How long will I/my child have to continue taking growth hormone?
This varies from individual to individual—not every child takes growth hormone therapy for the same length of time. It depends on what your child’s physician thinks is best for your child. Your doctor or nurse can help answer this question for you. A child who has been taking growth hormone may have to continue to take it as an adult, even when he or she has reached his or her final height. Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in adults is a lifelong condition and needs to be treated accordingly; however, experience with patients aged 65 and older, and with patients with more than 5 years of treatment in adult growth hormone deficiency (GHDA), is limited. Growth hormone has beneficial effects on bone health and fat tissue during adult life, even after adult height is reached. In some cases, growth hormone-deficient people may benefit from lifelong, low-dose therapy with growth hormone. You can discuss this with the endocrinologist when your adolescent is close to his or her adult height.
