Growth Hormone Therapy for Kids in Stockton
Pediatric HGH Treatment and Telemedicine Growth Care for Children Across Stockton
When a child seems to be growing more slowly than expected, parents often hear the same advice:
“Give it time—they may just be a late bloomer.”
Sometimes that is exactly right.
But sometimes a child who continues falling behind in height has an underlying growth, hormonal, nutritional, or developmental issue that deserves a closer look.
Families searching for growth hormone therapy for kids in Stockton are often not simply looking for HGH. They are trying to answer a much more important question:
Is my child growing normally, and if not, why?
For families throughout Stockton, San Joaquin County, Lodi, Manteca, Tracy, Lathrop, Ripon, French Camp, Mountain House, and surrounding Central Valley communities, a pediatric growth evaluation can help determine whether short stature represents normal genetics, delayed development, or a condition that may benefit from medical treatment.
Growth hormone therapy can be an important treatment for appropriately selected children with certain growth disorders, but height alone does not determine whether a child needs HGH.[1,2]
The first step is understanding the child's individual growth pattern.
When Should Stockton Parents Be Concerned About Their Child's Height?
There is no single height that automatically means something is wrong.
Some healthy children naturally remain near the lower percentiles throughout childhood.
What often deserves more attention is a change in the way a child is growing.
Parents may consider a pediatric growth evaluation when a child:
- Is consistently growing more slowly than expected
- Begins dropping across height percentiles
- Is substantially shorter than expected based on parental height
- Has not experienced an expected pubertal growth spurt
- Shows signs of delayed puberty
- Has delayed bone age
- Has previously had a low IGF-1 result
- Was born small and has not demonstrated expected catch-up growth
- Has a chronic medical condition that could affect growth
The question is not simply:
“Is my child short?”
It is:
“Is my child's growth pattern appropriate for their age, genetics, and developmental stage?”
Growth Velocity: One of the Most Important Numbers to Know
Growth velocity refers to how much height a child gains over a specific period.
This is often more informative than height percentile alone.
For many school-age children between early childhood and puberty, approximately 2–2.5 inches of growth per year is common, although expected growth varies by age and developmental stage.[2,3]
Growth then accelerates during puberty.
Consider two children.
Child A
The child is at the 5th percentile for height but has consistently remained near that percentile while growing at an appropriate rate.
Child B
The child is currently at the 25th percentile but was previously at the 60th percentile and continues moving downward.
Child B may actually deserve more investigation despite being taller.
That is why the direction of the growth curve matters.
Why Your Child's Old Growth Charts Are So Valuable
Parents considering a growth evaluation should try to obtain previous height and weight records.
Several years of measurements can reveal whether a child:
- Has always been shorter
- Has remained on the same growth curve
- Recently started slowing down
- Has progressively lost height percentile
- Failed to accelerate during puberty
Annual measurements from pediatric physicals can be extremely useful.
A single measurement tells us where a child is today.
Several years of measurements tell us how they got there.
Why Is My Child Growing Slowly?
Slow growth has many possible explanations.
Importantly, growth hormone deficiency is only one of them.
A complete evaluation attempts to determine which pattern best explains the child's development.
Familial Short Stature
Some children are genetically predisposed to be shorter.
If both parents are shorter, a child may naturally track along a lower percentile.
Familial short stature becomes more likely when the child:
- Has appropriate growth velocity
- Remains on a consistent percentile
- Develops normally
- Has skeletal maturation reasonably consistent with development
- Is tracking toward an adult height compatible with family genetics
In these situations, short stature itself may not represent disease.
Constitutional Growth Delay
Another common pattern is constitutional growth delay, sometimes described as being a late bloomer.
These children may:
- Appear younger than classmates
- Remain shorter during childhood
- Enter puberty later
- Have delayed bone age
- Experience their major growth spurt later than peers
- Continue growing after many classmates have stopped
A family history of delayed puberty is common.
Parents sometimes report that the father grew substantially during the later high-school years or that the mother entered puberty significantly later than her friends.
Many children with constitutional growth delay eventually experience later spontaneous growth.[4]
However, not every child who is growing poorly should automatically be labeled a late bloomer.
That distinction is one reason proper evaluation matters.
Growth Hormone Deficiency in Children
Growth hormone deficiency occurs when inadequate growth hormone activity interferes with normal childhood growth.
Children with possible GHD may demonstrate:
- Reduced growth velocity
- Progressive decline on the height chart
- Significant short stature
- Delayed skeletal maturation
- Low IGF-1 in some cases
Growth hormone deficiency cannot be diagnosed based on appearance or height alone.
