17 year old possible thyroid?

[lweezie]

Can anyone give me some advice. My son is 17yrs old, 6ft2 and weighs 19stone 9lbs . He carries it very well and I was totally shocked when he told me. My problem is he's been anxious and depressed since he turned into a teenager . He lacks motivation , low self-esteem he's just been on a high dose of vitamin D prescribed by the doctor which he's just completed. (check up blood test in 3mths) He had various other tests all was OK except for his mchc his reading was 358 g/l range in 305-350. I started giving him a multivitamin a few weeks before the test to see if it would help with his moods. I've always made him eat good meals cooking meat and vegetables every tea time but obviously I can't control what chocolate and fizzy drinks he buys. He's now saying he's in constant pain all over his body everything seems like an effort for him. He's been to cbt and discharged because they felt they wasn't helping and requested him go to counseling then come back. The doctor has just a month ago put him on citalopram which did initially help as he started to smile again but now I feel like he's hit a brick wall. My question is could he have thyroid problems? My gp only ever does the tsh test and my sons was 2.2 in the normal range. Should I request further testing? Because he's the way he is it effects the whole family. So upsetting

[Clutter]

lweezie,

TSH >2 indicates your son's thyroid is beginning to struggle but NHS doesn't diagnose primary hypothyroidism until TSH is over range which is usually over 4.50 or 5.0. In addition, TSH only testing doesn't exclude a diagnosis of central hypothyroidism due to lack of TSH stimulating the thyroid to produce T4 and T3 thyroid hormones. It could be worth ordering a Blue Horizon Thyroid Plus 11 or Medichecks UltraVits hometest via thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin... MediChecks offers #ThyroidThursday discounts.

[lweezie in reply to Clutter]

Thanks so much for your message. Do you think I could push my doctor into a more detailed thyroid test?

[Clutter in reply to lweezie]

lweezie,

I think it's very unlikely as TSH is in normal range and GP's only testing for primary hypothyroidism.

[Andyb1205]

Just last year the most cited scientific journal in the world, this is peer reviewed, came out with a multi page article titled “Central Hypothyroidism: A Neglected Disorder.” Interestingly in Netherlands they always run T4 along with TSH, resulting in central Hypothyroidism being diagnosed by a factor of ten compared to America.

qbpatologica.files.wordpres...

And only in 2012 the most common genetic factor of it was discovered, published just last year in Journal Endocrinology. The science is there but practice lags far behind.

Also check this out, a significant subset of patients have T4 in the lower part of normal range yet had no biochemical or symptomatic differences - severity in disease - than those with T4 below range. The former is child onset compared to adult onset, so if you’re born with it you’re less likely to get treated than if you’re an adult that later develops it.

eje-online.org/content/150/...

If your doctor isn’t a philistine that barely passed class then definitely you can try to push them to run the full tests.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

For full evaluation your son ideally need TSH, FT4, FT3, TT4, TPO and TG antibodies, plus vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 tested

Essential to test antibodies, FT4 and FT3

Low vitamins are common and can cause symptoms in own right

See if you can get full thyroid and vitamin testing from GP. Unlikely to get FT3

Private tests are available

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have money off offers.

Medichecks has one on today - thyroud plus ultravit £79

All thyroid tests should be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. This gives highest TSH and most consistent results

Link about antibodies

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

Link about thyroid blood tests

thyroiduk.org/tuk/testing/t...

List of hypothyroid symptoms

thyroiduk.org/tuk/about_the...

Has he ever had glandular fever?

Look at gluten free diet too

[lweezie]

Yes he had a huge lump come up on the side of his neck when he was around 8 . I took him for blood tests to get it checked for glandular fever at the time but it was too traumatic for him and they struggled getting a vein. It did clear up after a week or so

[SilverAvocado in reply to lweezie]

I am hypothyroid and they struggle to get blood out of me. My blood pressure tends to be very low.

I think this is almost a hypothyroid symptom.

[soppysokes]

Just as an aside citalopram is a known cause of weight gain, usually within a pretty short space of time and around 1-2 stone is 'a fairly normal response in many people'.

[lweezie in reply to soppysokes]

Too be honest he looks like he's lost weight not much but I can tell by the way his clothes fit him. He isn't eating much recently since he started the vitamin D in high doses .Thank you for your comment.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to lweezie]

High dose vit D can reduce appetite - esp if it taken without vit K2 (Mk-7). B12 can increase appetite

[soppysokes]

Hi iweezie that's interesting then. Maybe it is just a result of dietary intake being reduced or possible thyroid involvement but normally oxymoron to take citalipram and lose weight unless due to other reasons. Good luck to your son and hope things improve soon for him.

