Hi everyone,
I’m glad I was recommended this forum as I believe my 13 year old son has hypothyroidism. Doctor tested TSH only and it came back normal. He has low folate and has all the symptoms for hypothyroidism. He is in so much pain with his stomach though and is very constipated, could this still be part of hypothyroidism? He has been diagnosed with chronic fatigue and has missed soooo much school. Any advice/direction would be greatly appreciated.
Hi,
That's terrible he's feeling so unwell. Has he seen a gastro doc? How's his diet? Have you checked his Vit D level? Iron? (not hemoglobin or red blood cells) Iron levels. Also B12.
Is he perhaps lactose intolerant? Gut flora is off? Taken antibiotics in the past? Did it start after an illness?
How about a CMP test? Comprehensive Metabolic Panel. This checks for many important minerals, sugar, liver, kidney values. It's very basic and cheap.
You could order all these tests yourself, privately. You could even add in a morning Cortisol test. And also a full thyroid panel, not just TSH.
If you decide to get these tests, make sure you go at 8am, fasting the night before from 8pm. No supplements for 3-5 days beforehand. See what these tests reveal.
I was getting intermittent stomach cramps out of the blue. Gastro said I have IBS, which basically leaves you to trial/error yourself. I found garlic to be a culprit, and my cramps subsided greatly. I take Magnesium Oxide before bed if I'm constipated. I take 3-4 Mag Oxide, and I'll def use the loo in the morning. I find it works better than any other OTC remedy.
I hope you can get these tests soon. You might spot the problem. Eggs and dairy can also cause gut issues. It's all a process of trial and error. There are tests for dietary allergens that can reveal a lot, too. My test revealed egg whites (not the yolk), and clams were highly allergenic to me, lower level was squash and watermelon!! Eek, cuz I love both, but I consume very lightly.
If you are truly suspicious of thyroid, get a full panel. Has he lost weight? Could check cortisol, too, to see if it's low. That's a very dangerous situation that docs don't bother with but if the signs are there, it's a must. Hope that helps.
You could order all these tests yourself, privately.
This is not necessarily true. Some private testing companies that deal directly with the public (i.e. without a doctor being involved in the ordering) won't do testing for people under 18.
One company that will is Blue Horizon Medicals, but I don't know if they have an age limit younger than 18.
Parents of under 18s would need to read the terms and conditions of any company that does testing directly for the public to see if there is a lower age limit, and what it is if it exists.
Some parents have ordered tests for under 18s using their own accounts. And yes, that will work - you'll get results. But reference ranges for some things are different for children and adults, so that can make it impossible to reliably interpret the results if you don't know the ranges for children.
labtestsonline.org.uk/artic...
Also, having used an adult's account for getting results for a child also means that the adult's own results will no longer be a true history of their own health, it will be mixed up with the child's history.
And since gender can make a different to reference ranges, a mother ordering tests for a son under 18 is going to have even more issues - ranges for males and and ranges for females aren't always the same.
If someone is absolutely determined to test a child's blood with a company that doesn't deal with under 18s I would suggest that a new account be set up for the child rather than mix up their results with an adult's, but you'd have to lie about the child's date of birth, and possibly their gender!
Welcome to forum.
Sorry your son is unwell
The TSH isn’t at all a complete status of thyroid. Doctors assume if TSH is anywhere in range there’s nothing wrong with thyroid levels & this isn’t always so. The TSH can be unreliable. The FT4 & FT3 should also be tested.
Could you add the TSH & folate results with lab range. Ranges vary between labs, the range would also differ for age, eg infant, children, adult.
Was any thing else tested? Ferritin, B12, vitamin D. Checked for gluten issues?
Stomach issues & constipation very common with hypothyroid as the stomach acid can become low. Absorption and motility is affected.
Is there a history of thyroid issues in his family? It can run in families and is often autoimmune. Thyroid antibodies TPO & TG antibodies can signify is this is a potential issue but doctor do not test unless thyroid levels are abnormal.
Many adults use private testing companies to get a full picture, & I have a link which lists them, some with discounts but I can’t tell you which offer options for children, I believe most are over 18 only.
Also the option to use DIY fingerpick for blood sample wouldn’t be a suitable, you would need to pay an additional fee for venous draw.
thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...
Hopefully other members may know of a suitable company.
Blue Horizon allow testing of children
Would need to pay for private blood drawn
If his folate is low, his B12 might well be too. Both of these need to be at good levels. This article might be useful
thyroidpatients.ca/2022/07/...
Ask for a copy of his blood test results so you can see the result, units and ranges for yourself. Get him tested for TSH freeT3 and freeT4. Take the blood test first thing in the morning, fasting, as this is when the TSH is highest, and freeT3 and freeT4 the lowest. That way if there is a problem, you're more likely to pick it up. Then compare his results with the ranges in the article above.
Get a B12 and folate blood test from his GP before starting supplements with these vitamins in. Normally the NHS tests B12 and folate together so he might have already been tested for them. This is another reason to get a copy of his blood test results, so you can see everything that was tested and whereabouts it comes in the range.
