HGH Treatment - How to Explain to Child

It is only fair for you two to tell him before you go. He may react poorly, but you will at least be building his trust in you. It sounds like he may need some medical intervention for a while, and having him trust you instead of tricking him to go the doctor should pay off in the end.

Good luck. I'm sorry you have to go through this.

Good god! Who would answer your question with a callous question? Geez, this is not the same as deciding to opt out of a vaccine for pete's sake!

Contact your clinic/hospital system. They are often staffed with family/child advocate/educators. We opted to let one come in a walk our 9 yr old thru the things that would be happening when he recently got stitches. We totally could've explained it to him ourselves...But, I think having a stranger do it somehow removed some of the emotional drama that he might have expressed if it was mommy telling him.

Tell him on the road that everyone will be learning something to help to care of him. You have to go into detail but do not lie either. Yes you will get a shot and yes mom and/or dad with you and yes it will hurt for a little while but it is so you can get stronger and healthier. I two kids that are extremely difficult when it comes to needles. Over time I realized giving it to them staight made it easier for all involved. They were still very vocal but they held still and it was over much faster. Also since you will in the car for a while get a book on cd/tape to listen to"Joey Pigza" is a very funny series about a boy with ADD who gets into trouble and has some funny resolutions. Good Luck to you guys and I hope all goes well.
J.

What a hard thing for a youngster who's scared of needles. I know I was, and even as an adult, when I had to learn to give myself injections, I was still a weenie and let my husband do it for the first 2 years or so.

I agree that it's generally best just to be honest. His trust in you is so important, and you don't want him to get there and feel outrage or despair that you kept it secret.

Here's an "emotion" exercise you might try with him days before you tell him the dreadful truth. Some time he's relaxed and attentive, perhaps at bedtime, sit or lie beside him and ask him to think of the very happiest thing he's ever felt. Ask him to describe it to you in detail, and see if he can get into that feeling. "What does happy feel like inside – in your head, your tummy, your arms and legs?"

"Now, when you get feeling as HAPPY as possible, stop, take a breath and FEEL it. Take another breath and FEEL it. What do you notice? Your body is still in the same place. You are still breathing the same air. And whatever you are feeling will change pretty soon, to sleepy, sad, curious, perplexed, mad, or bored, right?

"That's what feelings do, they keep changing all the time. And can you choose what you'll feel next? Sometimes, yes. How do you do that? Think about times you've had that feeling."

If he connects well with happy, do the same exercise with sad, bored, mad, and/or scared. The more practice he gets with getting into an emotion, pausing to breathe, and then noticing that he's still the same guy living the same life and going through the same changes, the better. This is a useful tool for grownups, too, when we have to deal with difficult emotions.

Nest step: It's an often overlooked truth that we create much worse scenarios in our imaginations than real life usually presents us with, so tell him before you leave, in simple terms, that you'll be learning how to give him injections. When/if he starts into a tizzy, empathize whole-heartedly.

Don't tell him he should be brave – that doesn't make anybody brave, and it can leave them feeling emotionally unsupported. Tell him that "of course, you're scared. You don't like needles. It's OK to be scared, everybody's scared of some things. Talk/cry about it if you need to." (Don't try to stop his crying, just be there for him.)

"When you get all the way to the bottom of what "scared" feels like, take a breath. Feel it? Take another breath. Do you remember the feeling exercises we were doing? You're still here, huh? A boy feeling big feelings. Can you think of another feeling you'd like to have right now? Tell me about a time you felt that."

This may make a positive difference for him. I sure do wish you all the best.

Ask your local pharmacist about a product...the name escapes me but I was told it was available over the counter to rub on the child's arm or leg 15 minutes before a shot to numb the skin. They use it when giving allergy shots to kids...why not HGH shots too??

How about you explain to him him needs some help to grow and the treatment is for his own good. Isn't he the least bit worried his friends his age are getting bigger and taller and he's not? Some kids have to go through some horrible treatments to fight off cancer - he's lucky he's not one of them. He needs some perspective, and as he grows, perhaps a bit of maturity will come, too. Eventually the treatment will end (do you know how long it will take?). I think the more he knows, the less scared he'll be. Good Luck!

