Twain Shu Yun Editor Susan Wang
"Look what you smoked for me."
Eight-year-old Xin Yi rolled up his sleeves, revealing two thin bruised arms, and complained to the doctor. She has been given 10 multiple tubes of blood this morning to test whether the secretion of growth hormone in the body is normal.
This is just the beginning of her dealing with needles.
The doctor smiled at Xin Yi's words. "You are very brave, son. My request to you is, from today on, learn to give yourself an injection. Can you give yourself an injection every day? "
Xinyi looked a little scared, but nodded: "Yes!" After coming out of the clinic, I skipped to the nurse station to learn injections.
Looking at her daughter's thin figure, Xinyi's mother was unhappy.
At the end of last year, Xinyi's mother looked for her daughter's teacher to study. When chatting, the teacher reminded her that after teaching for a year, all the tall children jumped up when enrolling students, but Xinyi's height was always bad.
Xinyi was born two weeks ahead of the due date and grew petite since she was a child. Xinyi's mother has been waiting for her daughter to catch up with her when she grows up. When she was 5 years old, she took Xinyi to the top three hospitals in Beijing to see a doctor. The doctor suggested going back for observation. If she can grow 5 cm a year, try not to give the child an injection.
But anxiety sticks to her daughter's indispensable trouser legs and hides in a wardrobe full of clothes. Other children's clothes bought in spring are short in autumn, but Xinyi's clothes are not short after three years. Last year, the epidemic disappeared for several months. After school started, Xinyi's mother heard from other parents that the children's trousers had become "cropped trousers". She is envious from the bottom of her heart, and she can't wait to wear all the clothes in a wardrobe.
The teacher's reminder made her have to face it.
Three years later, I came to this hospital again. After seeing the test results, the doctor directly announced that it is not recommended to wait any longer. Even if Xinyi's height and backward bone age ratio are not enough.
Xinyi is probably lack of growth hormone and can't secrete enough growth hormone by herself. If you don't inject growth hormone to intervene, once the epiphysis is closed, it will be too late to intervene to the normal height.
Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) was introduced in 1985, and it was quickly used to treat short children. According to "Suggestions on Clinical Application of Recombinant Human Growth Hormone in Pediatrics", except for growth hormone deficiency, endocrine genetic diseases such as idiopathic short stature and Turner syndrome, which are common in pediatrics in China, can be treated with growth hormone acupuncture.
Tingting, nine and a half years old, is not short of growth hormone, but also has an injection.
In July and August last year, Tingting said that her chest was a little painful. My mother thinks Tingting is a little developed. After going to the hospital for examination, it was found that the bone age was 2 years older, indicating that the bone age was speeding.
Tingting was diagnosed as precocious puberty, and influenced by sex hormones in the body, her physical development accelerated ahead of schedule, and her epiphyseal fusion advanced, which would make her adult height lower than that of normal children of the same age. Tingting is still relatively tall among her peers, but according to her bone age, she has fallen behind the average height of 12 cm.
The doctor predicted Tingting's final height 150cm, which was a conservative estimate. This is unacceptable to Tingting's mother. According to her experience, in the future, finding a job and a partner will be affected by her height. She had hoped that her daughter would break through heredity and grow to at least155cm-Tingting's mother's height 154cm and her father's height 158cm. They know very well what their daughter will encounter when she enters the society in the future.
Because Tingting is short because of precocious puberty, she needs an injection of growth hormone at the same time to inhibit sexual development. The cheapest powder adds up to more than 4000 a month, which is two-thirds of Tingting's income. If you continue to call for three years, plus the inspection fee, it will cost at least 1.7 million. She was afraid to tell the old people at home.
Tingting's home is in a small four-tier city in southwest China. Her mother takes care of the children at home full-time, and the income at home depends entirely on Tingting as the father of the steel coolie. Injection is a protracted war, she joked, a mobile phone can play in a month, and a car can play in a year. However, Tingting will not grow to 150cm without injection intervention. Tingting's mother thinks that children's future mental health is more important than money.
Needless to say, Xinyi's mother noticed the trouble caused by height: she didn't want to play with the children around her because "everyone younger than me is taller than me"; The students in the class take turns to be duty students and cook for everyone at noon every day, but the teacher won't let her because she can't reach the bottom of the git.
