Why is my daughter experiencing these symptoms?

[sarahea4]

My 15 year old daughter (she'll be 16 in 5 months) started gaining weight in late January/Early February. She previously weighed 84-85 pounds(she is almost 5'2), but over the past couple of months she has gotten up to 96 pounds. She is a very active child. She eats very healthy, does pilates everyday, jogs and walks on the treadmill 4 times a week, and dances 3 hours per week. She hadn't changed her eating or exercising routine when she started gaining weight. Her stomach gets very bloated, her face gets puffy, and her swell up Her menstrual cycle has been very irregular(she hasn't had it for 6 months, but doctor say she hasn't regulated...she has had it for nearly 6 years), she has very cold hands and feet and purple toes, and she gets very constipated. We took her to the doctor because we though it may be her thryoid since thyroid problems run in the family(her grandmother has Grave's disease). They ran one blood test to test the thryoid and it came back normal--which was the TSH. I have read that the test can come back normal and still be abnormal. Is this true? I have been trying to narrow down what changed when she started to gain weight, and because she started eating extreme amounts of soy. She is allergic to milk, so she drank soymilk, soy yogurt, soy butter, soy protein cereal, and soy pudding(she had been using almond but switched to soy for protein). We just eliminated soy from her diet a couple of days ago because I didn't know if that had any effect on her symptoms. She has severe headaches every day as well, and the doctors we have been to just never put it all together. Could the headaches also be related? I hate to see her feeling so miserable. I have asked the doctor to run further thyroid test. The Free T3 and Free T4. What could be causing her symptoms?


This discussion is related to lumpy thyroid.

[margypops]

Then you are right to get her thyroid checked out as there seems no reason for putting on weight with the diet and exercise you describe .,in fact I would say she would lose some weight on it.I have heard that the TSH is not enough, that free T3 and free  T4 are needed as you say in your first post .Good luck let us know what the results are .

[sarahea4]

No, I do not believe she snacks a lot during the day because she tries to eat balanced. I am usually around to see what she eats because I homeschool her. This is a typically what she eats in a day:

Oatmeal(plain non instant) and 1/2 grapefruit

Lentil Soup, Clementine, and baby carrots

Celery with 1 tablespoon of almond butter

Turkey Patty, Broccoli, and a small sweet potato for dinner.


She does not eat any junk food like cookies, ice cream, candy, etc
She only drinks water and occasionally tea, but not all of the time.
When she does snack she usually snacks on veggies and fruit, or sometimes a few soy free pretzels with mustard.

They did check her sugar levels. At one point they though she might have hypoglycemia, but her sugar levels checked out fine. They did the glucose test where you have to drink that orange drink and they take blood periodically.

Thank you for your response.

[margypops]

It sounds like her thyroid may be the problem as the symptoms are similar,  they are doing the tests then you will know for certain, ,some people on thyroid meds are warned about soy its something to check out if she is positive .Check her diet isnt too high in Crabs and sugar does she snack at all that you are not aware of ,did they also check her sugar levels .?