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Posted 3/27/2017 6:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone,

My name is Tyler and I'm 16 years old. I was diagnosed at 13. I'm concerned my growth might have been stunted... I'm the smallest of my brothers, who are all older and over 6 foot, whilst I'm only 5"8. My Dad is way over 6 foot and my Mum is about 5"5.

I've been on Pentasa Mesalazine oral tablets for 3 years. I was also put on Suppositories at 13 for a few months. However I went into remission for 3 years until recently. During that 3 year period I was only on the oral tablets daily, and have grown an inch or two.

However, recently I went into a flare on and off for around 6 months, and have just been put on Mesalazine Salofalk enema 2g once a day, Colifoam Hydrocortisone acetate foam enema once a day, and also my Pentasa oral tablets 4g a day. This has put me back into remission.

During the past 4 months or so, I have grown half an inch. I'm now concerned though, as I've been put onto rectal medication, along with the disease, that my growth might be stunted.

Have any of you experienced your growth being stunted at an early age as a result of this disease?

I'm also curious to know whether growth is stunted, or delayed. Is there still a chance I could growth?

Thank you,

Tyler Laffar
Posted 3/27/2017 6:45 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Tyler. I don't know anything about this disease and meds and growth as I'm one of the "lucky" ones who didn't get UC until I was older. But I'm very short and my family are late growers, so I know a little bit about that. I would check and see at what age your relatives matured and got their full height, as that is a big factor. My youngest son was soooo small for his age, he had a really rough time in high school because he looked like he was still a 6th grader. He was shorter than 5 foot when he was a freshman and still not very big by the time he graduated. He ended up being about 5'9 or 10' I think -- taller now than some of the boys that towered above him in high school. My nephew didn't get his full height until he was 21 and he's pushing 6' now. I know it's hard at your age, but don't give up on your height, it can still happen. And even if it doesn't, there's plenty of people who do just fine at shorter heights! Now hopefully someone else can weigh in on whether UC can inhibit growth or not. I would think that being sick could definitely cause the body to save it's energy to fight the disease rather than growing, and once you're on the mend, then it can get back to the business at hand, so to speak, but that's just me thinking off the top of my head with no scientific evidence to support it.
Posted 3/27/2017 7:07 PM (GMT 0)
you can also ask for a referral to an endocrinologist, they can check for all kinds of issues.
I think if anything, the disease itself would stunt your growth, not the meds, but these are questions best left to a doctor.
My husband grew a lot from age 18-24, some people grow at different ages.
Posted 3/27/2017 7:32 PM (GMT 0)
I understand that you might be worried but 5'8" at 16 isn't that bad. It's probably pretty close to average. The only drug for UC or Crohns that I've heard can stunt your growth are steroids. Enemas dont have nearly the side effects of oral steroids, so I think the odds would be much much lower with those. From the research I've done, UC rarely causes stunted growth or delayed puberty, and that would most likely if you were in prolonged flares when you weren't getting enough nutrition. The vast majority of nutrition is absorbed through the small intestines, which UC does not effect. So I would imagine not getting enough nutrition would mostly be due to not being able to eat enough due to the flares.

Post Edited (NiceGuyEddie) : 3/27/2017 2:17:48 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/27/2017 8:16 PM (GMT 0)
It is probably the disease stunting your growth. And yes, at 16 you will probably grow still.

Let's just assume your height is what it is though. Does it matter? It's not like how tall you are says anything about you.
Posted 3/27/2017 10:23 PM (GMT 0)
Has your UC been well mannered or have you flared alot and for long periods for time? I ask as prolonged flares and malnutrition from them are what stunts growth in pediatric UC patients.

Genetics mean siblings can be very different in height. If your mom is 5' 5" then maybe you got her genes for height.
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