---
title: "Growth Hormone Stimulation Test for Kids: What to Expect | LIFE"
description: "What to expect from a growth hormone stimulation test: how to prepare, test day, results, and insurance. At LIFE, testing is scheduled within days."
---
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# **Growth Hormone Stimulation Test for Kids: What to Expect**
A growth hormone stimulation test, often called a stim test, measures how much growth hormone your child's pituitary gland can release. Your child receives a medication that prompts the gland to release growth hormone, and small blood samples are taken at set times over about four hours. **It is the test most often used to confirm or rule out growth hormone deficiency, and most insurance plans require its results before approving growth hormone treatment for that diagnosis.**
Written and medically reviewed by LIFE's pediatric endocrinologists: Dr. Toni Kim, Dr. Christina Gerhardt, Dr. Payal Patel, Dr. Kelli Davis and Dr. Natalie Hernandez · Last reviewed November 2026
## Stim Testing at LIFE
Days
### **Not months, to schedule**
Our infusion-center partners schedule stim testing within days of your child's evaluation, so a diagnosis isn't held up by a waitlist.
Near 100%
### **Growth hormone deficiency approvals**
| For six years, our in-house team has secured approval, including through appeals, for nearly every growth hormone deficiency request we've submitted. When an insurer says no, we appeal right away. |
| --- |
19
| ### **States with testing partners** |
| --- |
| LIFE has infusion-center partners in every state where our physicians are licensed, so testing happens close to home. |
| --- |
## What is a growth hormone stimulation test?
Growth hormone is released in short bursts through the day and night, so one ordinary blood draw can't show whether your child makes enough. A stim test solves that: a medication prompts the pituitary gland to release growth hormone, and small blood samples taken over a few hours show how strongly it responds.
**A strong response means the pituitary is making growth hormone normally. A low response can point to growth hormone deficiency.** Most children receive two different test medicines, because some healthy children respond weakly to just one. Depending on your child's plan, the two are given on the same day or on separate days, and your physician will tell you which.
## Does my child need one?
Not every child who is shorter than their peers needs a stim test. Your LIFE physician recommends one only when the evaluation points toward growth hormone deficiency, for example:
- Growth that has slowed, or a growth curve that has crossed downward on the chart
- A bone age X-ray showing bones younger than your child's actual age
- Low IGF-1 and IGFBP-3, proteins in the blood that reflect growth hormone activity
- Thyroid and other labs already checked, since an untreated thyroid problem can lower results
Before any testing, your physician also reviews nutrition, sleep, and overall health, because each one shapes growth. **That full picture is LIFE Integrative Endocrinology, the approach every LIFE physician practices.**
## How to prepare
- **Fasting:** no food after midnight, or the time your physician gives you, so your child skips breakfast. Ask whether water is allowed.
- **Medications:** keep giving your child's usual medicines unless your physician says otherwise. **This matters most for thyroid medicine and hydrocortisone.** If you're unsure about one, call us.
- **Priming:** some children near puberty age who haven't started puberty take a small dose of estrogen (a pill) or testosterone (a shot) a few days to a week before the test, which makes the result more accurate. Your physician will tell you if your child needs it and exactly when to give it.
- **Health changes:** tell your physician if your child has ever had seizures, heart problems, diabetes or low blood sugar, or is sick on test day. The test may need to be rescheduled.
**What to bring:** a tablet, books or movies, since your child will sit or lie down for several hours; a favorite blanket; a snack or meal for afterward; and a list of your child's medicines.
## What happens on test day
**Plan on 4 to 5 hours in all.** If your child receives both medicines on the same day, it can take 5 hours or more.
1. Check-in, with height and weight.
2. A nurse places a small IV in your child's hand or arm. Numbing cream or spray can make this more comfortable, and every later sample comes from the same IV, so there are no repeated needle pokes.
3. A first blood sample is taken.
4. Your child receives the test medicine, as a pill, a shot or an IV drip, depending on the medicine.
5. Small blood samples are taken every 15 to 30 minutes for 2 to 3 hours. A nurse checks on your child throughout, including blood sugar and blood pressure.
