Early Puberty

[stanleyta]

My daughter has her first visit with the Pediatric Endocrinologist in about two weeks.. She is 7 years old and has breast development as well as some pubic hair growth and has started complaining lately about stomach pains....Can anyone tell me what to expect with our first visit?  I am terribly concerned as my mother had cervical cancer at the age of 28 due to too many hormones...please give all the advice/info you have it is all welcomed.

thanks.
concerned mom  

[ny2125]

exposure to hormones or herbs?  do you mean if the mother took any while pregnant?  what herbs in particular?  

[Deanna L Aftab Guy, MD]

First visit is usually a complete history and physical, they will want to know what age you had menarche, and what age your husband shaved, also any exposure to any hormones or herbs etc.
Birth history etc. are important. Normally based on my exam I will get labs and an xray of the left hand to assess the age of the bones and see if they are advanced.
They will sit down with you and discuss all the needed info. Bring your spouse if needed so they can also hear, sometimes my patient forget all that we talked about and by the time they get home forget how to explain it to their spouse.
Also there is a website called toosoon.com and it discusses one of the treatments Lupron, not that this is needed at this time but I use this website to provide additional info for my patients after we have done our workup.
Also they may want to get an ultrasound of her pelvic area(from the tummy of course). This lets them assess the ovaries.
Good luck, you will be in good hands.