How to Treat Precocious Puberty
Your child has been diagnosed with precocious puberty and now comes the time to decide what treatment if any to begin. These steps provide you with information on different treatment options for this condition to aid your decision to seek treatment or not as well as aid in the conversation with your doctor.
Instructions
Understand the consequences of early or rapid puberty. Children who are beginning puberty early are often unable to handle the emotional aspects of puberty and physically it takes a toll on them as well. They loose any height they had potential for because their skeleton is maturing too quickly and bone growth stops. Their bones also do not have the necessary years to absorb calcium and thus they are at risk of osteoporosis later in life. Discuss treatment options with a pediatric endocrinologist. Once your doctor diagnoses your child, they will refer you to this type of specialist. Treatments stop puberty allowing the child to continue with their child growth and bone strengthening. Synthetic hormones, LHRH analogs, will block the production of sex hormones triggering puberty. There are usually no side effects in the hormone treatment and dramatic effects seen within the first year of treatment. The doctor will also treat any underlying cause of the condition, such as a tumor. Realize the commitment to each treatment option. Some doctors recommend hormones injected daily. A trained nurse will likely teach the parents and caregivers how to properly administer the injection and medication will be given at home. Other treatments include an injection every 28 days normally done at the doctor's office. The timing of the injection is essential. Speak with your insurance company about coverage for the treatment of precocious puberty. Some insurance companies do not classify precocious puberty treatment as medically necessary. Treatment is often quite expensive, sometimes up to $1900 for each monthly injection and without insurance coverage treatment may be limited if not impossible. If your employer has a benefits manager, ask them to help talk to the insurance company on your behalf and go through an appeals process if necessary. Decide whom you will tell and what you will tell them about your child's condition. If you need to explain a number of absences from school for instance, you can tell the office that your child had a medical condition that requires a monthly shot without having to go into too much detail. Don't feel obligated to tell anyone but talk with your child and figure out what they are comfortable with people knowing and how much you would like to reveal.