6. The IV comes out, your child eats and drinks, and the team confirms blood sugar is normal before you leave.
## Possible side effects
**The care team watches your child closely the entire time.** What your child may feel depends on the medicine.
| Medicine | What your child may feel |
| --- | --- |
| Glucagon | Upset stomach, nausea or vomiting; blood sugar can drop later in the test |
| Arginine | Mild nausea, or a warm, flushed feeling |
| Clonidine | Sleepiness and lower blood pressure; may need extra rest before going home |
| Insulin | Low blood sugar, on purpose: sweaty, shaky, hungry or sleepy. Done with very close monitoring, and the nurse gives sugar if needed |
## After the test
Expect your child to be tired for the rest of the day. **Plan a quiet afternoon at home, skip school and sports, and make sure your child eats regular meals and snacks.**
Get medical help right away if your child:
- Is very sleepy and hard to wake, confused, shaky or sweaty. These are signs of low blood sugar: give a sugary drink or juice if your child can swallow safely, and get help immediately.
- Vomits enough that they can't eat or drink
- Has redness, swelling or pain at the IV site that gets worse
- Faints or feels severely dizzy
In an emergency, call 911 first. For any other question after the test, you can reach your child's LIFE physician directly, 24/7.
## Understanding the results
Results usually come back within a few days to a few weeks. Your physician looks at the peak, the highest growth hormone level reached during the test, and compares it with the threshold that defines a normal response.
- **A peak above the threshold:** the pituitary is usually releasing enough growth hormone, though a result just above the threshold deserves a closer look.
- **A peak below the threshold with both medicines:** consistent with growth hormone deficiency.
**An honest word about stim tests: they are an imperfect tool, and results can mislead in either direction.** Some children who make plenty of growth hormone respond weakly on test day, which is why two medicines are used and why one low result does not, by itself, mean growth hormone deficiency. Other children who don't make enough pass by a narrow margin, so a borderline pass doesn't always rule a deficiency out.
**When a result lands close to the threshold and your child’s growth still points to a deficiency, we can repeat the stim test** rather than accept a borderline number as the final word.
Even with those limits, the stim test remains the standard path to a growth hormone deficiency diagnosis, and insurers require it before approving treatment. **So your physician never reads it alone,** but alongside your child's growth chart, bone age X-ray, other blood tests and family heights. You'll review the results together, and you can reach your physician directly with questions at any time.
## What happens next
**If both tests are low:** your physician may order an MRI of the brain and other hormone tests, and will talk with you about whether growth hormone treatment can help. Our team submits the insurance prior authorization for you. For six years, we've secured approval for nearly every growth hormone deficiency request, including through appeals, and approvals typically come in under a month. If an insurer denies a request, we file the appeal right away rather than letting it sit. How to get insurance to cover growth hormone.
**If the results are normal:** your child's growth is still worth understanding. Your physician looks at other causes, such as idiopathic short stature or constitutional growth delay, and builds a plan around nutrition, sleep and any treatment that fits. Some children with normal results can still be candidates for growth hormone, for example with idiopathic short stature. Insurance approval for those diagnoses is often much harder, and your physician will be candid with you about the odds.
### How quickly can my child be tested?
At LIFE, first visits are scheduled within one to two weeks. **When a stim test is needed, our infusion-center partners can schedule it within days,** in every state where our physicians are licensed. Families who have been told to wait months for testing elsewhere don't have to.
### What does a stim test cost?
The cost depends on your insurance plan and where the test is done. LIFE's concierge membership is not billed to insurance, but the stim test itself, like labs and imaging, typically runs through your health plan. **Our team handles the prior authorization and tells you what to expect before the test is scheduled.**
## FAQ: Stim Test Questions Parents Ask
**Does a stim test hurt?** Only the IV placement, which feels like a quick pinch. Numbing cream or spray can make it more comfortable. After that, every blood sample comes from the same IV, so there are no more needle sticks.
**How long does a growth hormone stimulation test take?** Plan on 4 to 5 hours in all, including check-in and a meal afterward. If your child receives both medicines on the same day, it can take 5 hours or more.
**Can my child eat before the test?** No. Your child stops eating at midnight, or the time your physician gives you, because eating can change the results. Your child eats as soon as the test ends.
**Is a growth hormone stimulation test safe?** Yes. It is a standard pediatric test that has been used for decades. Side effects such as sleepiness or nausea are temporary, and nurses monitor your child throughout.
