My 18 mth old granddaughter had a peanut sized lump just left of her Adam’s apple. It’s been there a long time. Thing is she is a big 18 mth

[Belfastfem]

Old far taller than my other 3 yr old granddaughter.

When Ivy was born she was a restless baby didn’t sleep very yappy. We were told she had a reflux, my daughter breastfed her for first 10 weeks.

Anyway she was sitting up at 4 mths, going around her ‘around we go’ at 5 mths, I taught her to clap her hands and round and round the garden and to wave at 5 mths.

We thought she was super smart, she was trying to talk. Then just before her 1rst birthday we noticed that she was very quiet, wasn’t doing anything I had taught her.

My daughter noticed the glint in her wee eyes had gone, she didn’t answer to her name and still doesn’t, she doesn’t respond to anything you ask her, she is still yappy but can be happy, she has had diarrhoea every day since she was born. We are still waiting on an appointment with the stomach clinic.

So we changed her diet to lactose free, then diary free, when the diet is followed she can give a slightly formed stool but there isn’t one day that goes past that there hasn’t been a runny nappy and some days there can be up to 8 of them.

So long story short her behaviour was starting to make us think she was on the autism spectrum. She doesn’t sleep, has melt downs, would hit herself in frustration, but can be distracted and then laughs.

Hates the bath, looks through things to watch the tv like the colander. We thought she had regressed and voiced our concerns to the health visitor, as the child can’t speak and yet 6 mths before she was trying too, she does babble and seems to be doing things now that she should have been doing months ago.

So a referral was made to the CDC and we attended, paediatrician did say there was concerns for her development and noticed she doesn’t notice other people in the room. So they are continuing to work with her.

Now this wee lump, I am concerned. When she puts her head back you can see it, the skin on it turns lighter and when you touch it it moves.

We have an appointment today, but I haven’t slept putting my head away all night reading up on hyperthyroidism. Her mum or dad don’t have it, I do have cousins with it and I myself have all the symptoms but because I have fibromyalgia it’s always put down to that.

I do suffer from hypoglycaemia at least 3 times a week. I have no energy at all and I don’t sleep much either.

Now I have read that if it’s not caught in a child’s first 3 yrs it can leave brain damage which has scared the he’ll out of me.

For an 18 mth old she can be lazy as well as hyper. But she tends to lean a lot as if no core strength, and would lie down quite a bit and then get up for a while then lie back down.

What I have noticed is she has very thin dry whispy hair, and her 2 of her finger nails have come off in the last month.

Her pain threath hold is unbelievable, she dropped a heavy Christmas snow globe on her foot, let out a wee cry and went about her business, where we were watching her foot like a hawk in case it was broke or bruise.

Foot was ok lol. But there’s been other times she has hurt herself and let’s out a wee cry then that’s it.

She is a big child for her age too big she looks like a 3 yr old.

I have read that children with hyperthyroidism can have learning and speech problems and their hearing can be affected, and some specialists have wrote that pre school children who have no speech or seem to be slow should have their thyroid tested.

I am sorry for the book I have written but our surgery flap their hand at you as if you are a nut. I just wanted to be prepared for the hand flap and how I can demand the child be tested. My daughter leaves me to do everything lol

Plz plz help

Patricia

[Belfastfem]

Also i forgot to mention her hair hasn’t grown in 6 mths and looks like it’s receding, she looks like she has a very bad mullet lol. The hair growth was starting to worry me, because she is a big child clearly growing well too well in height, but her hair is terrible dry and brittle looking.

I just want for someone to tell me I am not nuts, and if you think it’s hyperthyroidism or autism, but the diarrhoea, her height and weight, her doing well up until her 1rst birthday then regressing, melt downs, the bath!! She clings to our necks and we have to wash her like that it takes 2 of us to bath her, one holds her the other washes her, then after the bath she will just lie quiet and fall asleep.