Hi Riggles46, welcome to the Thyroid forum, I think we might have chatted on another forum!
I have a 19 year old daughter who was very ill last year, and the support I received on this forum was absolutely amazing - I actually credit her recovery partly to the advice I received here. If you search for my user name, you should be able to bring up my posts from last year which detail her various issues.
I can see that you've already received some very helpful advice so I'll try not to repeat anything which has already been said, however, from reading your post these things spring to mind:
Do ask your GP for a print out of all his results and then you might want post them on here to see what people think. As other posters have already pointed out, without knowing what your son's FT4 and FT3 levels it's impossible to know whether or not he has a thyroid issue ( my daughter's TSH has always been in the normal range, see my posts from last year!)
I assume your son has had his Ferritin tested? We were told by our GP that my daughter's levels were normal. Infact when I finally got hold of all her GP records I could see that they were right at the bottom of the normal range (which is already far too wide), and she was severely iron deficient. She ended up having an iron infusion.
It might be worth asking your GP to test your son's cholesterol levels, although you may have a battle over this one! High cholesterol is linked to hypothyroidism, and my daughter's cholesterol levels were extremely high (and abnormal) until she started on thyroid replacement medication. This was one of the first red flags she had for hypothyroidism.
As your son has chronic fatigue it might also be worth asking your GP to test his 9am cortisol levels. Low cortisol can also be linked to hypothyroidism. Has your son has any blood tests done for inflammatory markers such as CRP, ESR and ANA? Your GP should be able to do these as well. These tests are useful markers for auto-immune disorders.
Has your GP referred your son to a paediatric gastro for his bowel issues? I know you've said that his folate is very low which may indicate malabsorption. As he's in a lot of pain and is chronically fatigued I would definitely want a gastro to rule out Crohn's disease and/or IBD, particularly if all his thyroid results are normal. My daughter's gastro was concerned that her symptoms pointed to Crohn's (particularly the iron deficiency and severe abdominal pain, so she ended up having various investigations in hospital to rule this out).
Best wishes to you and your son, I really hope you get some answers soon. My daughter had to drop out of college last year as she was so ill, but she's now back on track to do her A levels in a few weeks time and then Uni in the Autumn (fingers crossed!).
Your advice and direction has brought me here so thank you! I’m so glad your daughter is doing so well now. It gives me hope. Thank you for all your advice. I’m worried that my GP is not going to be cooperative as he was very quick to say that no further tests were needed for hypothyroidism. I am picking up my sons blood test results on Monday. Only folate was mentioned to be low. Vit B and iron was also tested but will see. He is under a paediactric doctor but even to get a deficiency test for vit B was difficult so know I’m in for a hard time to get anything else done. We did however after a lot of pushing get a referral to a gastro so fingers crossed.
Once you have your son's blood test results, do post them on here - I'm sure there are posters - far more knowledgeable than me - who may be able to help you interpret them.
Btw, your GP is completely wrong to say that no further tests are needed for hypothyroidism, particularly when your son ticks so many boxes. As a bare minimum your GP should test his FT4 levels to see whether these are low. My daughter's GP was happy to test her FT4 levels as well as her TSH but wouldn't test her FT3 levels until she had received a request in writing from the endocrinologist! If you search my posts from last year, you will see that various posters suggested that my daughter's results might be indicative of secondary/central hypothyroidism, and unfortunately this is something which GPs know very little about (ours was happy to admit she knew nothing about it at all!)
I'm glad to hear that you've got a referral to a gastro. If your son is too unwell for school and in chronic pain then I would hope that he is prioritised for an urgent appointment, and you don't get fobbed off with a diagnosis of a lazy bowel and some heavy duty laxatives (which is initially what happened to my daughter!)
thank you. My doctor and paed know how long he’s been struggling and off school for. I told my GP that I had to go private as he’s been more ill since being prescribed so many meds and he needs help. I mentioned seeing a functional doctor and osteopath and being diagnosed with chronic fatigue so far. GP just said to continue with them 😞 He’s been given so many different types of laxatives that I have stopped everything. That made me feel so sad and helpless knowing he gave up so quickly on us. I’m going to have to go private, get the results and take them back to my GP and hope my son receives the meds that he needs. As soon as I get the results I would appreciate any help from you and this very helpful forum so thank you.
Hi, just a quick thought - do you think your functional doctor might be able to arrange the Thyroid function blood tests if you can't use one of the private testing companies? We saw a functional doctor/GP two years ago, when my daughter first became ill, and she did loads of blood tests including a full Thyroid panel.
You must be so frustrated with your GP, it sounds as though he could be doing far more to help your poor son even if this just involves arranging all the appropriate blood tests and referrals to specialists - unfortunately this has been the only help we've received from our GP over the last few years! Do post your son's blood tests on here when you receive them as I know there are very knowledgeable people on here who may be able to comment on them (even if your GP insists they are normal!)
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