Thursday, July 22, 2010

Thank you, GH, for giving me my son back!

Finally, finally, FINALLY, Matt was approved to start Growth Hormone.  His last bloodwork came back with his GH at an 88.  Boys Matt's age should have GH somewhere in the 300-400 range.  While Matt is a big kid, he hasn't grown very much at all in two years - and this during a time when boys should be growing several inches per year!  Our biggest reasons for wanting to get Matt on GH were not so much height, but rather:

More enegry
Better muscle tone
General sense of well-being
Improved blood sugar
Better management of cholesterol
Weight management (hopefully!)

Matt's energy level has been very low.  He is always a good sport to exercise or come along with us whenever we are doing something active, but he would frequently fall asleep or become extremely fatigued after only a short amount of activity.  Of course, part of this is related to his weight, but his symptoms are more severe than another overweight child.  He also has such low muscle tone that it is difficult for him to move his body in normal ways.  For instance, he can barely pull himself up into the Jeep.  He cannot pull himself up into the tube when we are out boating and he can't pull himself up out of a swimming pool - all very normal things 11 year old boys should be able to do.  This feeling of lethargy and general ickyness has been a real challenge!  Again, it's not that Matt is unwilling to do any of these things, it's that when he does do these things, you can tell it's truly a miserable and uncomfortable experience for him.  Also, at his last Pediatrician visit, they checked his cholesterol level.  It was so high it was undetectable on their machine.  It wasn't until we actually received the Growth hormone and I was looking over all of the information that I learned GH plays a critical role in managing cholesterol and blood sugar!  Yay!  I am anxious to see how GH helps with each of these issues but it already seems to be making a difference.  Matt is wanting to go outside and play without us prodding.  He is trying to exercise and he and I are actually 'training' for a 5K!  We are using the 'couch to 5K' program and amazingly, he seems to be doing fine with it!  He hasn't needed a nap on days we run/walk.

Today I took my kids, along with my 2 sisters in law and their kids to a new 'splash pad' park in the next town over.  Matthew was in a good mood and was running through the sprinklers and having a wonderful time.  I actually got all teary watching him.  He was just enjoying the sprinklers with a big smile, but he was doing something active and something fun and he was enjoying the experience. 

Thank you Growth Hormone - I really feel like you are helping me to get my little boy back!

4 comments:

EmilyCC said...

Such good news! I hope GH keeps working such miracles!

Katie said...

Wow. That is definitely awesome. I'm so excited to have my energy/ability to move back after pregnancy, I can't imagine how excited Matt must be to be able to play! I'm so happy that GH is working so well!

Jessie said...

Wow. That's really, really cool! I'm so glad it's having a positive effect already.

Karrianne said...

oh my gosh! This is so wonderful for him! I'm so happy for you both! That's awesome!!!