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Growth hormone for healthy but short kids
"Sue" wrote in message
... I don't think it is right for otherwise healthy children. But, it is nice to see that for the children that need it, at least the FDA has approved it. It was *already* approved for use in children who are not growing properly due to health issues, though. So it would have been available for your daughter regardless of this ruling from the FDA. -- Be well, Barbara (Julian [6], Aurora [4], and Vernon's [17mo] mom) "Nobody died when Clinton lied." -- freeway sign This week's special at the English Language Butcher Shop: "They walk with an unsteady, shambling gate." -- Article in the San Diego Union Tribune All opinions expressed in this post are well-reasoned and insightful. Needless to say, they are not those of my Internet Service Provider, its other subscribers or lackeys. Anyone who says otherwise is itchin' for a fight. -- with apologies to Michael Feldman |
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Growth hormone for healthy but short kids
"Circe" wrote in message
news:RbO_a.10729$2g.1140@fed1read05... The following has been in the news for the past few days. ================================ Growth Hormone Gets New Use For kids of 'short stature' TUESDAY, July 29 (HealthDayNews) -- The Food and Drug Administration has OK'd the use of growth hormone injections on children who are healthy but abnormally short and who hope to gain 1 to 3 inches of height. The drug, called Humatrope, is only for the shortest 1.2 percent of children, which manufacturer Eli Lilly says includes 400,000 such children between the ages 7 to 15. The drug maker, however, predicts that only about 10 percent ultimately would receive growth hormone because of tight eligibility restrictions, and because many families won't want to endure up to six shots a week for years. (snip) So, do you agree with the FDA's decision or not? no. And what does this say about our culture's bias that bigger is better? exactly. if a child is short but has no other health issues, why is the shortness medicalised & "fixed"? if the only gain is 1-3 inches it boggles the mind how anyone could think this would be worth it, anyway. (particularly at that cost, & 6(!) shots a week). doubtless my life would be easier if i was 1-3 inches taller (& i'm not abnormally short by any measure!!!!) but the line should be drawn somewhere, which imo should be right underneath what is perfectly normal & healthy. even if it *is* a bit shorter than average. i think this speaks volumes about the increasing unacceptability of any difference - that's the real issue. kylie -- www.rdj.com.au |
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Growth hormone for healthy but short kids
"Circe" wrote in message news:RbO_a.10729$2g.1140@fed1read05...
The following has been in the news for the past few days. ================================ Growth Hormone Gets New Use For kids of 'short stature' TUESDAY, July 29 (HealthDayNews) -- The Food and Drug Administration has OK'd the use of growth hormone injections on children who are healthy but abnormally short and who hope to gain 1 to 3 inches of height. ======================== So, do you agree with the FDA's decision or not? And what does this say about our culture's bias that bigger is better? FDA should determine that drugs are safe and effective, NOT if drugs are socially good. If it works and is safe, the FDA should approve it: it's not their job to grill people about social pressures, nor should it be. As for what it says about our cultu it says what we already know. People are vain. People want to be taller. Cosmetic surgeries and drug applications are common. But you already knew that. Joshua Levy |
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Growth hormone for healthy but short kids
Circe wrote:
======================== So, do you agree with the FDA's decision or not? And what does this say about our culture's bias that bigger is better? After seeing what my nephew, who has a true growth hormone disorder, goes through with those shots, I can't imagine anyone putting their child through that when there is no medical indication. I am the mother of a healthy short statured child (and I'm quite tall) and I have many nieces and nephews of short stature. It isn't easy sometimes, it can be heartbreaking, but I'm not about to mess with her body chemistry and future health for the sake of 1-3 inches. Karen |
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Growth hormone for healthy but short kids
Circe wrote:
So, do you agree with the FDA's decision or not? And what does this say about our culture's bias that bigger is better? My 5 yo. Nephew would love to grow a bit more.. if those shots were in pill form instead I bet he'd go for it in a heartbeat. Harry is shorter than his 3 yo. sister. He looks like a toddler but is a thin kind (not the chubby toddler type). As a Kindergartener he looks more like a pre-preschooler. He walks on his tip toes all the time _trying_ to be taller. Not because anyone has said "you're short" but because he wants to be big. He's no longer as flexible as he used to be.. can't touch his toes without bending his knees. Kind of reminds me of women who wear high-heels all the time. His parents aren't concerned=B9 but everyone else in our family is.. we constantly tell him to "walk right" meaning off his toes. We're going to buy him some _heavy_ boots so that it's not so easy to toe walk for him.. otherwise we foresee a lifetime of back and leg problems for him. So.. sometimes growth hormones are necessary.. but 6 shots a week are not something I would put my kids through.. not for a few inches. ~misty =B9not the best parents in the world and have turned temp. guardianship of their kids to another sister. |
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Growth hormone for healthy but short kids
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#7
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Growth hormone for healthy but short kids
I guess the issue becomes that some kids DO catch up and end up in the
normal range. My brother was adopted and he hit puberty late - and he was really short relative to his peers into his mid teens. My father didn't know what to tell him, since we had no idea of the heights of his biological parents (i.e. we couldn't reassure him based on history that he would catch up). However, catch up he did, in a burst at 16/17 and is quite an average height - he is 5' 9", so not a basketball player, but in the just fine okay range. We also have a neighbour who is a successful lawyer with three kids whose oldest kid is really teeny. He's so small, you'd think there was something wrong with him - his sister who is a year younger than him is much taller. However, the dad is 5' 7" and he says he was a peanut as a 7 year old as well. You wouldn't want to be giving a kid growth hormones at this point because you don't know there is a problem at all. Mary G. |
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Growth hormone for healthy but short kids
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#9
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Growth hormone for healthy but short kids
On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 08:50:04 -0700, "Circe" quoted:
(a story about the US FDA authorizing limited growth hormone treatment for small classes of eligible children) So, do you agree with the FDA's decision or not? We're talking treating 40,000 kids nationwide? That's probably pretty reasonable. And what does this say about our culture's bias that bigger is better? I see this as 'bigger makes tasks of daily living somewhat more achievable'. Taking four and a half feet up three inches could make driving a car, for example, a whole lot closer to do-able. Obviously, the concern is parents of potential college basketball players looking to up the height even more, but there's a limit to how tightly a med can be controlled, and how much you can protect people from their own unscrupulousness. |
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