My 14 year old daughter has recently started complaining that "her body doesn't seem to work right". She will try her hardest in a mile run and get her worst time. She says she feels like she's not as coordinated as she used to be. And last night, her body hurt as she did basic kicks in Tae Kwon Do that she has done for years. She is also always hungry and wants to eat all the time. She says that red meat seems to satisfy her the most, and after eating lots of other foods, she is still hungry. She does not have a weight problem. She is dreading doing track this season, even though she is the fastest girl in the county. She thinks she is going to hurt herself, based upon how her body is feeling. I am taking her to the doctor today, but was wondering if any of you have ever experienced anything like this. Also, she is very much living the teenage roller-coaster of moods, and has had a sporadic period for just over a year. She does not seem to be growing much as we measure her every 6 months. She also has a 14% curvature of the spine (scoliosis) that the doctor is monitoring, but is not very worried about.
I would appreciate any thoughts you may have on this subject. As always, thanks so much for taking the time to help a stranger.
I know this sounds weird-but, the coordination thing -I immediatly thought tumor. My son is going through treatment for a brain tumor-and coordination was 1 of his symptoms. Not to freak you out or anything....the meat thing though-it could be a endocrine issue. If the ped brushes you off-get a 2nd opinion.
Sounds like normal development at this age. Hormones mess with our body and she is very aware of it - which is pretty impressive. I would stress that this is VERY normal and it won't last forever. Make sure to maintain her self esteem - a very sensitive part during the fun and exciting teenage years!
The red meat part makes me think her iron is too low? I am most inclined to think puberty and hormones...face it, those make almost all of us out of whack at one point and time.
Hope the doc figures it out for you guys!
I had a lot of pain and ate a lot right before I hit a major growth spurt. I grew 8 inches in one year! It really threw off my sense of normal. Good luck!
It's possible she is going through a growth spurt. Typical with the age, bone/awkwardness and hunger. Things that can help support this process and feel better are 2 homeopathic 'tissue salt' remedies. Ferrum Phosphoricum 6X will help low iron and lack of proper absorption of iron. Calcarea Phosphorica 6X helps bones that are going through a lot of changes. Both have many other benefits including mental outlook and overall strength and coordination. Homeopathic remedies are safe/non-toxic and gentle.
I would take Ferr Phos every day in the morning for a month, and Calc Phos once a day in the evening for 5 days.
Any questions let me know :)
This is worth a try and can only be helpful. Of course these issues may be deeper and include a whole emotional, hormonal aspect. They can also be balanced, but only through a comprehensive consult with a classical homeopath.
Liz
my mom had the same problem where the red meat seemed to satisfy the most, i hope you get this soon, she is lacking iron, most people would say different but try giving her vitemins with lots of iron in it or even an iron suppliment it will help alot, i had the same problems a few years back as well and my mom told me the same thing, i didn't believe her at first but one day i couldn't take it any more and tried it after a day or two of iron pills i was right back to the way i was. good luck and and good luck and track, don't push to hard you will do great.
Sounds very similar to what I’m going through with my 12 y/o daughter who also does Taekwon Do (for 6 years now) and beat the mile run record at her school! She does swim competitively and about 3 months ago started complaining about her “bones” hurting while running and swimming especially in her knees/legs. I ended up taking her to an orthopedic who did some x-rays and he asked if I had ever heard of growing pains. Who hasn’t? =-) That is what her x-rays revealed and said her bones are stretching which is right along the right timeframe for her age. He gave us some suggestions on doing physical therapy at home that would help which it did. Sure enough I noticed her jeans were getting shorted and her feet grew in just the past few weeks! She has fit into the same pair of jeans since she was 11 so obviously hadn’t grow much. She is just now starting to show signs of puberty. Oh boy!! LOL Not sure if this is what your daughter is experiencing but I’m sure your Dr. will be able to give you more insight. Someone suggested giving her Glucosimine (sp?) vitamin but I haven’t looked into that yet.
Best of luck to your daughter!
Growing into an adolescent body can be extremely uncomfortable. EVERYTHING is changing, nothing feels right, things that have worked a certain way your whole life suddenly don't work at all or take too much effort. I remember loving to run, just for the fun of it, as a child - then came breasts, and running was never comfortable again. I'd also reached my full height, 5'8', by age 12. Imagine how awkward that was - I was not only taller than kids my own age, but a lot of adults.
One thing that jumped out at me was the fact that only meat seems to satisfy her hunger. That sounds to me like hypoglycemia (chronic low blood sugar), a condition that runs in my family (occasionally even when tests show blood work to be in the "normal" range). I'll bet your daughter has an O blood type, too. For me, and most of my family, protein foods are the most important things we eat. Bread fills most people up, but not anyone who's hypoglycemic. In order to feel full, I need protein. Chicken, ham, chili, peanut butter & scrambled eggs are all great foods for me, but if my blood sugar has been particularly low, especially over a few days, I'll start craving huge slabs of red meat. It's especially important to have a high protein breakfast. Otherwise, I'll be hungry and grouchy, headachy and shaky all day. In extreme cases, I'll even faint. See if eating high protein foods, especially in the morning, helps her. Snacks with nuts are also great.
