointment with a pediatric endocrinologist. Your pediatrician can give you the name of a good one. The appointment should be made ASAP as it may take 2-4 months to get an appointment. Note that sometimes the geneticist can also take responsibility for prescribing growth hormone.
  2. Make an appointment for a sleep study. Most pediatric endocrinologists will require a sleep study before the prescribe HGH. It may take 1-2 months to get an appointment for a sleep study. The pediatric endocrinologist or your pediatrician can give you a referral for a sleep study.
  3. Consider calling PWSAUSA and determining the closest PWS expert to your area. We went ahead and booked an appointment with our closest expert for a second opinion. This is probably not necessary but we have already found it to be useful.
  4. Read up on HGH from the information supplied by PWSAUSA.

Important Links

My personal views on GH

The thing I cling to above all is the belief that early stimulation can lead to cognitive development. I believe that GH allows for movement which allows for exploration of the environment which allows for the neurological stimulation which allows for cognitive development and normal intelligence. Read the posts of the moms of kids who went on GH early. Their kids are of normal intelligence and sometimes even smart. There is no proof that it is the growth hormone that allows for this, but I believe that it is a huge component.

What to Expect

Every child responds differently to starting GH. We thought that we could imagine improvements after a week. After two weeks we saw improvements. The most striking thing we noticed, however, was that Kian no longer floated on top of the water in the tub. Instead, after one month his little body was below the water with only the tips of his knees breaking through the surface. Now after 2 1/2 months on GH, his body sinks so that it touches the bottom of the tub. I attribute this change in flotation to the change in body composition toward decreased fat and increased lean muscle.

Here is another mother's story: Georgie just started it on November 19th - He was 4 1/2 months old. After reading all the posts about what to expect, I really had no clue what would happen. 2 days after starting it, he rolled off of the couch! Although I was scared to death (he was fine after a checkout at the ER) I was totally surprised that he had moved at all! He had kicked and moved his arms but had never even begun to roll. That day he didn't actually roll over but had rolled to his side and his momentum carried him off the couch. Regardless it was phenomenal progress in a couple of days!

As of today, he has been on GH for 4 weeks. While he is still sleepier than a "normal" child, he is much more alert and awake for much longer. He is so much more vocal than before and actually cries when the bottle is taken out of his mouth and he's not finished with it. He smiles more and is just so much more like an average baby. When my daughter was an infant and she cried, I felt anxious and stressed. Now when Georgie cries I smile to myself and actually laugh because I can't believe he's making noise!

He's still small - 24 in long and 11 lb 8 oz at 5 months, but he's growing. His head control has improved incredibly and his legs are getting much stronger. I know that the GH affects our kids differently, but so far it has been like a miracle for Georgie.

Don't buy "HGH supplements"!

Much of the information you see about HGH on the Internet (including, unfortunately, the Google ads that may appear on this page) are not for the FDA-reglulated Human Growth Hormone. Instead, they are largely fraudulent pitches for herbal supplements that they say "release" or "activate" HGH. In fact, these ads and products have nothing to do with HGH, which is a very powerful drug that is controlled by the FDA. Please do not get confused and believe that that these cheap (and, frankly, worthless) herbal supplements are any replacement for physician-prescribed HGH. Nearly every HGH ad will try to create that confusion. These "supplements" are in no way effective for PWS sufferers (or for anyone else).