My wee grandson is 3 weeks younger than her and he is to her elbow, he goes and gets me things that I ask him for and follows my finger, ivy you can’t even get her attention unless you sing to her.

It’s all very worrying something isn’t right and the wee lump could be her glands or a wee cyst but there’s too many other symptoms.

Again plz help

[Mamapea1]

Belfastfem ~ just noticed this post and I see by your profile that you have fibromyalgia ~ there will more than likely be a thyroid problem in yourself, and you say there are thyroid problems in the family ~ so WHY is GP not checking the poor child? I think he's an idiot and you must not back down ~ just because he's been to uni for a few years that does not mean he knows better than you regarding your granddaughter ~ make sure this ends now. If you end up walking out (hopefully after giving him a slap) lol! Then find someone else ~ given family history, she should have already been checked. And when you've sorted Ivy out (fingers crossed), post your own thyroid results on the forum ~ you may find an answer to your 'fibromyalgia'!

Warmest wishes Mamapea x

[Belfastfem in reply to Mamapea1]

Thank you, we actually got appointments mixed up and appointment is tomorrow morning lol.

The health visitor was out today and I mentioned the lump and that I thought that all her wee problems were stemming from her thyroid. I think she thought I was nuts.

As for my thyroid I have been getting tested for years and it always comes back normal. I did read earlier that normal can mean borderline. I have an appointment with gp next week and will ask for all the tests and previous results too. I swear I have it. I have no energy at all and suffer depression since I was 18. I am in constant pain and more so in this weather. I can’t handle the cold, my weight is a battle it goes up and down and hand on heart I don’t eat more than 1200 calories a day and some days I am too tired to make anything so come the afternoon my metabolism is rock bottom. I suffer hypothermia regularly too.

I have arthritis too and I read it can also trigger it as inflammation can effect the immune system.

I will let you know tomorrow what the silly gp says regarding ivy x

[Mamapea1 in reply to Belfastfem]

Belfastfem ~ if you look at your replies to both your posts, you will see that no one on here thinks for one moment that you are 'nuts'. It doesn't matter what the health visitor thinks of you ~ she clearly has NO KNOWLEDGE of thyroid disease or much else for that matter ~ don't let them intimidate you. This kind of thing has happened to many on here, and it causes people to waste years of their life, thinking they have other things, and being dismissed by GPs and even so called specialists. It has happened to me also.

Please read and learn everything you can from around the forum or just post to ask. You say that your daughter leaves everything to you ~ is she exhausted too? There are so many reasons why 'normal' results mean absolutely nothing ~ vitamin/mineral deficiencies, genetic flaws etc. it's how much thyroid hormone that gets into and is used by the cells that count. You may have to have private tests to get to the bottom of it all, unfortunately many on here have to do this to get answers.

You have all the symptoms and signs of hypothyroidism and from your story you have probably always been so ~ but like so many, undiagnosed. You may have to self treat with advice from forum if you get nowhere. If they dismiss your concerns tomorrow about Ivy, then you will have to see someone else ~ what are the specialists doing with her when you say they will continue to see her? I don't understand what the delay is ~ what the hell are they waiting for? I wish you the best of luck for tomorrow and make sure they realise thyroid conditions run in the family, although I think she needs many tests to ascertain what is wrong with her. Please don't lose hope. Mamapea x

[Clutter]

Belfastfem,

Has your granddaughter had a blood test to rule out thyroid dysfunction?

[Belfastfem in reply to Clutter]

No clutter and I was wrong I thought they did it with the gurthie test when she was born, but health visitor told me today that they only do the hypothyroidism not hyper.

We have appointment in the morning at 9.50 and I will demand the tests.

[Clutter in reply to Belfastfem]

Belfastfem,

Having hypothyroidism ruled out a birth doesn't preclude your daughter aquiring hypothyroidism at 18 months. A thyroid test will confirm or rule out hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism.

The lump should also be investigated, of course.