Xinyi's mother is very sad. My daughter works very hard. The blood vessels of Xinyi instrument are too thin. For the examination, it took three times to find the blood vessel, and the nurse needed to squeeze it by hand to draw blood. Levodopa stimulation experiment is more difficult to be vomited. But the next check, she will still be clever and say: Mom, you don't have to worry about me, I'll go in and let my aunt draw blood.
Regarding growth hormone, Xinyi's mother has also heard many questions: a friend who is a pediatrician thinks that the application time of growth hormone is too short to know the long-term impact on the human body; The old people at home don't understand, "children grow up early and grow up late. How can they be given injections every day?" Some netizens said that parents are simply sick now and have no money to spend.
She decided to ignore these. Is there any reason not to think about the children? According to Xinyi's mother, the world of children often follows the law of the jungle. Tall children will have an advantage in the group, and their strength and strength will feed back their character, make them full of self-confidence and have an innate sense of superiority. And petite, short a head, there will be a feeling of weakness and fear in strength, easy to be bullied in the group, or feel powerless, which is why many mothers pay attention to their children's physical exercise now.
Moreover, for Xinyi, who is already deficient in growth hormone, injection is the last resort at the end of the road.
At 8 o'clock in the evening, Xinyi's mother carefully reheated the needles taken out of the refrigerator in advance. Xinyi is a short-acting water agent, a small one of 30 units, which can last 10 days. Electronic pens and needles are so small that they are almost invisible.
But this is the first time I have injected myself. Xinyi is a little scared. Although I have learned from nurses, I still dare not stick needles and hold my mother's hand with my eyes closed. Xin Yi's mother fixed the dose, disinfected it, and quickly tied it to Xin Yi's soft abdomen with all her strength. When the measurement on the screen of the electronic pen shows 0, the needle is pulled out, and no liquid is ejected, which is very smooth.
In the first few weeks, Xinyi complained about the pain, but gradually got used to it. Now she remembers to give herself an injection every day, and she is more skilled than her mother.
Besides injections, living habits should also be adjusted. Pay attention to the nutrition of three meals a day, control the intake of sugar, drink at least 500 ml of milk every day, jump 1000- 1500 rope, go home for injections at 8 o'clock in the evening on time, and fall asleep before 10.
Xinyi tried to cooperate with all this. She is lactose intolerant. She didn't drink a mouthful of milk before, and she drank three boxes of milk every day after she started the injection. I can't jump after thirty or fifty times, but now I can jump 1000 times or more. When she opened a box of cookies at Christmas, she sighed and said to herself, "Santa doesn't know I can't eat candy." After all, she is only an 8-year-old child. When she sees the cream on the cake, she sometimes can't help being moved. After some pleading, she finally took three bites. She and her mother agreed to eat candy only once a week.
Only occasionally at night, my children and I have a good time downstairs. When my father called me to go home for an injection or jump rope, Xinyi would ask, "Why can't they go home, and I have to go home?"
Xinyi's mother is always sad to hear these things. Growing taller is as natural as breathing for others, but it takes 200% of the daughter's efforts to achieve it.
The needle has been given, but Xin Yi's mother thinks the effect is not good. My daughter doesn't grow a centimeter a month like other children. Xin Yi's mother measured her daughter's height from time to time. little ass's heel and the back of his head were pressed against the wall at 3. 1, and a thick cardboard book was pressed at right angles. But every time there was a big error, I jumped up on the first day, went to the hospital the next day, and the amount came down again, which made Xinyi's mother more and more discouraged.
Xinyi is becoming more and more uneasy. She would ask, "Mom, are you satisfied with the growth of my height?" Worried that anxiety will affect the height of the child, Xinyi's mother comforted: "You have worked very hard, so let's watch the process."
But no one will care about the result. Height and bone age race, I don't know how long it will take for a child to grow taller. Just one month after the injection, Xinyi's mother asked everyone, do you think my child has grown taller? After playing for four or five months, someone finally looked at Xin Yi and said, How did you run so fast this year? Xinyi's mother began to believe that injections were still useful.
The recent relief comes from a pair of running shoes that Xinyi doesn't want to wear anymore. Not long after I bought it, I heard from my daughter that the shoes could not be worn-this is a good sign for a long time.
The review time in the hospital is the healing time of Xinyi's mother. She listened to the communication between parents and doctors in the consulting room and found that parents like her were working hard for the height of their children. Children who come for the second interview skip rope 1000 every day, and basketball, running, swimming and badminton are all arranged. Some parents even asked the boy to run 3000 meters every morning, jump 2000 ropes in the afternoon and play basketball 1 hour at night, but the doctor stopped him: in case of injury, he could not move for several months, which was not worth the candle.
