Hi John,

Congratulations on the birth of your son!  My daughter is 10, and has NCAH.  Yes, you do have concerns with your son, but they are not the life threatening ones of SWCAH.  Chelsea (our daughter) takes cortef three times a day, and also receives monthly injections of Depot-Lupron, a drug used to stop her from going into full puberty.  Early puberty is a fairly common thing with NCAH kids.  Yes, you will need to stress dose if your son runs a fever for more than a day, or has a stomach virus that causes him to lose his meds.  I carry a case with me that contains a  100 ml injection of hydrocortisone that I would use if Chelsea were to break a bone, or if we were in a car accident.  Hypoglycemia is also quite common in NCAH kids, and Chelsea has it and so I carry a glucose monitor and test strips as well.  NCAH kids who are untreated tend to not heal well (or at all) from things like common cuts, bruises, colds, flus etc.  Once treated these concerns are pretty much alleviated.  To be honest I have more trouble with the hypoglycemia than the NCAH.  NCAH kids need to wear a medical alert bracelet, and depending on where you live you may need to be prepared to dose your son yourself before medical emergency services arrive (we do as we live in a very rural area).  Finding a pediatrician that understands NCAH is crucial...the fact that your son was diagnosed so early tells me you live somewhere that this might be a bit easier for you!  Our daughter was not diagnosed until she was 7, and only after my constant insisting that something was wrong.  If I can be of any more help please feel free to email me.  Kelly at CARES has an NCAH son, and can give you lots of info too.  There are several little quirks with NCAH kids, that mostly show up much later, but are things like headaches, taste and touch sensitivities, sometimes dizziness and lightheadedness and sometimes tummy aches related to the cortef (be sure to give meds with formula or breast milk!)  Mostly they are just normal kids with a bit of a concern around healing.  Enjoy your little boy!  What is his name?  Welcome to the board, you will find lots of help here.  NCAH is not something that there is a lot of info on out there, but there is a book out by Dr. Scott Rivkees that does address it.  We actually have an appointment with him for Dec. 9th for our daughter.  Again, welcome, relax and love your little boy!

Julia

homeschl41@yahoo.com