It requires interpretation of the child's growth pattern together with clinical findings, laboratory testing, and sometimes specialized growth hormone stimulation testing.[1,2]
Idiopathic Short Stature
Idiopathic short stature generally describes significant short stature when another identifiable medical cause has not been established.
Some children with idiopathic short stature may be considered for growth hormone therapy.
However, this does not mean every otherwise healthy short child should receive HGH.
Treatment decisions may consider:
- Severity of short stature
- Growth velocity
- Family target height
- Bone age
- Pubertal development
- Predicted adult height
- Remaining growth potential
- Expected treatment response
- Burden and duration of therapy
Guidelines emphasize individualized decision-making rather than routine treatment based solely on height.[2]
Children Born Small for Gestational Age
Some children are born small for gestational age.
Many experience spontaneous catch-up growth during early childhood.
Others remain significantly short.
Persistent short stature after being born small for gestational age is one of the recognized situations in which growth hormone therapy may be considered when appropriate criteria are met.
Birth records can therefore provide useful information during a growth evaluation.
Parents should bring the child's:
- Birth weight
- Birth length
- Gestational age
- Pregnancy history
when available.
Medical Conditions That Can Affect a Child's Growth
A child does not need to have a primary growth hormone problem for growth to slow.
Potential medical contributors include:
- Hypothyroidism
- Celiac disease
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Chronic kidney disease
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Inadequate calorie intake
- Malabsorption
- Chronic inflammation
- Certain genetic conditions
- Other chronic illnesses
For some children, poor growth may appear before more obvious symptoms develop.
This is one reason growth charts can function as an important indicator of overall childhood health.
How Human Growth Hormone Helps Children Grow
Human growth hormone is naturally produced by the pituitary gland, a small endocrine structure near the base of the brain.
Growth hormone is released in pulses rather than at a constant rate.
GH supports the production and action of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which contributes to growth at the growth plates of developing bones.
A simplified version of this process is:
Pituitary gland → Growth hormone → IGF-1 → Growth plates → Bone lengthening
Growth plates are specialized areas of cartilage near the ends of long bones.
During childhood and adolescence, these areas allow bones to lengthen.
Eventually, puberty advances skeletal maturation and the growth plates fuse.
Once growth plates are completely fused:
Growth hormone cannot reopen them or create additional long-bone height.
This makes the amount of remaining skeletal growth particularly important when evaluating teenagers.
Who May Be a Candidate for Growth Hormone Therapy?
Recombinant human growth hormone is an established medical treatment for several pediatric conditions.
Depending on the diagnosis and individual clinical circumstances, HGH may be considered for children with conditions including:
- Growth hormone deficiency
- Selected cases of idiopathic short stature
- Persistent short stature after being born small for gestational age
- Turner syndrome
- SHOX deficiency
- Certain other recognized pediatric growth disorders
Treatment recommendations should be based on the child's diagnosis and expected benefit—not simply the desire to increase height.[2]
Pediatric Growth Evaluation for Stockton Families
A detailed growth evaluation brings several pieces of information together.
No single test provides the complete answer.
1. Review the Growth Chart
Previous height measurements help determine whether the child is maintaining or losing percentile.
2. Calculate Growth Velocity
How much did the child actually grow during the past 6–12 months?
3. Evaluate Family Height
Parental height provides context for the child's genetic height potential.
4. Assess Puberty
Pubertal timing strongly influences both current growth and how much growth remains.
5. Evaluate Bone Age
Skeletal maturity can provide additional information about the child's developmental timeline.
6. Consider Laboratory Testing
Blood testing may help identify endocrine, nutritional, gastrointestinal, or systemic contributors.
The goal is to answer:
Why is this child growing differently than expected?
Bone Age Testing and Remaining Growth Potential
A bone age X-ray is commonly used when evaluating significant short stature, delayed growth, or puberty concerns.
Usually, an X-ray of the left hand and wrist is compared with standardized skeletal maturity references.
Bone age may provide information about:
- Skeletal maturity
- Remaining growth potential
- Delayed development
- Advanced development
- Puberty timing
- Predicted adult height
This can be particularly valuable for adolescents.
Chronological Age vs Bone Age
One of the biggest misconceptions about pediatric growth is assuming that every child of the same age has approximately the same amount of growth remaining.
They do not.
Imagine two boys who are both 14.
One has delayed puberty and delayed skeletal maturation.
The other entered puberty early and is approaching skeletal maturity.