I'm wondering if she's going through a growth spurt ... my husband went through one when he was a teenager and he literally grew 6 inches one summer (he's now 6'3") and he has stretch marks on the back of his waist to prove it :) He describes feeling the same way...
It sounds like she's going through a growth spurt. I remember my best friend, who was extremely athletic and graceful, constantly tripping and falling while just walking down the hall. She would also bump into stuff and felt some pain. Best of luck.
Sorry to hear that she is going through this. I would ask your doctor about thyroid problems. Children that age should feel fatiqued and hurt from regular activity. The meat may be a craving for iron if she is anemic, so ask about that too. I personally went through something similar and chased it down for years until finally I came across an endocrinologist that recognized that I had hypothyroidism. The odd part was that for years, my thyroid always tested okay for the TSH level (the outter edge of the "normal" range) but I made a lot anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody which was a sign that my body was attacking the thyroid. When I started taking low amount of thyroid replacement, I felt like the energier bunny. My doctor told me that in her experience women can have thyroid problems and test in the normal range but still have profound symptoms if the thyroid is failing and it can "fail" for years before the TSH test will send up any alarms. So she manages her patients more aggressively than others to ensure that they are not on the outer limits of the "normal" range and keeps them toward the middle.
This may not be the case with your daughter, but that is how I felt in high school and it just got worse until after college when I finally was diagnosed. A year later I was running triathlons and really enjoying an active lifestyle.
My doctor described it like how we decide to change the tires on our car. Generally we do not wait until the axel breaks to change our tires. We usually check the tread and decide to change them before the tires get bald. She said that the test for TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is like waiting to change your tires until the axel breaks on your car...logically you would not want to do that. She said that the other thyroid tests require fasting and are somewhat more expensive or require a specialty lab/test. So rather than inconvenience the patient, the doctors just do the TSH level.
Anyway, good luck and I hope that your daughter feels like her body is working a again soon.
I certainly remember growing pains myself! I think the woman who had the daughter with a similar background had a sensible answer. If your pediatrician doesn't have all the answers, an orthopedist might, and I really liked that hers sent her for physical therapy. Physical therapists will often give you exercises you can use all your life. They aren't into having you come to them all the time.
Many people do not realize how much bones can hurt. They aren't like sticks of wood or plastic. They have a tremendous number of nerve cells in them, and can really cause pain. Bones do stretch as part of the growth process.
I also want to echo the statement about iron. Make sure that she has an iron rich diet, and maybe check her for anemia -- even borderline.
Huge growing spurt. and Her hormones are all over the place. Growing spurt does not always mean height, it can be feet, muscle growth.. all kinds of wierd stuff. Our bodies do not grow at the same speed on all parts at the same time..
She needs to get as much rest as she can in the evenings and continue to stay active with her sports.
Have her eat as healthy as she can stand and if she gets really low,emotionally, I suggest an impromptu evening at an ice cream shop for a cone of her choice and let her vent.. ....
Give her big hugs and let her know she is going to be fine.
Being a teenager is not for the faint of heart..
Check out OPC3. It is an anitoxidant that helps many many things. Antioxidants fight free radicals. The first thing your immune system does is fights free radicals so if the OPC3 is doing that it frees up the immune system to fight sickness and disease. It will help with the aches and pains and whatever else may be going on.
Hope that helps.
Here's a link so you can read up on it.
http://www.marketamerica.com/nicoleryan/topproducts-13009...
The curvature of the spine could make her feel wore out faster because one side of her muscle in her back is gonna have spasm or work over time thus feeling more tired. She could have good days and bad days with that.
The uncoordination she feels concerns me. That could be brain tumor. The pain she feels could be growing pains, but then you turn around and say she is not growing. The curvature of the spine could be getting worse and causing her to seem as though she isn't growing. She could also have a murmur or something like that. Heart problems can make you feel tired.
If I were you, I would take her to the dr. and get her a good physical and tell him exactly as she tells you. It may be nothing but then it may be something. A good dr could spot something in a heart beat. It never hurts to be on the safe side.
My daughter has had a small curature also, corrected by chiropractic care, which he continues to monitor. Growth also makes things not feel quite right.
Coordination can be cause for arm, feet, and leg growth. She may not measure it on a chart in heighth alone. My daughter has been playing volleyball for high school and also competitively for years now and she is having issues with shin and ankle pain. She is hungry all the time, but doesn't desire the red meat. I would maybe see if your daughter tests for anemia and see what other protein source she is missing. Keep the calcium going for her too! I do believe my daughter has experienced many of the same things and it was really relative to her growth overall. Let me know, I am curious what the doctor will have to say!
Cynthia,
I agree about the hormones. But you may want to look into using some good supplements. I use the ones that are trusted by olympians. If you are interested, let me know.
If you choose to use other ones, make sure you thoroughly check out the company and that they have real published peer-reviewed research in reputable journals. If they say something like "studies show..." then they don't have anything on their product to prove it is safe and effective.
Also, our chiropractor really helped my son who has a connective tissue disorder causing problems similar to scoliosis. He stood up almost an inch taller after just one visit. But again, make sure you see a good one.
Hope this is helpful.
Victoria