**What is a normal stim test result?** A peak growth hormone level above the threshold that defines a normal response generally means the pituitary is releasing enough growth hormone, though a borderline result may be worth repeating. Your physician interprets the result alongside your child’s growth pattern, bone age and labs.
**Does my child need a stim test to get growth hormone?** For growth hormone deficiency, most insurance plans require stim test results before approving treatment. Some other conditions, such as idiopathic short stature or being born small for gestational age, can qualify without one, though insurers approve those far less readily.
**What if insurance denies growth hormone?** Our team files the appeal right away, with the clinical documentation insurers look for. For six years, nearly every growth hormone deficiency request we've submitted has been approved, including those that needed an appeal.
**Can a stim test be done by telemedicine?** The test itself is done in person at one of our infusion-center partners. Your child's evaluation and the results review can happen by telemedicine.
**When will we get results?** Usually within a few days. Your physician reviews them with you, alongside your child's growth chart, bone age and other blood tests.
**Will my child feel sick afterward?** Most children are simply tired. Plan a quiet afternoon at home, skip school and sports, and keep meals and snacks regular for the rest of the day.
**How is growth hormone deficiency diagnosed?** There's no single test. Your physician combines your child's growth pattern over time, IGF-1 and other blood tests, and a bone age X-ray. When those point to a deficiency, a stim test confirms it, and an MRI may follow.
**Can a regular blood test or a home kit check growth hormone?** Not reliably. Growth hormone rises and falls through the day, so a single level means little, and home kits can't diagnose a deficiency. IGF-1, a related protein, is a useful first screen, but confirming a deficiency takes a stim test.
**How much does growth hormone treatment cost?** It depends on your plan. With a confirmed deficiency, insurance usually covers treatment once the prior authorization is approved, and our team handles that for you. [How to get insurance to cover growth hormone.](https://lifeendo.com/blog/how-to-get-insurance-to-cover-human-growth-hormone?hsLang=en)
- Grimberg A, et al. Guidelines for Growth Hormone and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Treatment in Children and Adolescents. Hormone Research in Paediatrics, 2016 (Pediatric Endocrine Society).
- Pediatric Endocrine Society, Growth Hormone Deficiency patient [guide](https://pedsendo.org/patient-resource/growth-hormone-deficiency/)
### About LIFE
LIFE Pediatric Endocrinology is the first national concierge pediatric endocrinology practice. Our fellowship-trained pediatric endocrinologists care for children's growth, puberty, and metabolic health through LIFE Integrative Endocrinology, by telemedicine in 19 states and at offices in Atlanta, Austin, Nashville, Beverly Hills, Calabasas, and Newport Beach.
[Meet Our Physicians →](https://lifeendo.com/about?hsLang=en)
### Questions about your child's growth?
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## Related Reading
[ Child Growth Hormone Deficiency: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment Learn more about Growth Hormone Deficiency in kids.](https://lifeendo.com/blog/how-to-read-your-childs-growth-chart-at-home?hsLang=en)
[ Child Height Calculator: How Tall Will My Child Be? Check out our Child Height Calculator](https://lifeendo.com/blog/child-genetic-growth-potential?hsLang=en)
[ How to Read Your Child's Growth Chart at Home Learn how to read your child's growth chart.](https://lifeendo.com/blog/how-to-read-your-childs-growth-chart-at-home?hsLang=en)
[ Getting Insurance to Cover Growth Hormone Learn about the steps to necessary to get human growth hormone approved by insurance.](https://lifeendo.com/blog/how-to-get-insurance-to-cover-human-growth-hormone?hsLang=en)
[ How to Choose a Growth Hormone Specialist Discover what qualifies a particular pediatric endocrinologist to understand the intricacies of growth.](https://lifeendo.com/blog/what-makes-a-true-growth-hormone-expert-a-parents-guide-to-choosing-the-right-pediatric-endocrinologist?hsLang=en)
LIFE Pediatric Endocrinology is the first national concierge pediatric endocrinology practice. Our fellowship-trained pediatric endocrinologists care for children's growth, puberty, thyroid, diabetes, and metabolic health through LIFE Integrative Endocrinology, by telemedicine in 19 states and at offices in Atlanta, Austin, Nashville, Beverly Hills, Calabasas, and Newport Beach. Every child has a perfect path to health.
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