Precocious Puberty? What?

This may not be of any interest to you whatsoever... it wouldn't have been to me if someone had posted it a few years ago - but I think it is important for people to know that it does in fact exist. Some of you already know - but others may not and it could happen to your children or future children so I'm writing in in hopes to help someone out.

My daughter, at 3 years old was diagnosed with precocious puberty.
This means - early onset of pubertal development...
It can be caused by the pituitary gland simply working much before it should.
Other causes are brain tumor, ovarian cysts, or exposure to estrogen via topical ointments or if a child got hold of birth control pills, etc.

I have not divulged the details of her story to very many.. but here we go..

My little girl was chunky when she was a baby ... always off the charts for her height and weight (but proportionate)..

The summer I realized something was wrong I noticed that when she would play outside and come in - she had smelly underarms. Not like... sweaty kid smell - like adult smell. Worse than I would smell if I forgot deodorant for a day!
I didn't think this was normal. Soon after, I started noticing other developments which would be normal in a much older child - but certainly not a 3 year old, so I made her a doctor's appointment.

I first found out about precocious puberty at the appointment. I was told the possible causes - and told that if we did not find out what her particular cause was - she could start menstruation cycles as early as 4 years old. She was scheduled for an ultra-sound, an MRI, bloodwork, and an x-ray to determine her bone age due to her already starting her growth spurt.

She did great for the ultra-sound other than a little discomfort because she had to have a full bladder. The MRI she did really good - I was SO proud of her. For those who have not had an MRI - it involves laying inside a claustrophobic "tunnel" in a huge machine that makes SUPER loud noises and you have to lay completely still as it takes pictures of your brain. At one point she said - "Mommy, I'm getting a little afraid in here." But she did wonderful.

The xray was obviously no big deal either.

Waiting to find out if your 3 year old has a brain tumor isn't fun. Especially considering my mom and grandmother both had one. It was normal, as was the ultrasound.

Her bone age, according to her x-rays, was 7 years, 10 months. This means her bones at the age of 3, were the size of and formed as those of a girl 7 years and 10 months old should be.

We were sent to an endocrinologist in February 2009 at the Joslin Center in Syracuse - who then referred us to a Pediatric Surgeon. There are 2 types of treatment for CPP (Central Precocious Puberty - meaning that there is no other explanation besides her brain is telling her much to early to develop)

Treatment option #1 involves a monthly injection which is very painful. This injects medicine which counteracts the hormones being secreted by the brain to slow or suppress the development.

Treatment option #2 is an implant. This works much the same way but is time released and full of enough counteracting hormone to last for approximately 12 months.

After discussing and researching both options, we decided to opt for the Supprelin Implant.It is about 1 centimeter long and slightly smaller than the diameter of one of those small glow sticks you get at the fair.

On May 4th, 2009 we went to Syracuse for her procedure. She was put under (was really hard for me to watch!) and the procedure took about 15 - 20 minutes. She came out grumpy and said her arm hurt - but by the time we were part way home she wanted McDonald's and didn't say anything more.

That following Tuesday, we went back for follow-up with Dr. Sills. We went over the results from her bloodwork in February. The luteinizing hormone, which is a pubertal hormone, was detected as 2.3. This hormone should be undetectable in a 3 year old. I asked the doctor at what age 2.3 would be a normal level and she said it would be normal in a 10-11 year old female. They drew some more blood so that we can be sure that the implant is functioning correctly. Lena had no problem with them drawing blood she said "ouch!" and that was it.

This will be an annual thing until she is old enough to continue developing where she left off. She is now 6 and is on her 3rd one. Each time it has gone smoothly with no issues and the implant has done it's job. We are anticipating that this will be her last implant.

I am handling it all okay. I am thankful for the Upstate Medical Team. Sometimes it is hard to explain to people and seems almost a little embarrassing to talk about - but in reality - it could happen to any one of your children and I am hoping that my blog will help someone else and let them know they aren't alone, or maybe you have a friend with a child who has some of these issues. They need to be taken care of. Not only would it be a serious social issue to be the the only Kindergartner wearing a bra - it can have health consequences as well as children who are left untreated can end up being of extremely short stature due to growing so quickly as a young child.

I thank God she is as sociable and outgoing as she is. She won't tolerate being picked on as the kid who is 6 inches taller than the average kid her age... (she is now 6 and is 70lbs and 48in tall)...she also has lost many of her baby teeth already and recently got braces because her front teeth came in very crooked! She is not shy or embarrassed about her implant - she will happily show you the scar. (At one point she thought it was going to make her stay 3 forever. :-))

If someone you know has any type of similar issues going on with their child - feel free to share this. It's nice to find someone who's in the same boat.