My 11 year old was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 14 months ago, and her doctor said she is not growing. What can I do? Is this caused from the diabetes?

In the USA, the most common reason for poor growth is hypothyroidism although it also occurs in some rare disorders like the Prader-Willi syndrome. Poor diabetes control, especially during early puberty, may retard the child’s height development and decrease the growth spurt during puberty. Puberty may be delayed and girls may have irregular or missed menstruations. In earlier years it was common for children with diabetes to be stunted in their growth (Mauriac Syndrome),

It’s very important to consider both insulin and nutritional requirements in relation to the child’s growth phase. In fact, during the puberty years, when the body is developing quickly, the need for insulin is increased and you will often need to increase the doses considerably. Levels of growth hormone in the body increase. If you give too little insulin during the years of growth spurt the final height will be one or more centimeters less than predicted. Use of a multiple daily injection regimen or an insulin pump may be very effective in promoting better growth.

MS