Worried Mum!

[OPLLgirl]

Hi, everyone. This is my first post and I'm looking for advice. My 22 year old son, who lives at home, is displaying many of the symptoms of Hypothyroidism. He's complaining of feeling tired, lethargic, achy. His throat is sore, especially to the touch at the front and he says his legs feel "wobbly" when he stands up. He's usually so healthy that I'm not even sure who his designated GP is! On top of all the above, I guess I should mention that his Dad was diagnosed with hypothyroidism nearly 10 years ago and has since been told by his mother that "that runs in the family"!! My question is this... should I push my son to see a doctor and ask for a blood test? I don't want to come over as an over-protective mother but I'm too worried to want to ignore it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[pussycatwillow]

Yes, please ensure your son gets a blood test. My son had exactly the same symptoms and after about a year I finally persuaded him to go to the GP.

If necessary go to the appointment with him. I accompanied my son ask knee he probably wouldn't listen!

His TSH was quite high and he is hypothyroid.

I am hypothyroid and my husband was diagnosed about a year ago.

My GP did say it can run in families!

My son is 23 and has been on levothyroxine for about 18 months, but I still have to push him to go for regular blood tests.

Let us know how you get on. Good luck

[OPLLgirl in reply to pussycatwillow]

Thank you so much, Pussycatwillow, for your reply. I have a multitude of health issues (hypothyroidism isn't one!) and am always concerned about "bothering" my GP but.... this is my baby and I'm really concerned about him. It's all so out of character for him.

Thank you for reassuring me that I'll be doing the right thing. He's agreed to go in the morning and says he'd like me to go with him. Result??!

[pussycatwillow in reply to OPLLgirl]

Ask for a printout of his blood test result and post on here.

There are some very knowledgeable people who can comment and give you advice.

[OPLLgirl in reply to pussycatwillow]

Thanks for the advice. I'll do that as soon as we have the results. Fingers crossed I'm worrying for nothing?

[shaws Administrator in reply to OPLLgirl]

He should fast before the blood test and it should be as early as possible. (he can drink water though).

[OPLLgirl in reply to shaws]

Is it like a fasting lipids test? I have to have those but didn't realize that the thyroid test was the same.

I really have a lot to learn!

[shaws Administrator in reply to OPLLgirl]

If they did the lipids test it might show a higher cholesterol level as that is also a clinical symptom (not that doctors are aware of that and if it was high it would reduce with levo). Instead they'll probably prescribe statins (unnecessary).

The one you're referring to is for the thyroid gland and food taken before it lowers the TSH. Also the TSH diminishes during the day and is highest early morning and most doctors appear to only diagnose on the TSH.

[OPLLgirl in reply to shaws]

I didn't know that high cholesterol was linked to hypothyroidism. Before statins, my cholesterol was 13.6. It's now down to 7.7. Perhaps I should ask for the TSH test, too??

[shaws Administrator in reply to OPLLgirl]

I think the most common clinical symptoms (before diagnosing) is unexplained weight gain, fatigue, high cholesterol.

These are a couple of links:-

drmalcolmkendrick.org/books...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[OPLLgirl in reply to shaws]

Thank you so much for all your advice. I'm off to bed now so I can be up and dialing our GP surgery at 8am.

Good night all and thanks again.

[Marz in reply to OPLLgirl]

It could also be LOW Iron. When my grandson was visiting recently I took him for tests here in Crete. His Thyroid levels were fine - ( always good to have a baseline ) but his Ferritin - Folate - Iron were below or low in the range. If these low levels are not treated it can affect the thyroid in the long-term. Also his B12 needs testing as the symptoms of Low B12 can mimic being Hypo. I once wrote a post here - Low Thyroid or Low B12 - Chicken or Egg ? There were lots of comments....

Lets hope it is something simple. Yes I would have your thyroid tested whilst you are at it - also the Homocysteine. The latter was raised in my case along with the Cholesterol - when the Homocysteine levels subside so does the cholesterol in most cases ! Treating the raised Homocysteine is with a GOOD B Complex and B12 and there is something else that helps with the chelation - sorry cannot remember - TCM or something !

As others have suggested do read the posts/books by Dr Malcolm Kendrick. Statins do not save lives and have little benefit for women. Also you should be prescribed CoQ10 with the Statin - every cell in your body needs it - and statins block the pathway - hence the symptoms that may arise.

Dr Myhill wrote in her recent book that statins in the body have a similar effect to VitD - I would stick with the VitD - a steroidal pre-hormone that is anti-inflammatory....

[jacrjacr in reply to Marz]

I agree my son had low b12, low ferritin serum low omega 3 and dr put him on eating whole foods 3 times a day meals start exercising a little every day and taking b12 5000 and good grade b complex, and multi and probiotic before bed every night and in 2 mths he was normal

[snow31]

Just wanted to say good luck for you and your son today.

I too have a 22 year who hasn't felt great for last 1 1/2 years since getting a tummy bug in Egypt. He was tested a year ago for Thyroid due to me having it but came back normal. He said the other day he was breathless and few other bits so you have made me think perhaps he should be tested again.

Doesn't matter what age they are always our babies Hope you manage to get appointment.

X

[greygoose in reply to snow31]

Get his B12 tested as well, then. Breathlessness can be due to low vit B12 - which is pretty common.

[snow31 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks grey goose. Your thoughts and advice are always good

[greygoose in reply to snow31]

You're welcome. Hope you find the answers.

[jacrjacr in reply to greygoose]

and low iron ferritin can cause breathless

[MariLiz]

Glandular fever might be a possibility, my youngest son had this at 21, and it left him feeling very weak for some time afterwards. Do hope he gets a diagnosis, and feels better soon. MariLiz

[OPLLgirl]

Thank you for all the kind and helpful messages.

I thought I'd give an update on Tom's progress today. I got an appointment at our GP's and he's being tested for Thyroid, B12 deficiency and Glandular Fever on 26th of this month.

In the short term, he has a nasty case of Tonsillitis which is being treated with penicillin and a bit of TLC from me!

Thanks again for all the kind words. You really are a great bunch on here. Now, if I could just find a similar forum for OPLL I'd be ecstatic!!

[Marz in reply to OPLLgirl]

Tonsils and the thyroid share a blood supply I believe - could be one of the reasons they no longer remove tonsils quite so often a they did in the past.

Hope all goes well for you both....

[OPLLgirl]

Thank you for all you kind comments and helpful advice. All Tom's bloods came back normal but he did have a very nasty dose of tonsillitis which, with penicillin, has now cleared up completely. He's now back to his usual, caring self but has been put on our surgery's watch list and will be called in for bloods to be done in 12 months time - just in case!

Thanks again for helping me to stay sane!