Aa
678.72 TSH
My 10 year-old's TSH blood work just came back at well over 600. The doctor hasn't seen him yet, but put him on 75 mg of something that begins with an L. My boy is an athlete, but this past year has gained weight, stopped growing, complains of sore body parts. Sometimes he says his skin hurts. He has dry patches on his skin. He sweats more than he should. He's pale, and he has turned to energy drinks before sports because his coaches are beginning to think he is lethargic. We are so glad to finally see that there is something that answers the why questions, but now we want to know what the rest of his life will be like. Will he always struggle with weight and lack of energy? Will his skin continue to itch and hurt?
My daughter is 10 and born without a thyroid gland. I agree with Lazy Moose and Gimel about testing. At 10 it should be okay to take a break from sports for awhile. My daughter had to take a break from things for awhile when she was having some muscle pain due to hypothyroid symptoms returning when her medicine unexpectedly changed it's formula. Once I got her on a new thyroid hormone replacement med and got her thyroid levels (free t3 and free t4) back up to where she needs to have them to be symptom free, she slowly began to feel better. Now, she has no muscle or joint pain and is playing sports again. It is not his imagination, it is real! There is plenty of time for sports as I also have 17 and 15 year old sons! Your goal right now should be to concentrate on getting him well now, so that when he is in middle school and high school he will be able to play competitive sports ( without pain and fatigue) then when it will matter much more to him. His TSH is very high. You must get on this ASAP. He must see a pediatric endo. and begin thyroid hormone replacement and get additional testing as stated in previous posts. Weight gain is just one of many much more serious symptoms of low thyroid levels (hypOthyroidism). When things are under control thyroid wise, and he is considered "euthyroid" this should taper off some. My daughter has had issues with this from time to time, but she has been stable (not gaining and getting taller) for awhile now with this. We have had to modify her diet some over these last few years to get this moving in a better direction along with maintaining proper thyroid hormone levels. We eat a low carb., high protein diet with limits on gluten. We buy organic grass fed hormone free meat, eggs, milk and produce.We try to limit fast food and junk food and cereal and bread. If she does it cereal it is rare and gluten free and I buy homemade spelt bread from the bakery (no bromine flour). Processed food is limited (if it comes in a bag or box or can I think twice) We cook real food as much as possible and I pack her lunch on a daily for school. Vitamins and suppliments will need to be taken at night away from thyroid meds. Flinstones are not okay. Find a good pharmasutical brand multi and vitamin D3 as most with thyroid issues are low on this (can be tested with labs should be at least 50 or 60.) Magnesium is also a good suppliment and can help with muscle pain and sleep. My daughter also takes calcium, pro- biotics, Omega 3, and vitamin C. Thyroid problems are not always easy and you Mom must begin learning all you can so that you can help him be at his best and get him well. You will need to advocate for him and ask the right questions and request the right test if needed. Endos for the most part are not the easiest to deal with, but you will need one for him. Educate yourself. Keep a journal on him where you write down info. from doctors apt. (weight, B.P. ,pulse,height, temp.) You can jot down questions for the doctor and write down symptoms/with dates in between visits. ALWAYS get a copy of the blood test and make sure the doctor is tracking the actual available thyroid levels (FREE T3 and FREE T4) (not just the total) and the antibodies for Hashimotos (Tgab and TPOab) need to be looked at and maybe an ultrasound. This is all I can think of for now.Feel free to ask me anyything you'd like. Good luck and God Bless.
As gimel explained, it should be in your and your doctors best interest to see what your free T3 and free T4 levels are. These are the hormones that correlate with symptoms.
TSH is thought by doctors to correlate with free levels and to some extent it does to a certain point - that is not the case with everyone.
From observing patients info with very high TSH it seems to reach a certain point where it just progressively 'goes nuts' out of control at an upward climb. 600 was the highest I ever read about till Dinemarquesa claims over 14,000. Unheard of.
People have gone to the hospital with near coma symptoms at TSH levels around 100. So if TSH was really accurate both hear would not be able to function on your own. That said, your sons Free levels need to be known in order to adjust the levothyroxine accordingly. Yes lethargy is a hypo symptom, (major brain fog, stairing at things in a dream, ect).
Sever hypo can result in muscle pain and injury if the patient is active in sports. I was an seasoned endurance competitor and hypo caused a lot of muscle and tendon problems and injuries that should not have happened. Muscle tissue will not rebuild correctly after workouts while the body is in a hypo state. It interferes with the ATP muscle chemistry and even blood glucose. I know this is not what you what no hear, but your son should not be playing sports while hypo as long term lingering injuries can result. After recovery with thyroid replacement hormone (levothyroxine) sports should be less painful - this can take a while six months to a year for an adult. Given his young age maybe recovery will be half that? Hope so.
