Daughter's Thyroid

my 14 year old daughter had lab work done due to being tired a lot. She also is 5 ft tall and the doctor told her she probably has stopped growing. The lab result showed a low thyroid count. The doctor had the lab work done twice. The doctor is suggesting we now schedule our daughter with a pediatric enocrinologist for further tests. Is this something we should be very concerned about, and what can we expect if she goes in?

[Deanna L Aftab Guy, MD]

I would ask your pediatrician to call the endocrinologist directly, get advice about whether or not to start the thyroid treatment if she is hypothyroid and then by the time you see the endo you can have labs rechecked on treatment.
She would need to have done a free T4 and TSH along with thyroid antibodies to confirm hypothyroidism and the need to treat and perhaps the type of low thyroid that she may have. More than likely she has Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune cause of low thyroid caused by antibodies that attack the gland, usually presents in adolescence, can run in families and the patients do well otherwise, most need treatment for life but it is the matter of a simple pill daily and labs once or twice a year once the levels are stabilized.
Hope this helps

[laho444]

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