Parents also set up their own groups, in which there are thousands of new messages every day. Everyone encouraged each other and supervised each other: "Today, the physical examination has grown by 3.5 cm." "My daughter has been lazy recently, and skipping rope has been reduced by half." I am also worried about the side effects of injections: "Myopia deepened a lot last month, so we can't have it both ways." "I got the third injection the day before yesterday, and I don't like it. It's so annoying ..."
Of course, the most common question in the group is "How many centimeters has your child grown now?"
After injection for half a year, Xinyi is now 1 16.5cm tall, which is 4 cm longer, but the doctor still says it is not ideal after seeing it, and it is worse than her peers 10 cm. Doctors suggest walking or running slowly on the basis of skipping rope every day, eating some original yogurt and probiotics to help digestion and improve the dose of injections.
Normally, there are therapeutic standards for intervention in height with drugs such as growth hormone. For example, according to the "Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Precocious Puberty (Trial)" of the Ministry of Health, the criteria for predicting the obvious impairment of adult height are: boys are less than 160cm and girls are less than 150cm. Children who exceed this standard do not need injection intervention. But some parents' psychological standards are more than that.
Nini, from Sichuan, started injecting growth hormone at the age of 10 and has been doing it for more than two years. Now she has grown to more than 150cm. Nini's father is satisfied with the effect of the injection. He intends to let his daughter continue to play, preferably as long as 160cm.
Nini is not short of growth hormone and belongs to idiopathic short stature. Nini's mother is 150cm tall, and her father is 160cm tall. As an experienced person, Nini's father feels that he is always discriminated against in his work and life. "It is a feeling that a tall human body can't." In the eyes of Nini's father, the height of girls is at least 1.55 meters, and that of boys is 1.67 meters.
The height of children is getting higher from generation to generation, and now there is the possibility of human intervention, and the standards of parents are also improving. Nini's father thinks that injections are a bit like private schools now. Children in private schools get better grades, and no one wants to fall behind. Everyone goes to private schools, and the cost of studying in the whole society rises. Just like some children are just short, if they are all injected with growth hormone, children in similar situations will be "short".
According to a parent's social media record, she met two special parents in the hospital: one was that the child's injection was as long as 174cm, and he wanted to continue playing, but the doctor refused; Another is that the child is normal in height, but the parents want him to grow taller, but the doctor refuses. Parents call this "beauty"-the child's height is not short, but he wants to be taller.
Similar records are not uncommon on social media. Many parents like to share the experience of taking their children to the hospital for injections. A parent said that the child was only 3 years and 3 months old, and he had a 10 blood tube and never cried-according to the advice of the Chinese Medical Association, if he is idiopathic short and has no growth hormone, he should be 5 years old for the first treatment.
Soon someone replied below: "You are over three years old. My family is also three and a half years old, 94cm and 25 kg. I have been hesitant to check, for fear that the child can't stand it. How did you decide to go? "
Some parents have posted several posts about their children's height after injection, and they will always receive reminders from other parents asking about the latest results. The parents of a child diagnosed with precocious puberty said that when she went to the hospital, she also met the child's classmates, and their parents joined in every once in a while.
According to the data of Chinese Medical Association, the incidence of children's short stature in China is about 3%. The natural incidence of short stature has not increased significantly in the past decade. However, the stock and turnover of Changchun Gaoxin, a leading enterprise producing growth hormone needles, have doubled in recent years, and it is called Maotai in medicine by parents. In the first quarter of this year, the performance of Jinsai Pharmaceutical (a subsidiary of Changchun Hi-tech Holdings) and anke biotechnology Science and Technology, the two major producers of growth hormone, both increased significantly.
A beauty blogger reviewed her childhood injection experience on Weibo. He had an injection for more than a year before his epiphysis closed, which cost 200,000 to 300,000 yuan. The doctor predicted that his adult height was about 170cm without intervention, and now he calls himself 179cm. He is not sure whether this is because of the injection, because adequate exercise, nutrition and sleep may have played a role.
However, "there is only one chance to grow taller naturally in life, and if you miss it, it will be gone." Even if it only grows 1 cm, I think it's worth it. Think about how cruel that broken bone is. " He finally wrote this.
The following is the reply from the netizen: "Can you still play now?" "My daughter and classmates are also playing." "I hope all the children can be on it."
