Sluggish 11 year old boy

[elliott112]

My son has been experiencing hypothyroid/sluggish adrenal symptoms (based on what I have read) for a year or two.  1 endo suggested hypo, but test results came back OK.  Another 1 also said the same thing, based on what the first one said.  My wife has been told that the blood test is the last result, that a saliva test would be more indicative of a problem.  His symptoms are the following: Extremely sluggish or lethargic, gets upset/stressed very easily, very slightly chubby face and stomach, tired or droopy looking eyes, very little lean muscle, slightly short stature(25th percentile), slightly slow growth (<2.5"/yr).  He is extremely active in 2 sports.  We thought he may be burned out, but even when he has nothing going on, he is still always tired.  I have heard all kinds of advice from Armour thyroid, growth hormone therapy, sluggish or burned out adrenals.  He did have a very slight concussion playing hockey in Jan of '08.  We, along with other parents, really noticed the symptoms after that, especially in the late spring and early summer.  We are going to take him to 1 more pediatric endo, and after that, I don't know what we will do.  Does anybody have any experience with this?  My son seems to slowly be getting worse.  

[elliott112]

Thank you for your advice.  We will take up your suggestions asap.  Will keep posted on any further info.  Thans again.

[Sus65]

Not to totally scare you, but you need to have your son's cortisol levels checked as well as his electrolytes.  Our dear friends lost their 11 yr. old son two months ago, very unexpectantly.  He presented with the same symptoms your son has.  No blood or urine samples were done, but he did have an MRI the night before his death that showed nothing.  The autopsy report just came back that he had Addison's Disease and a simple urine sample or basic blood work would have probably given enough warning signs that the Addison's would have been discovered.  From what I've read, Addison's is easy to treat when discovered.  Good luck to you and your son.

[PlateletGal]

Hi ! I definitely agree with enzymelover's post. If you rule out those other possible conditions and your son is still having problems, you may want to consider speaking to someone who specializes in genetics.

Good luck !

~ PlateletGal

[enzymelover]

   Has your pediatric endo suggested an MRI of the pituitary yet?  You might want to have this done.
Your son's story sent a chill up my spine, because it sounds like my son's story. My son was extremely lethargic, easily stressed, had slow growth,  thin arms and legs, and became very sensitive, especially his eyes and stomach. He was accidently hit on the head with a golf club while playing minigolf, and his symptoms worsened three months after that.

Long story short, he eventually had an MRI, which found a pituitary mass the size of a marble, which is causing anterior pituitary hormone loss, particularly growth and thyroid hormone.
I recommend you discuss this possibility with the endocrinologist as soon as possible. By the time my son was diagnosed, he was very sick, and desperately needed hydrocortisone for adrenal insufficiency.

I do hope your son's problem is less serious.

Enzy