What is a pediatric endocrinologist?
This is an expert who can answer your questions about your child's healthy growth.
Trained to diagnose and treat growth problems in children, a pediatric endocrinologist
can help your child to reach his or her full growth potential. Learn
more about this expert's role.
Does a pediatric endocrinologist have any special training?
This expert is specially qualified to help your child to reach his or her full growth
potential. As a specialist in treating children, he or she will be sensitive to
your child's needs. If you have a referral, there is no reason to wait to see this
specialist. If you don't have a referral, you should ask your child's doctor about
whether you might get one.
Why is growth hormone important to my child's healthy growth?
Growth hormone signals a child's body to grow and has many other important effects
on the body. If your child is found not to have enough growth hormone, treatment
should be started soon after the diagnosis to get the best results. Find out more
about treatments for growth hormone deficiency.
Why is it important for my child to see a pediatric endocrinologist as soon
as possible?
When it comes to growth disorders, if you start treatment early, you may:
- Give your child more time to grow with therapy.
- Make it more likely that the treatment will be effective.
- Avoid the need for higher doses of therapy.
Find out more about how the pediatric endocrinologist can help.
What should I expect during a visit to a pediatric endocrinologist?
When you bring your child to see this expert, he or she may review your child's
past growth based on growth tracking and/or growth charts from you and your child's
doctor, conduct a full physical exam, carefully measure your child's height, order
blood tests to check your child's levels of growth hormone and other hormones that
contribute to normal growth, order x-rays to see how the bones are growing and maturing,
and/or plan further testing, as needed.
Learn more about your child's first visit to a pediatric endocrinologist.
Should I prepare for my visit to the pediatric endocrinologist?
Yes. If you prepare, it will help you get more from your visit. Some of the things
you can do are:
- Collect records: Your child's medical records will help the expert understand how
your child has been growing. Also important are the heights of the child's birth
parents, the heights of other members of the family, and any other data on your
child's height from other sources.
- Ask questions: Bring a list of things you might want to ask about your child's growth
so you don't forget the things you want to know. You might want to ask about treatment
options, the risks associated with treatment, the impact of waiting, and what kinds
of results you might expect from therapy.
- Learn more: Based on test results, your child may be prescribed growth hormone therapy.
Find out other ways to prepare for the visit.