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Yes, she was 9 when she started & is now 10. This IS very young, but that was no surprise to me. She has what is called 'pubercent puberty' & started breast development at age 2. By the time she was 3, I would no longer accept the pediatricians explanation that her little boobies were fatty tissue and I insisted on a referral to a specialist. Well.....she was in stage 4 of 5 stages of breast development & I was advised that some women never even reach stage 5. So.....the testing began. After a bit of time, it was discovered that she had a brain tumor. I know that this sounds very scary......but it's not so scary this many years later because I have all the details & the details are that she is OK & not going to die from this. Plus, when you spend a lot of time in childern hospitals....you really count your blessings because you see some really sad things.
So, the tumor was tested & tested & we saw neurological opthimologists, brain surgeons, endocronologists.....it was quite overwhelming until we learned that the only problem that the tumor was causing was puberty. Although it sucks that she has the tumor....how lucky that the only symptom is puberty. See, the tumor is touching her petuitary gland, which sets off the hormones.
So, from age 4 to age 8, she was treated with a monthly injection to counteract the hormones. When she was off the medicine, at my request, I was advised that she would start in about a year, maybe less. Well, it was a bit over a year & she started.
It was scary for her, but she was very well informed. I had to teach her the ins & outs of the whole ordeal when she started her medicine at age 4 because sometimes when the medicine is started, it causes a period. In our case, it did not.
Wow, this is a long post. I guess I'm just in the mood for sharing today!!
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