Hi there, I was wondering if you could help? My 13 year old daughter has Coeliac Disease and Hashimotos (I have Type 1 diabetes). She is really struggling with brain fog, dizziness and tiredness. I have just had a full thyroid panel done and it looks to me as though her T3 is too low and her T4 is too high? How do you correct this? She is on 100mg Levothyronine per day. I think if I lower her Levothyroxine her T3 will decrease? She has also started taking iron tablets and I have ordered Selenium. Her B12 is 494 (range 200-900) and Folate 24 (range 2-17). Her potassium is low but Dr thinks she drank too much water before her blood test. Our GP is amazing and is trying to find a pediatric endocrinologist as she currently just sees a pediatrician who is only interested in her TSH. Thank you so much.
Hashimotos 13 year old: Hi there, I was wondering... - Thyroid UK
Hashimotos 13 year old
The way you SHOULD correct this is for her also to get T3 meds. But this is easier said than done, particularly with lio being so expensive and the NHS being really really keen not to give it to people.
I don't know anything about children and thyroid issues, but I have successfully got lio on the NHS (as an adult) - so it's possible, but tricky.
It has to be prescribed by an endo - and not many will, because it's expensive, they don't understand it, and it has a very short half life so is difficult to measure.
I'd suggest (a) emailing Dionne at Thyroid UK - tukadmin@thyroiduk.org - for the list of T3-friendly endos to see who is reasonably close to you. You don't have to see the nearest person but must obv be reasonably convenient.
(b) a separate post asking if anyone can recommend anyone near-ish to you, or if they have any experience of an endo you've looked at
(c) if there's no-one really suitable, googling the hospital thumbnail biographies of the endos who are near-ish to you and seeing if any of them mention thyroid or of they're really all diabetes specialists.
You will need to show that she converts badly and still has hypo symptoms despite high in-range free t4 (which these results do) Worth you emphasising how she's still not properly well.
Good luck x
Thank you so much. I am hoping the iron tablets are going to help and the selenium when it arrives. I think T3 will be really tricky to dose as she is still growing and her needs are changing all the time.
It may still be worth doing your research and trying to see a good endo now who will prescribe T3 when she's older if she needs it then and support her in the meantime x
Yes I definitely will. Do you think increasing her Ferritin with the iron tablets will help increase her T3? Thank you so much for this x
Having the key nutrients at good levels helps the meds to work - so yes. Good luck x
Thank you, you have been so helpful x
Your GP certainly sounds as if he has your daughter's interests at heart. He is certainly in the right track in trying to find a paediatric endo. Children's ranges for both thyroid and other tests can vary from those used for adults, so be wary of comparing your daughter's results with adult ones. Overdosing with vitamins and minerals can be as bad as having low levels, and can often mask other issues, so I hope your paediatrician is offering guidance in this. I would have thought that, being Coeliac, an endo would have input into her treatment anyway. Make sure that all possible causes of her symptoms are investigated, as they are not necessarily thyroid-related. I hope you soon get all the help you need for her.
Welcome to the forum. I guess you, like most here have come seeking advice that our GP's are either unable or unsilling yo give. I think you may be in for the longhaul with your daughter. I don't know anything about Coeliac disease or if it has any effect on thyroid/Hashimoto's, but a good start is having a supportive GP!
TSH is a pituitary hormone that most medics seem fixated on when they actually need a full thyroid and vitamin panels to correctly treat. Her iron and ferritin are too low and I think her B12 could be higher too (this will all have an effect on thyroid function).
I wonder if there is a potential conversion problem of T4 to T3 as the latter is also quite low and should be 3/4 through range. Your daughters is 16%. You can use this link (advised to me by one of the admins) to work out the % through range: chorobytarczycy.eu/kalkulator. I think you will stuggle to get ger a dose increase (due to her TSH). I wonder if one of the admins can help because it may be worth posting in another forum here as well. helvella greygoose SeasideSusie . Have you had a look on the forum at other member posts? You can use the search bar and may be able to pick up some more info?
Thank you so much for your help. I will look at the other posts and try out the calculator. Her T3 has been much higher in the past so this is new. She is feeling better on the iron tablets and I have ordered B vitamins too. We will monitor it closely though as I don't want to over dose her. Thank you again. X
Hi poppy1919, from one concerned parent to another who has a child with Hashi's i was wondering how she was doing and whether u managed to get a good endo for her. My daughters endo refuses to test t3.
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