I have a condition that my doctor called "failure to thrive." In other words, I cannot gain weight by eating, lifting, or any other means. I am very very thin. He told me he is not allowed to prescribe hormones but told me that if i go to an endocrynologist and they might be able to, but i read they are illegal to people as a means to gain weight. but what if it is our only option?
Best answer:
Answer by Lea H
If your difficulty to gain weight is due the physical illness, I do not think it should be illegal to prescribe growth hormones. But first they need to make sure that indeed your body is producing unnaturally low quantities of hormone by itself.
Disclaimer - I am finn, so I cannot be sure of your laws.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
A doctor can legally prescribe any medication he is licensed to. But some prefer not to prescribe medications they rarely have the opportunity to prescribe.
ReplyDeleteHe was referring you to a doctor who would be more experienced in using that medication.
"failure to thrive" is a very broad condition, not a specific diagnosis. Your condition can be caused by many factors, and when I say many I mean many... Anything from social surroundings to different diseases, hormone deficiencies etc... While a doctor is legally able to prescribe HGh they would not likely do so unless you have an HGh dificiency which you can be tested for. The reason many doctors are tight when it comes to prescribe HGh is the fact that HGh is an extremel potent hormone, not to mention expensive. When taken in large doses the effects can be quite devestating.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest to make an appointment with the endocrynologist as your doctor recommended.
If you doctor hasn't already done the following make sure to ask the endo too:
1) CBC
2) Electrolyte balance
3) Hemoglobin electrophoresis
4) Hormone studies, including thyroid function tests, HGh levels etc..
5) Urinalysis
Hope this helps, and good luck!
Your doctor could prescribe it, but has wisely chosen to send you to someone with more expertise than him. Nothing illegal about his prescribing it. Just good judgement. He wants to be sure that HGH would really help. "Failure to thrive" is a diagnosis usually restricted to infants. I suggest inability to gain weight might be a better descriptive term.
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