My son is also terrified of things like that--perhaps not as bad as your son, but he's 65 pounds of boy, and it's tough to wrestle him into the doctor's office! Anyway--what we have found is good is letting him know it's coming up--you have a doc's apt in the next two weeks, kiddo. And NOT telling him the bad news. Yes, he asks, and we don't lie to him--but we do say, I don't know for sure. He understands the need for vaccines, but works himself up so much. One day he had a dentist appointment and was so afraid, since he knew I was picking him up from school, he cried at school off and on all day. Anyway--now we don't tell him unless he needs to know. We did ask him which he'd prefer--generally he likes to be READY for things, hates surprises. But he knows himself well enough to say, don't tell me, mom, I don't want to worry about it. My advice would be to tell him about the appointment--likely he knows he's small for his age and this is something you're concerned about?--but then wait to tell him about the shots. There's no point to him worrying about it until the time comes. :( Hope it goes as well as it can...

There is an organiation called MAGIC which has some useful books and materials.

If your son actually growth hormone deficient or just short? Being short does not mean that organs are underdeveloped. Please make sure that your son has had his human growth hormone double checked before starting this treatment.

Human Growth Hormone effects not just growth, but many other functions. The long-term side effects of growth hormone include swelling, infection, development of breasts in boys, and colon cancer. Giving a child this powerful hormone to a child who does not need it will give a few inches, but also leave your child with life-time risks. Human Growth Hormone is only medically necessary if your child is not making enough.

If your child is just short, he does not need growth hormone. I suggest you get a second opinion and only give the growth hormone if he is in short because of growth hormone deficiency.

Hi Debra! I am surprised that anyone would ask if he really needs these shots.......HGH isn't just given out for fun.

I am so sorry that you have to go through this. My kids have type 1 diabetes and need at least 4 shots per day. We sometimes use a numbing spray called Pain Ease by the Gebaur company. Ask your doctor if you can get a prescription.
If he is going to stress over the appointment, I would wait until you are in the room to explain about the shots, just so he isn't too worked up about it beforehand.
I use to be really up front with my kids about when they were getting blood draws and other tests, but found that it was easier on them if they didn't know before the appointment.
Hang in there, mama! You will get through this and so will he! Soon he will be taking shots like a pro! My kids' shots hurt them, but they have gotten so brave. I hope it goes very smoothly for your son.....and for you and your husband!
Good luck!

Is there anyway that you can do the shot while he is sound asleep?

My son is 11 and has many upon many medical problems and to do blood draws we either have to do them while he is under sedation or we have to make the hour long trip down to children's go to the short stay unit and have them give him nitrous (just like laughing gas) and 5 nurses me and 3 to hold him down, one to find the vein and draw (his veins roll really bad) and the last one to pull up the syringe or get the tubes ready, and the strangest thing is the nurse can go in there to give him a vaccine and he doesn't flinch.

If where you are going have a Child Life specialist have them come in and talk with him, they have tried with Ryan but his understanding is way too low (I have figured it out he understands somewhere between the age of 3-5).

Good Luck!! Sounds like your going to need it.

I don't know your son so this is hard to answer. I mean I have a 7 year old that works himself into a tisy every single time he gets a shot. I'll be lucky to have four nurse hold him down!

Now my daughter doesn't make a noise. She's 6 and watches them and doesn't move or say nothing.

So telling my daughter would be completely different than my son. I think my son would freak out so I don't think I'd tell him till he got there. He seems to get worse with anticipation. From then on out I'd just try and comfort him. He after time will get use to it. He'll adapt as us humans do. In the meantime soothing is essential. And ask the nurse for tips on how to reduce the pain so maybe this isn't as bad. I'm not sure but a heat pack or ice pack? Some tylenol an hour before?? I'd ask though maybe there is something she or he can suggest.

Good luck and I hope your little man starts to flourish.

My daughter needed shots every four weeks from the time she was 1 1/2 years old. They, too, were a necessity. We figured out that the best way to do it was to just do it, as quickly as possible. I would not tell him anything because that just gives him a lot of time to worry and drive you crazy. Really, it is just a shot, he will live. That is the attitude we took with my daughter and by the time she was about four she would just lay down to get them. She didn't like it but knew there wasn't any choice - just the same as anything else you insist he has to do. We were lucky and had a friend who is a nurse and she would come to our house on her way home and give her the shots. Good luck.

i would explain it to him-but id wait til he went to sleep at nite to give the shot-im sure its not that painful-dont tell him your going to do it at nite though.good luck...both my kids hated shots-i know the battle you fite-good luck

Debra- We went through a similar situation with our Son, but we waited until the Air Force got involved and it did not work out.
Our son didn't go through puberty with his classmates and that was a nightmare. He got picked on all the time because he was so smart that the boys didn't understand his humor and then they got mad and retaliated.
My advice would be to explain to your Son and go ahead with the treatment.
Our Son is much happier because of it. H.