Their birthdays are the same.
Their biological growth timelines may be completely different.
This is why questions such as:
“Can a 14-year-old still grow?”
or
“Is 15 too late for HGH?”
cannot be answered using chronological age alone.
Bone age, pubertal stage, growth velocity, and diagnosis provide much more useful information.
What Does Delayed Bone Age Mean for Height?
Delayed bone age means skeletal maturation is behind chronological age.
In some children, this can indicate that more time remains for growth.
Delayed bone age may occur with:
- Constitutional growth delay
- Growth hormone deficiency
- Hypothyroidism
- Nutritional problems
- Chronic medical conditions
- Other endocrine disorders
However, delayed bone age does not automatically mean:
“Everything is fine because my child has more time.”
Nor does it automatically mean:
“My child needs growth hormone.”
The reason for the delay still needs to be understood.
How Is Predicted Adult Height Estimated?
Parents often want to know:
“How tall will my child eventually be?”
There is no test that can predict adult height with complete certainty.
However, clinicians may use:
- Current height
- Growth velocity
- Parental heights
- Bone age
- Pubertal stage
- Previous growth trajectory
to estimate a probable adult height range.
This estimate can help determine whether the child appears to be tracking near genetic expectations or substantially below them.
For parents, this can be more useful than comparing their child with classmates.
IGF-1 Testing in Children With Slow Growth
Low IGF-1 can sometimes raise concern about the growth hormone axis.
But IGF-1 must be interpreted carefully.
Levels can be affected by:
- Age
- Pubertal stage
- Nutritional status
- Chronic illness
- Overall health
Therefore:
A low IGF-1 result by itself does not prove that a child has growth hormone deficiency.[1]
The result becomes more meaningful when interpreted alongside the child's growth velocity, height pattern, bone age, and clinical history.
Why a Random Growth Hormone Blood Test Isn't Enough
Parents sometimes ask:
“Why can't we just test the child's growth hormone level?”
The reason is that GH is secreted in pulses.
A healthy child may have very little measurable GH between normal secretion pulses.
A random blood sample could therefore appear extremely low even when growth hormone production is normal.[1]
When the child's overall growth pattern raises concern for GHD, specialized growth hormone stimulation testing may sometimes be considered.
Even stimulation test results should be interpreted as part of the complete clinical picture.[1,2]
What Laboratory Tests May Be Considered?
Testing depends on the child's individual presentation.
A growth evaluation may sometimes include:
- IGF-1
- IGFBP-3
- TSH
- Free T4
- Complete blood count
- Comprehensive metabolic panel
- Celiac screening
- Inflammatory markers
- Additional endocrine testing when appropriate
The purpose is not simply to determine whether HGH can be prescribed.
It is to look for treatable causes of abnormal growth.
Growth Hormone Therapy Before Puberty
Evaluating growth concerns before puberty can provide valuable information while substantial skeletal growth may remain.
A school-age child may benefit from evaluation when:
- Annual growth remains below expectations
- Height percentile is progressively declining
- The child is significantly shorter than predicted from family height
- Bone age is delayed
- IGF-1 is abnormal
- A medical condition associated with poor growth is suspected
If testing is reassuring, the family may simply continue monitoring.
If an underlying problem is identified, earlier recognition may provide more time to address it.
Growth Hormone Therapy for a 12- or 13-Year-Old in Stockton
Around middle-school age, differences in puberty become much more visible.
Some children suddenly grow several inches.
Others remain almost unchanged.
This can cause parents to worry that their child has permanently fallen behind.
For a 12- or 13-year-old, clinicians may evaluate:
- Current growth velocity
- Pubertal stage
- Bone age
- Family puberty history
- Genetic target height
- IGF-1 when appropriate
- Other potential causes of poor growth
Many children at these ages still have substantial growth ahead.
The important question is whether their current pattern is normal for their developmental stage.
Growth Hormone Therapy for a 14-Year-Old
Age 14 is a common time for parents to become particularly concerned about height.
Some teenagers have already experienced their peak growth spurt.
Others have barely entered puberty.
Therefore:
Being short at 14 does not automatically mean the opportunity for growth has been lost.
A 14-year-old with delayed puberty and delayed bone age may have considerably more growth remaining than another 14-year-old who matured early.
Evaluation should consider:
- Bone age
- Pubertal stage
- Recent growth velocity
- Growth plate maturity
- Diagnosis
- Predicted adult height
Chronological age alone is not enough.
Can a 15- or 16-Year-Old Still Benefit From Evaluation?
