How young is too young?

ILoveMiranda · 05-02-2008, 07:11 PM

I am wondering if I should have bloodwork done for my 11 year old daughter. I do not want her to suffer ANY of the junk I have if I can prevent it.

Does anyone have experience with children re: PCOS?
Thanks in advance!!!

Gwenneh · 05-02-2008, 07:13 PM

I had the original bloodwork done at 14.

SunsetMuse · 05-02-2008, 07:55 PM

I don't think 11 is too young. I would consult the doctor about it, he may want to wait until she gets her period if she hasn't gotten it already, if she has I would say def. get it done. GL

KatCarney · 05-02-2008, 08:11 PM

Best thing to do is develop healthy habits NOW, while she's young.

I think for me, the first sign that I was heading towards pcos was VERY elevated cholesterol in kindergarten.

See this article: ATTENTION: If you read NOTHING else this year on PCOS, Diabetes, and genetic links..

sue_trask · 05-02-2008, 09:41 PM

i was dx with pcos at 12 almost 13 at the time. and that was back in early 1993

Kathy2579 · 05-02-2008, 10:28 PM

I would go for it... it can't hurt

Sarah2008 · 05-03-2008, 01:40 AM

if she started af then yes pcos symptoms start at puberty

MissChrystal · 05-03-2008, 02:24 AM

Maybe have her go through bloodwork and anything non-internal wise...yet

It may be pretty traumatic for a child to have a vaginal ultrasound done, for example.

angel1895 · 05-03-2008, 11:44 AM

yeah... I think its great that youre helping her early... My afs started when I was 11 and my first one was a month long... I almost wonder if I havent had it all my life and just didnt know it

pal · 05-05-2008, 06:37 AM

There's another thread here somewhere...search for "young girls and pcos" and you should find it.

My youngest daughter is now 11, and I'm pretty sure she's at high risk. I've got a good doctor and we're about to take her in for testing again. She (and my older daughter, then age 10) were both tested by a kiddy endo when she was about 6. They had blood tests and a hand xray. Endo said at that point they were too young to show signs and we had to wait (and watch) til they hit puberty. Hand xray would show growth rates, which is an early sign of endo problems.

I'm pretty sure about DD...she's got lots of little signs that cause me to worry. Skin and scalp problems, boils, really reacts to sugar and craves carbs (but she's not overweight), big mood swings. My dr wants DD to get checked for Attention Deficit, too, as that's another thing she says could be connected with PCOS (which I never thought about before. DD has has lots of small school difficulties that might be subtle signs of ADD.) ADD obviously goes undetected in lots of girls.

The ovarian cysts are an end result of PCOS insulin irregularity. There's no reason a young girl would need a vaginal ultrasound!

As a mom, and as someone who really suffered from PCOS as a teen, I totally understand that you'd want to help your daughter now and prevent as much of the damage as early as possible. There are others of us here who share your concerns!

ILoveMiranda · 05-05-2008, 08:28 AM

Thanks everyone for you opinion. I would never dream of bringing her in for a vaginal exam. She is going to be hard enough to get into the regular doctor's office. I have practically had to scrape her off the ceiling anytime I've brought her in the past. She seems to be showing the following signs:

1. She started having BO at a very young age (8)
2. She has horrible skin (rosacea- I noticed her flush for the first time yesterday)
3. She has seemed to have PMS for the last 3 years (very moody)
4. When she was younger, she was told she would be taller than me by the pediatrician (I am 5'8"), but she is still 4'11". She is only 11, but at this age, I was a bean pole.

I just was diagnosed myself, so it never occured to me that she may have PCOS or will have PCOS. I had never heard of it. My pediatrician just told me that many kids go the early puberty these days. She hasn't had her AF yet.

angel1895 · 05-05-2008, 08:47 AM

I am 4'11"... and I stopped growing at your daughters age.

Purple_monkfish · 05-05-2008, 09:48 AM

I stopped growing once I hit puberty at about 10/11... but my step sister was TINY till she was about 15... she was about 4'11" and her dad was concerned and then BOOM, she just shot up. She's now about 5'5".

As for tests, it might be an idea to wait till puberty? I wasn't diagnosed till I was 19 but I was told that the earlier they catch it the better, you can change habits and all that easier to stop things getting worse (apparently).

I had an u/s at um.. about 9? it wasn't a vaginal one though, a normal u/s but I remember we had to go to the planned parenthood clinic. Ew. It was for bladder infections not pcos but I was subjected to a lot of rather unpleasent tests for a young child.. it didn't traumatise me though, but it didn't really achieve anything. We never found a reason for my constant infections *shrug*

Anyway, my point is.. sure it might be a good idea to get some blood work done and continue to get tests done every few years as she gets older. Make sure she's aware of the risk of Pcos and keep an eye on her that sort of thing. Every girl develops differently so it might just be puberty and not pcos at all.. it's difficult to tell at this point unfortunately.

Pal> what sort of school difficulties? I had school difficulties and was told I was most catagorically NOT ADD.. hahaha.. the specialist told my mother I was just bored out of my skull. It was true, once the school started an "enrichment" program for it's difficult students we all stopped acting up in class. We got to make volcanos and stuff, it was awesome.

Maryny · 05-05-2008, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILoveMiranda

Thanks everyone for you opinion. I would never dream of bringing her in for a vaginal exam. She is going to be hard enough to get into the regular doctor's office. I have practically had to scrape her off the ceiling anytime I've brought her in the past. She seems to be showing the following signs:

1. She started having BO at a very young age (8)
2. She has horrible skin (rosacea- I noticed her flush for the first time yesterday)
3. She has seemed to have PMS for the last 3 years (very moody)
4. When she was younger, she was told she would be taller than me by the pediatrician (I am 5'8"), but she is still 4'11". She is only 11, but at this age, I was a bean pole.

I just was diagnosed myself, so it never occured to me that she may have PCOS or will have PCOS. I had never heard of it. My pediatrician just told me that many kids go the early puberty these days. She hasn't had her AF yet.

When I was younger I also had a major growth spurt at a very early age. I was the tallest girl in my first grade class, and everyone assumed I would grow to be about 5'10" some day...however...I seemed to level out and stop growing at around 13, and am still the same height....the girls who were far shorter than me almost all surpassed my height...it was a real role reversal.

I also had bright golden blonde locks of hair when I was young, until puberty. Puberty turned my hair brown and frizzy-thick.

I went in to the ER and had my first pelvic exam when I was 11 years old, after bleeding for 35 days. They could not find any problems, I was referred to a gyn, who said "she will grow out of this later". If you can find a good knowledgeable doctor - please do this sooner than later... I spent so much time in school blaming myself and thinking I was failing on so many levels because nobody took time to give answers. You are a great mother for voicing your concern.

I just got my official diagnosis in February of this year... I think of all the years of not knowing and all the pain that caused me in school - I even lost interest and dropped out. I was just so depressed and felt like a freakshow.

KMCarlson · 05-05-2008, 11:47 AM

So, what kind of treatment would they give a little girl for PCOS? I only ask because I have an 11 year old sister. I don't really think she's got symptoms, but it would be good to know what they would do for someone who is younger.