Ecliptz

[Ecliptz]

Hi I really need help my 10 yr old son he has been ill for the last 2 months he was in hospital with severe constipation he had his bloods done and they told me his thyroid was a little low he is always tired now and finds it really hard to concentrate at school he was sent home on a regime of laxatives and is still constipated today we went back to peadriactics for a review they said his bloods were slightly out of range and when I asked what they were he asked me why I wanted to know as he thought that he def didn’t think it was a thyroid problem I said I would like to know the results he said his t4 was 10.9 range 12’5 -22.5 and his Tsh was normal he didn’t tell me what it was he just said that the Tsh would have to be high as well for them to diagnose a thyroid problem and he just had to check with someone about the t4 result they are going to see him again in another 6 weeks and have put up the amount of laxatives he has to take again as they said it’s a constipatin problem not a thyroid problem I have an under active thyroid myself and I’m sure they have got it wrong I’m so frustrated can anyone advise me what I should do

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Ecliptz

the results he said his t4 was 10.9 range 12’5 -22.5 and his Tsh was normal

I am not medically trained, and I am not diagnosing, but what could be indicated here is Central Hypothyroidism. This is where the problem lies with the hypothalamus or the pituitary rather than a problem with the thyroid gland. With Central Hypothyroidism the TSH can be low, normal or slightly raised, and the FT4 will be low.

TSH is a pituitary hormone, the pituitary checks to see if there is enough thyroid hormone, if not it sends a message to the thyroid to produce some. That message is TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). In Primary Hypothyroidism the TSH will be high. If there is enough hormone then there's no need for the pituitary to send the message to the thyroid so TSH remains low.

However, with Central Hypothyroidism the signal isn't getting through for whatever reason. It could be due to a problem with the pituitary (Secondary Hypothyroidism) or the hypothalamus (Tertiary Hypothyroidism).

Your GP can look at BMJ Best Practice for information - here is something you can read without needing to be subscribed

bestpractice.bmj.com/topics...

and another article which explains it

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

You could do some more research, print out anything that may help and show the doctor.

As Central Hypothyroidism isn't as common as Primary Hypothyroidism it's likely that many doctors haven't come across it before. You may need to be referred to an endocrinologist. If so then please make absolutely sure that it is a thyroid specialist that you see. Most endos are diabetes specialists and know little about the thyroid gland (they like to think they do and very often end up making us much more unwell that we were before seeing them). You can email Dionne at

[e-mail]

for the list of thyroid friendly endos. Then ask on the forum for feedback on any that you can get to. Then if you are referred, make sure it is to one recommended here. It's no guarantee that they will understand Central Hypothyroidism but it's better than seeing a diabetes specialist. You could also ask on the forum if anyone has been successful in getting a diagnosis of Central Hypothyroidism, possibly in your area which you'll have to mention of course.

I don't know if a paediatric endocrinologist will have any better understanding of this.

[Ecliptz in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you so much that gives me a better insight into the problem as we live in nireland I’m not sure who we would be referred to but I will read up on this now and be ready with as much knowledge as I can for the next appointment

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Ask GP to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 Plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies

Presumably you have Hashimoto's also called autoimmune thyroid disease diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies?

Or if GP unhelpful get full Thyroid and vitamin testing privately

For full Thyroid evaluation your son needs TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also extremely important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if Thyroid antibodies are raised

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)

(Last Levothyroxine dose should be 24 hours prior to test, (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw). )

Blue Horizon will allow testing of a minor. Suggest you get private blood draw rather than DIY finger prick test

Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or all vitamins

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 special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random

[molliemo18]

Grandson Had problems from about 7 to 17 with constipation, they diagnosed that he was growing too fast for his system to keep up, and was on regular laxatives. Now at 18 next week, seems to have got over the problem most of the time. He ended up in hospital several times, and they were always very good with him.

[vocalEK in reply to molliemo18]

That's what's known as "treating the symptoms" instead of doing the hard work of diagnosing the cause and working to correct it. It can't be good for a child to be on laxatives for years.

[Ecliptz in reply to vocalEK]

I know I'm determined that I'm not going to let thatr happen to him I'm going to get as much information as I can and take it with me to the next appontment

[Hidden]

How long have you had a thyroid problem for yourself?

[Ecliptz in reply to Hidden]

I only found out I had it in June 2018 although I think I prob has it for years and not realised

[Hidden]

Yes you probably did this creeps on on you. I have no gallbladder and before I had it removed I never had any trouble going to the loo.

I started to get slightly constipated and asked my local pharmacy what they would recommend it was Lactoluse this is much kinder on the bowel.

If I cannot go one day I just take this, sometimes twice in one day it works well.

The best idea is not to let it build up but deal with it straight away as soon as it starts take the lactose. It may help I hope so.