Yes.
But at these ages, skeletal maturity becomes increasingly important.
Some 15- and 16-year-olds continue growing.
Others are approaching final height.
A teenager with delayed skeletal maturation may still have meaningful growth potential.
Another teenager of the same age may have growth plates approaching complete fusion.
For older adolescents, the evaluation increasingly focuses on:
“How much growth actually remains?”
rather than age alone.
Growth Concerns in Boys
Boys typically experience their pubertal growth spurt later than girls.
This can create dramatic differences during early adolescence.
A boy who has not entered puberty at the same time as his classmates may suddenly appear much shorter.
In some cases, this reflects constitutional growth delay.
In others, delayed puberty or poor growth may require additional evaluation.
Bone age, pubertal development, and growth velocity can help distinguish these patterns.
Growth Concerns in Girls
Girls generally enter puberty and reach peak growth velocity earlier than boys.
Because skeletal maturation also advances earlier, persistent growth concerns in girls should be interpreted in the context of puberty.
Evaluation may include:
- Timing of breast development
- Menstrual history when applicable
- Growth velocity
- Bone age
- Family height
- Predicted adult height
A girl's chronological age alone does not reveal exactly how much height potential remains.
What Does Pediatric HGH Treatment Involve?
When recombinant growth hormone is medically appropriate, treatment is typically administered through subcutaneous injections.
Therapy requires ongoing medical monitoring.
Follow-up may assess:
- Height
- Weight
- Growth velocity
- IGF-1
- Pubertal progression
- Thyroid function when appropriate
- Bone age when clinically indicated
- Treatment adherence
- Potential adverse effects
Doses may change as children grow.
Growth hormone treatment is therefore best understood as a long-term medical treatment program, not simply a medication prescription.
How Do Doctors Determine Whether HGH Is Working?
Before treatment, clinicians establish a baseline growth rate.
After treatment begins, subsequent measurements can be compared with that baseline.
A response may be assessed using:
- Change in growth velocity
- Height percentile
- IGF-1 response
- Bone age progression
- Pubertal development
- Overall treatment adherence
If the child does not respond as expected, clinicians may need to reconsider:
- Diagnosis
- Dose
- Adherence
- Nutrition
- Thyroid function
- Other medical conditions
- Remaining growth potential
Treatment should have measurable goals.
How Much Taller Can HGH Make a Child?
This is understandably one of the first questions families ask.
Unfortunately, there is no universal number.
Potential response depends on:
- Underlying diagnosis
- Age at treatment initiation
- Bone age
- Pubertal stage
- Baseline growth velocity
- Genetics
- Degree of growth impairment
- Treatment duration
- Dose
- Adherence
- Remaining growth potential
Children with confirmed growth hormone deficiency can experience significant catch-up growth when appropriately treated.[1,2]
Response in children treated for other indications may be more variable.
Parents should be cautious of anyone promising a guaranteed number of inches or a specific adult height.
Is Growth Hormone Therapy Safe for Children?
Recombinant human growth hormone has been used in pediatric medicine for decades and is generally well tolerated when appropriately prescribed and monitored.[1,2]
However, HGH is a prescription medication with potential adverse effects.
Clinicians may monitor for issues including:
- Headaches
- Intracranial hypertension
- Slipped capital femoral epiphysis
- Changes in glucose metabolism
- Thyroid abnormalities
- Scoliosis progression during rapid growth
- Joint discomfort
- Injection-site reactions
The child's underlying diagnosis and medical history should always be considered.
Supporting Growth Beyond Medication
Whether or not a child ultimately needs HGH, healthy development depends on basic physiological needs being met.
Nutrition
Growing children need adequate calories and protein.
Important nutrients include:
- Calcium
- Vitamin D
- Zinc
- Iron
- Other essential vitamins and minerals
Restrictive eating or inadequate nutrition can interfere with growth.
Sleep
Normal sleep is important for endocrine function and overall development.
Children and adolescents should maintain age-appropriate, consistent sleep schedules.
Exercise
Regular physical activity supports healthy bones, muscles, metabolism, and overall well-being.
Treat Medical Problems
Thyroid disorders, gastrointestinal conditions, nutritional deficiencies, sleep problems, and chronic disease can all interfere with growth.
Correcting the underlying issue may be more important than focusing exclusively on growth hormone.
Growth Hormone Therapy for Kids in Stockton
Families searching specifically for growth hormone therapy for kids in Stockton may be concerned because their child is significantly shorter than expected or has begun losing height percentile.
