New here, son of 21 with autism

[vanpetan]

Hello, My name is Ann, 51 and I am the mother of Matthias, 21, autism. He is following university, looks very normal but is shy, has difficulty with social contacts, prefers to be on his own or with his closest family, picky eater, very slow in the morning, GI-issues, lack of energy (slow running), bites his nails, acne, seems to never get cold or warm but very kind and sweet. He has been taken a lot of different supplements over the past years, none of them with great succes or turning points in his health. He benefits a lot in the morning form 3 cups of strong coffee to get him some what energized and ready to go to school. Recently, I read some info about autism and hypothyroidism, how can I check if he has problems with his thyroid ? My doctor is not willing to cooperate. Thanks Ann

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Are you in the UK? Private testing is very easy with a home fingerprick test (or venous blood draw if preferred).

As a start, I would get a full thyroid panel with vitamins and minerals

bluehorizonmedicals.co.uk/t...

medichecks.com/thyroid-func...

[vanpetan in reply to SeasideSusie]

No, I live in Belgium, I will check ik out. Thanks for your advice. Ann

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to vanpetan]

I don't know if you would be able to use UK labs for the tests then. The blood has to be back at the lab within a day or two of it being drawn. I would check with them and see if there is any way they can do it, maybe your postal service offers some kind of express delivery within the time frame the labs quote. Or are there any labs you can use in Belgium that will do all the following

TSH

FT4

FT3

TPO antibodies

TG antibodies

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

[look_at_the_big_picture in reply to vanpetan]

There is Dr. Hertoghe in Brussels.

Unsure what the current opinions are regarding him and his clinic. Maybe write a separate thread asking for people to PM you about their experiences at the clinic? I recall people in old forum posts on other forums, people going from the UK to see either him or the doctors at his clinic. There was quite a cost though due to having to do lots of pre-visit medical tests, such as thyroid and adrenal profiles etc.

The brain is supposed to use quite a lot of T3 and I think some theories or research has stated those with Autism and Asperger's may have lower levels of T3 in their brain and increasing the levels helps. People who are hypoT and low on meds do withdraw and what to be on their own and not around others. So there could be something in it. Typing this from memory so I may have got a little muddled.

[Nanaedake]

I presume you have tried writing down together all the symptoms your son has and going together to the doctor to discuss them? As he is an adult, your doctor will want to be sure your son consents to blood tests. Is there a family history of thyroid conditions? If so, I presume your son has told the doctor.

Thyroid UK's website has information about private laboratories for blood testing that you and your son could read.

[vanpetan in reply to Nanaedake]

There is no history of thyroid issues in the family at all. My doctor says that his autism causes the symptoms partially or even denies that certain symptoms have anything to do with his autism. She once took his blood in the past and said everything looked fairly normal to her so she wasn't willing to help me any further. That is just the way he is, you'll have to accept it, I was once told. Maybe I should see an endocrinologist but I am not sure that would be a solution either. Even if I had a blood test done abroad, I am not sure if they are willing to do something with it here in Belgium, doctors are not open minded, it is just like talking to a wall

[Nanaedake in reply to vanpetan]

Well, your doctor said his blood tests were 'fairly normal'. That means nothing, it's the doctor's opinion. Your son needs to get hold of a copy of those blood tests and find out what they mean. If your son gets copies of the blood tests he can post them here along with the laboratory ranges and people might be able to help you both understand them. If you get private blood tests done then similarly, your son can post here and people might be able to help you both to understand them.

[marigold22]

In my opinion, you need to get the blood tests listed above, either privately or by a doctor. Just anyhow. Make sure you see the results and post them on here. I have an adult son with ADHD, and am about to get him private blood tests.

[penny]

Have you looked at a possible link between low Vit D and autism? There are lots of articles on the internet about this. Also, treating autism with Vit D. (Vitamin D is a hormone.)

[MiniMum97]

What GI issues does he have? My son also has aspergers and is lactose intolerant. I discovered this within 2 days of removing milk from his diet as his daily painful stomach cramps stopped. Also got rid of his "ADHD" symptoms! There is a link between autism and gut problems.