[lweezie in reply to soppysokes]

Thank you. I'm going to go and see my gp and if I can't get any further blood tests I'll pay privately . I just want my son happy again.

[soppysokes]

Sound a good route to go Iweezie I feel for you both. it's worse to have your children unwell than suffer yourself imho. I wish you well.

[lweezie in reply to soppysokes]

Thank you 😉

[Tabi-Lion5]

Hello Iweezie! I am sorry that you and your Son are going through this. Your post was very interesting to me as I also have a Son that seems to be exhibiting signs of Overactive Thyroid. He is 22 also tall at 6' 5" (but carries it well) such a coincidence, and is in a similar place to where your Son is, at the moment. The problem I have right now is that our Son has a real aversion to anything to do with blood, hospitals, etc ... our Son says it is not Needlephobia as such, he said it is the thought of blood. He feels he is going to faint just at the thought of getting a blood test done! I don't know if this is a phobia or not as our Son cannot explain it as anything other than not being able to get blood tests done. I have tried everything and so has my Husband and the infuriating thing is our GP just says that he needs to get a blood test done before he can be diagnosed. That is obvious! We know that!!!! but we can NOT force our Son to get blood tests done. We try to encourage him and explain how important it is. He is very intelligent and understands but doesn't want to fall flat on the floor in blood test room. He fainted several times when young. He did manage to get test done once (which was a huge victory) but has lapsed back again since. The GP said that test was useful but he needs to get another test done now we're back at square one. No-one is helping us with this. I am fighting a battle with my own Hashimoto's/Hypothyroid and medication issues. Now I have this issue to deal with too. Our Son passed out at School when he was younger, when Teacher forced them all to watch a heart transplant operation. Fancy teacher not asking students FIRST if anyone had a phobia etc? The teacher had to call an ambulance and paramedics told teacher off when our Son described how he felt watching video! I am strongly suspecting over-active Thyroid. I went with our Son to get his heart monitored and Doctor said it's not an issue with his heart. As you say with your Son. I too have given our Son a multivitamin to take but have to keep reminding him. Ugh! I sympathise with you greatly. What a battle this is!!!! I do hope things improve for you. Can anyone out there shed some light or point us in the right direction to get some help please?

[Tabi-Lion5]

Sorry, should have said I am quite new to this community so should I also post this problem on my own profile for others to reply? Perhaps a much shortened version (sorry, reading it back & didn't realise how long it was!). Should have read it through first. I am feeling quite desperate to help our Son. Not easy when one has brain fog! I am on Levothyroxine and still feel unwell. Thank you everyone.

[lweezie in reply to Tabi-Lion5]

No problem, my son also complains of brain fog and not being able to concentrate. I'm definitely going to push for further investigations . Thanks

[lweezie]

Awe I really feel for you. It affects the family as a whole when one of you is suffering. It's been a long battle with us to try and find out what's going on with him. He suffers so bad with various anxieties and avoids anything that makes him anxious. It drives us all crazy because he's such a bright boy but he's not enjoying the social aspect of college he won't go into a class if he's late so misses the class. He won't do presentations in the class when ones due so avoids the class. It's really going to have an effect on his results. I was hoping the citalopram would help with his anxieties but upto now it hasn't (4wks since he started) there has been improvements with his sleep he was only having a few hours a night which was making him grumpy. It's really hard to get him to help himself with his lack of motivation and drive it's tiring because I'm the one pushing and motivating him it's totally draining for me. But I won't stop until he's sorted or I'm dead haha one of the two. I hope you can eventually convince your son to go for tests. Have you not tried asking the doctor for beta blockers? They help with the adrenaline rush to the heart which causes the anxiety (fight or flight feeling) good luck x

[Tabi-Lion5]

Thanks so much for your lovely reply. Just being able to talk to someone that understands this has helped enormously! I do sympathise regarding your Son's anxieties. Our Son is exactly the same. He refused beta-blockers. He was at Uni. for 2 years. He's a bright boy, just like your Son. Although he's a man now at 22 but he dropped out of Uni for the last year. He could not do it plus all the travelling on tubes. He would have had his degree by now. It's so sad. Our Son is similar with his sleep too. he ends up staying up all night and sleeps during the day. I think he's just trying to escape it all but it's not going to go away all by itself. I don't think there is anything further the Doctor can do. We are not open to hypnotism as a family. It's not for us but I may try to get counselling if he agrees. I do hope you get all the help yu need too. x

[lweezie in reply to Tabi-Lion5]

Awe I wish you all the best and I hope something is sorted for him soon x