TSH is thought by doctors to correlate with free levels and to some extent it does to a certain point - that is not the case with everyone.
From observing patients info with very high TSH it seems to reach a certain point where it just progressively 'goes nuts' out of control at an upward climb. 600 was the highest I ever read about till Dinemarquesa claims over 14,000. Unheard of.
People have gone to the hospital with near coma symptoms at TSH levels around 100. So if TSH was really accurate both hear would not be able to function on your own. That said, your sons Free levels need to be known in order to adjust the levothyroxine accordingly. Yes lethargy is a hypo symptom, (major brain fog, stairing at things in a dream, ect).
Sever hypo can result in muscle pain and injury if the patient is active in sports. I was an seasoned endurance competitor and hypo caused a lot of muscle and tendon problems and injuries that should not have happened. Muscle tissue will not rebuild correctly after workouts while the body is in a hypo state. It interferes with the ATP muscle chemistry and even blood glucose. I know this is not what you what no hear, but your son should not be playing sports while hypo as long term lingering injuries can result. After recovery with thyroid replacement hormone (levothyroxine) sports should be less painful - this can take a while six months to a year for an adult. Given his young age maybe recovery will be half that? Hope so.
The key to successfully managing your son's thyroid issues will be to find a good thyroid doctor that will test and adjust levels of the actual, biologically active thyroid hormones, free T3 and free T4, with whatever type medication is necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.
Many doctors have the "Immaculate TSH Belief" and only want to test and use TSH as a diagnostic to determine medication and dosage. This usually does not work well, because TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by so many variables that it is just inadequate as a diagnostic. At best it should be considered an indicator, to be considered along with other, more important important indicators, which are symptoms, and also levels of FT3 and FT4 (not the same as total T3 and total T4). Symptom relief should be all important, not TSH levels.
I expect that you will be going back for followup testing in 6-8 weeks. At that time, you should request that the doctor test for FT3 and FT4, along with TSH. If he resists, then you should insist and not take no for an answer. Remember that you are the customer and the doctor is providing a service. In addition, I suggest that you ask for testing of the thyroid antibodies, TPO ab and TG ab, to determine if the possible cause is Hashimoto's, which is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. Knowing the cause can help with treatment protocol.
I also expect that sooner or later you are going to need to find an Endo that is a good thyroid doctor that is willing to treat a patient clinically (for symptoms), by testing and adjusting FT3 and FT4 levels. If you will tell us your general location, perhaps members may have a recommendation for such a doctor.
Many doctors have the "Immaculate TSH Belief" and only want to test and use TSH as a diagnostic to determine medication and dosage. This usually does not work well, because TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by so many variables that it is just inadequate as a diagnostic. At best it should be considered an indicator, to be considered along with other, more important important indicators, which are symptoms, and also levels of FT3 and FT4 (not the same as total T3 and total T4). Symptom relief should be all important, not TSH levels.
I expect that you will be going back for followup testing in 6-8 weeks. At that time, you should request that the doctor test for FT3 and FT4, along with TSH. If he resists, then you should insist and not take no for an answer. Remember that you are the customer and the doctor is providing a service. In addition, I suggest that you ask for testing of the thyroid antibodies, TPO ab and TG ab, to determine if the possible cause is Hashimoto's, which is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. Knowing the cause can help with treatment protocol.
I also expect that sooner or later you are going to need to find an Endo that is a good thyroid doctor that is willing to treat a patient clinically (for symptoms), by testing and adjusting FT3 and FT4 levels. If you will tell us your general location, perhaps members may have a recommendation for such a doctor.
Would the Drug your looking for be LEVOTHYROXINE?
I myself I ‘am on 200Mcg of Levothyroxine Daily. My Thyroid went south,2 years ago. I found this out by visiting the ER. I was in so much pain from my feet to the muscles on my scalp. Blood work was done and my TSH was over 14,000. I was suffering from Myopathy
Symptoms are sore and painful muscle Myopathy effects the muscles that surround the bones.
There may be a decrease in cognitive behavior.
I have been through this myself.
If you would like to chat more on this Subject feel free to contact me directly.
Sincerely
Dan
I myself I ‘am on 200Mcg of Levothyroxine Daily. My Thyroid went south,2 years ago. I found this out by visiting the ER. I was in so much pain from my feet to the muscles on my scalp. Blood work was done and my TSH was over 14,000. I was suffering from Myopathy
Symptoms are sore and painful muscle Myopathy effects the muscles that surround the bones.
There may be a decrease in cognitive behavior.
I have been through this myself.
If you would like to chat more on this Subject feel free to contact me directly.
Sincerely
Dan
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