The desire to grow a centimeter urges parents to choose an injection to get a high probability, which requires money, persistence, luck and more unknowns.
Mother blossoming is not the one who is blessed by luck. During the visit, she noticed that the doctors were not normal.
A year ago, blossoming was found to be precocious. According to a doctor from a 3A hospital in Zhejiang, she is now 10 years old and her height is 144cm. Without intervention, she can only grow to 153cm.
In order to fight growth hormone, blossoming mother went to three 3A hospitals in Zhejiang within one week. The third diagnosis and treatment process is simple and fast. Without exception, it is suggested that blossoming should be injected with growth hormone as soon as possible, and the medicine list should be opened neatly.
"Does this needle have any side effects?" When I saw the second doctor, blossoming mother asked.
She remembered that the doctor almost jumped up: "What needle is this? This is the needle of the world-famous Kinsey Pharmaceutical! "
In another hospital, the doctor said that you can't take medicine here, which will occupy the number of doctors. Later, he recommended a drugstore nearby, where there were two kinds of needles. The more expensive ones are now 25% off, and you can keep them for three months or six months at a time. "A 5000 yuan needle sounds like cabbage."
Duoduo's mother thought it was a bit strange to say the word discount from the doctor. But since I decided to call, I went to a hospital where I could make a bill. Without saying a few words, the assistant showed the payment code, which contained a needle of growth hormone and an appointment for an examination at the end of July.
When I got home, the more I thought about it, the more uneasy I became. Other doctors I have seen before are also very busy, and they still have some pity or sympathy for their patients. However, the doctor who saw growth hormone this week heard that parents were going to give their children an injection, and their eyes were full of excitement.
Out of caution, blossoming mother spent hundreds of dollars to consult children's endocrinologists in Beijing and Nanjing online. Results The two doctors agreed that blossoming precocious puberty was misdiagnosed.
The blossoming mother is incredible. She plans to go to Nanjing for face-to-face consultation. Before leaving, she asked for leave from Teacher Duo Duo. The teacher advised her mother not to take injections. She has heard many parents talk about similar experiences. "Growth and development is a pit."
Sure enough, after face-to-face consultation, doctors in Nanjing 3A Hospital thought that blossoming did not meet the standard of precocious puberty and did not need an injection. However, after a year of sex hormone suppression injection, we can't stop the injection, and we should continue to do so. Moreover, the inhibitory needle has been suppressed for a long time, and now it needs to be injected with growth hormone, otherwise the previous injections will be in vain.
What else can I do? I have to keep playing. After returning home, Duoduo's mother went to the clinic designated by the doctor before and opened the follow-up growth hormone injection. The clinic is located in a remote place, and there are thick notebooks on the table, all of which are the information of parents and children who come to match the growth hormone injection. People who come on the same day can't write a page.
On May 2 1 day, Changchun Gaoxin disclosed that about 30% of its recombinant growth hormone was sold in public hospitals, and more than 70% was sold in other cooperative medical institutions. In the experience of blossoming mothers, doctors in the top three hospitals will also be equipped with "height managers" to recommend pharmacies and hospitals for parents to buy needles.
The Pediatrics Branch of Chinese Medical Association put forward in "Suggestions on Clinical Application of Recombinant Human Growth Hormone in Pediatrics" that while monitoring the therapeutic effect, we should pay attention to checking whether there are any adverse reactions. At present, the related adverse reactions of growth hormone therapy include benign intracranial pressure increase, the influence of glucose metabolism, hypothyroidism, femoral head slippage, scoliosis, the possibility of inducing tumors, pigmented nevus, enlarged hands and feet, etc.
Summer vacation is coming. Xinyi still drinks milk and skips rope every day according to the doctor's requirements. Recently, she has increased running, hoping to catch up with her peers quickly. She hopes that when she starts school again, she won't have to stand in the forefront. Xinyi's mother is also learning to stay away from anxiety, reducing the frequency of height measurement to once a month, and no longer comparing with others.
"Children are like saplings from God. I don't know what seedlings I got. If I raise ivy, I don't care about anything, I will climb it, but if I raise grapes, I can't climb it without putting a shelf. " Xin Yi's mother said with emotion, don't worry about other parents saying that their child 12 cm is easy to grow, knowing that young plants are different, just spell it yourself.
"And people may be bad in this respect. On the other hand, Messi is also playing this shot. He didn't play very high in the end, it seemed to be 170cm, but it didn't prevent him from being a good player, did it? "
(The characters in the text are pseudonyms)