A pediatric growth evaluation may review:
- Several years of growth charts
- Current growth velocity
- Parental heights
- Puberty
- Bone age
- IGF-1
- Medical history
- Laboratory testing when appropriate
- Predicted adult height
For Stockton families, the objective should be establishing why growth has slowed before deciding how to treat it.
Pediatric Growth Evaluation for Lodi Families
Families in Lodi, Woodbridge, Acampo, and northern San Joaquin County may seek specialized evaluation when a child appears to be developing later or growing more slowly than classmates.
A family history of late puberty can be particularly useful.
Parents should consider asking relatives:
- Did either parent grow late?
- When did puberty begin?
- Did the father grow after high school?
- Did the mother enter puberty later than friends?
This information can help identify a possible constitutional growth delay pattern.
Growth Hormone Evaluation for Manteca and Lathrop
Families searching for growth hormone therapy in Manteca or Lathrop may benefit from reviewing the child's growth trajectory before focusing on treatment.
For younger children, growth velocity may be particularly informative.
For teenagers, bone age and puberty become increasingly important.
Families can prepare by gathering:
- Previous pediatric growth charts
- Bone age studies
- Laboratory results
- Birth records
- Family height information
- Previous endocrinology evaluations
Pediatric Growth Care for Tracy and Mountain House
Families in Tracy, Mountain House, and southwestern San Joaquin County may have concerns about accessing specialized pediatric growth evaluation.
When appropriate, portions of consultation and follow-up may be completed through telemedicine.
Growth records, laboratory testing, bone age reports, and previous specialist evaluations can often provide valuable information before an in-person component is completed.
The goal is to make the evaluation organized and focused rather than repeating unnecessary testing.
Growth Evaluation for Ripon and Surrounding Central Valley Communities
Families in Ripon and communities between San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties may also seek evaluation for children with poor growth velocity, delayed puberty, or significant short stature.
Geography should not change the fundamental approach.
A useful growth evaluation asks:
Where has the child been?
Where is the child now?
Why is the child following this pattern?
Where is the child's growth trajectory likely heading?
Telemedicine for Stockton and San Joaquin County Families
Telemedicine may be useful for portions of pediatric growth evaluation and follow-up when medically and legally appropriate.
A virtual consultation may allow review of:
- Growth charts
- Previous height measurements
- Laboratory results
- Bone age reports
- Family height
- Puberty history
- Medical history
- Previous endocrinology records
Certain parts of care may still require:
- Accurate physical measurements
- In-person examination
- Laboratory testing
- Bone age imaging
- Other diagnostic procedures
Telemedicine should complement necessary medical evaluation rather than replace it.
What Should Parents Bring to a Growth Evaluation?
The more information available, the easier it is to understand the child's growth pattern.
Parents should consider collecting:
- Previous pediatric growth charts
- Height and weight measurements
- Birth weight
- Birth length
- Gestational age
- Mother's height
- Father's height
- Sibling growth patterns
- Family puberty history
- Previous laboratory results
- Bone age reports
- Bone age images when available
- Current medications
- Previous endocrinology records
Even older annual physical records can provide valuable information.
Questions to Ask Before Starting Growth Hormone Therapy
Before deciding on HGH treatment, parents should understand the answers to questions such as:
- Is my child's growth velocity abnormal?
- Is my child falling through height percentiles?
- Does family height explain the short stature?
- What is my child's bone age?
- How much growth appears to remain?
- What stage of puberty has my child reached?
- Are the growth plates still active?
- What is causing the poor growth?
- Is there evidence of growth hormone deficiency?
- Is there another recognized indication for HGH?
- What benefit can realistically be expected?
- How will treatment response be measured?
- How long might treatment continue?
- What monitoring is necessary?
- What potential adverse effects should we understand?
- What happens if treatment does not improve growth?
Parents should understand why treatment is recommended before beginning it.
Should We Wait and See or Get a Growth Evaluation?
Parents are often caught between two concerns.
They do not want to overreact to normal variation.
But they also do not want to wait until meaningful growth time has been lost.
A growth evaluation does not mean committing to treatment.
It may result in:
- Reassurance
- Continued monitoring
- Improved nutrition
- Treatment of another medical condition
- Further endocrine testing
- Evaluation of delayed puberty
- Growth hormone therapy when medically appropriate
Sometimes the best recommendation truly is:
“Your child is growing normally. Let's continue watching.”
But that conclusion is more reassuring when it is supported by actual growth data.
Why Timing Can Matter
Children have a finite period during which the long bones can continue increasing in length.
As puberty progresses, growth plates mature and eventually fuse.
Once complete skeletal maturity is reached, medication cannot restore the earlier growth window.
This does not mean every short child should receive early treatment.
It means persistent abnormal growth should be understood before the growth window closes.
Early evaluation is not the same thing as early medication.
It is simply an opportunity to obtain better information while more options may remain.
The Bottom Line for Stockton and San Joaquin County Parents
Families searching for growth hormone therapy for kids in Stockton should begin with one fundamental question:
Why is my child growing this way?
Possible explanations include:
- Familial short stature
- Constitutional growth delay
- Delayed puberty
- Growth hormone deficiency
- Idiopathic short stature
- Small for gestational age
- Thyroid disease
- Nutritional problems
- Gastrointestinal disease
- Chronic illness
- Genetic conditions
A comprehensive pediatric growth evaluation can help determine:
Is growth velocity normal?
Is my child losing height percentile?
Does family genetics explain the pattern?
Is puberty delayed?
What does bone age show?
How much growth may remain?
Is there evidence of growth hormone deficiency or another growth disorder?
Would growth hormone therapy provide a meaningful benefit?
For families throughout Stockton, Lodi, Manteca, Tracy, Lathrop, Ripon, French Camp, Mountain House, and surrounding San Joaquin County communities, getting these answers can help replace uncertainty with a more individualized growth plan.
The goal should never be to prescribe growth hormone simply because a child is short.
The goal is to recognize abnormal growth when it exists, identify its cause, understand how much growth potential remains, and consider treatment when there is a medically appropriate reason to do so.
Schedule a Pediatric Growth Evaluation for Stockton-Area Families
If your child:
- Is growing more slowly than expected
- Is falling through height percentiles
- Is significantly shorter than expected based on family height
- Has delayed puberty
- Has delayed bone age
- Has low IGF-1
- Has not experienced an expected growth spurt
- Is being evaluated for possible growth hormone deficiency
a comprehensive growth evaluation can help clarify what may be affecting development.
Families searching for growth hormone therapy for kids in Stockton, a child height specialist in Stockton, pediatric growth evaluation in San Joaquin County, HGH for kids in Manteca, growth hormone therapy in Lodi, or pediatric growth care in Tracy can begin by reviewing:
- Long-term growth history
- Growth velocity
- Bone age
- Pubertal development
- Family height
- Laboratory findings when appropriate
- Predicted adult height
- Remaining growth potential
Contact HGHforChildren.com to schedule a pediatric growth evaluation and learn more about your child's growth pattern, remaining height potential, and whether treatment may be medically appropriate.
Medically Reviewed By
Dr. Devin Stone, ND
Dr. Devin Stone, ND is a licensed naturopathic doctor and founder of HGHforChildren.com. His clinical focus includes pediatric growth evaluation, short stature assessment, delayed puberty, bone age analysis, growth hormone deficiency screening, IGF-1 interpretation, poor growth velocity, and individualized growth treatment planning for children and adolescents.
Through HGHforChildren.com, Dr. Stone educates families about childhood growth disorders, height prediction, growth velocity, skeletal maturity, growth hormone evaluation, and treatment options for children who may not be reaching their expected growth potential.
Medical References
1. Pediatric Endocrine Society. Growth Hormone Deficiency: A Guide for Families. Pediatric Endocrine Society/American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Endocrinology Patient Education Committee.
2. Grimberg A, DiVall SA, Polychronakos C, et al. Guidelines for Growth Hormone and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Treatment in Children and Adolescents: Growth Hormone Deficiency, Idiopathic Short Stature, and Primary Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Deficiency. Hormone Research in Paediatrics. 2016;86(6):361–397. doi:10.1159/000452150.
3. Barstow C, Rerucha C. Evaluation of Short and Tall Stature in Children. American Family Physician. 2015;92(1):43–50.
4. Pediatric Endocrine Society. Constitutional Growth Delay: A Guide for Families. Pediatric Endocrine Society/American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Endocrinology Patient Education Committee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions About Growth Hormone Therapy for Kids in Stockton
Families in Stockton and throughout San Joaquin County can seek pediatric growth evaluation for poor growth velocity, significant short stature, delayed puberty, delayed bone age, low IGF-1, or suspected growth hormone deficiency. HGH should only be considered after an appropriate medical evaluation.
Some components of consultation and follow-up may be performed remotely when appropriate, while physical measurements, imaging, testing, or examinations may require in-person care.