just diagnosed with hypo wondering if my chidren are at risk

[fungena]

I was just diagnosed with hypothyroid after suffering from bizarre symptoms for years.  I will meet with endocrinologist in a couple weeks.  However I am worried about my children.  My son has had a lot of the same symptoms as me for a few years now.  Bad stomache aches(saw specialist nothing turned up,besides H pylori that was treated) joint pain, dizziness,vertigo,fatigue,lichen sclerosus, weight gain, puffy features,migraines,racing heart.  His thyroid came back normal but I know something is up.  Daughter also 6 year old with belly problems, lichen sclerosus, excema, psoriasis,headaches,severe constipation in both kids. wondering if my imbalance could have caused these problems for my children and need to know how to find out.  They have both been to Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin for GI problems.  Both are fructose intolerant.  I was hyperthyroid with my daughter(pregnancy).  also neither of them ever have a comfortable body temperature and are dizzy frequently. Please point me in a good direction to help my children. Not current pediatrician,.  I am willing to go anywhere to  make my kids feel better. Gena

[Super_sally888]

Have your kids been tested for celiac.  With the tummy probs have them tested if they haven't been already, then even if the resutls are negatie recommend to trial a gluten free diet to see if it makes a difference..

yes, good pediatric endocrinologist...

[mudkme83]

Hey,

  I know that top thyroid list for my area had a few good endo surgeons that i knew where very reputable. Its tough to tell though. I personally have not seen any of the doctors on that list yet. After going through 2 bad endos already i have now found out there is a whole group of good ones at UCSF.So ive heard.I have made an apoinment with one who is that group at UCSF and hoping to make this 3rd time the charm.Its a teaching hospital and they have a group of like 15 endos ranging from thyroid specialist to pituitary specialist and they all seem to work together from what ive been told.Well see.If anyones in Norcal heres the link.


http://www.ucsfhealth.org/adult/cgi-bin/prdListDoctorAlias.cgi

[gimel]

I agree about the Armour.  I only mentioned that site because it seems that doctors who are willing to use any med. other than just a T4 type are less rigid in their approach and less likely to rely strictly on lab numbers, to the exclusion of symptoms.  Just my impression, based on limited input.

Fungena:  How did you pick the endo that you mentioned you have an appointment with in a few weeks?  

[estrelinha]

Sorry, here is the right one:
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/show/173

[estrelinha]

Here is the link from the Pediatric Endocrinology forum, don't forget to write all the childrens symptoms and ask where you should go. I've never posted there but I like that forum very much:
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/show/173?camp=msc

[Thypatient]

Estrelinha:  That’s a good idea.  Perhaps you can provide a link for fungena to jump over to.

gimel:  “Not quite sure why you have such disdain for Mary Shomon.”  For the same reason as the drs I mention - her site has so many inaccuracies.  Plus, she’s so misleading.  To go along with that she attempts to market it all (don’t forget, her experience is in marketing).  It would be one thing if the subject were trivial - but it’s not.  We’re talking about people’s health, in this case children’s health.

The American Thyroid Association website is one place.  But I can't say I'm familiar with the listings they have.  I’m sorry you did not have success from them.  They might not be to everyone’s liking but at least they’re more accurate on everything compared to Mary.  What’s even better - their primary goal is ‘not’ marketing.

The armourthyroid site I’m sure is fine, if you’re specifically looking to go on Armour Thyroid.  That might be jumping ahead for fungena, don’t you think?  She doesn’t mention medication.

(Again, my suggestion is to ask her own drs.)

[estrelinha]

About the kids, try to ask in the Pediatric Endocrinology Expert forum, the doctor there takes time to answer but she can give you very good advice where you should go.

[gimel]

Not quite sure why you have such disdain for Mary Shomon.   As I said, it certainly is not the only source for good thyroid doctors, just one I have found to be worthwhile so far.  I used the Amer. Thyroid Assn. site to locate a doc. and it did not turn out very well.  Here's another approach--looking for a doctor who has prescribed Armour thyroid.  

http://www.armourthyroid.com/con_phLocator.aspx  

Do you have any better sources that you would recommend?

[Thypatient]

There is a genetic component to thyroid disease.  I can see how you’d been concerned.

Perhaps the dr who diagnosed you can help guide you on this.  Or maybe the endo you plan on going to can help.

A word of caution:  Especially since you are talking about children, please be very discerning on where you get your thyroid information.  The top drs list mentioned above is popular but doesn’t contain a lot of the top thyroid drs/endocrinologists.  In fact, I was reading something that said that at one time when a lot of the top drs saw themselves on that list, they wrote to the woman who runs the site to demand that their names be removed.   The reason was because information on site in general has so many inaccuracies they didn’t want to be aligned with it.

When I read that it backed up why I live in an area with top thyroid drs and yet not one of them is on the list.  BTW - One even won an international award on the subject.  The only person there within a pretty broad radius is an alternative practitioner.  He’s pretty far off the beaten path too.  Those kinds of drs in my state are rather limited in what they can do so I’m not sure how much he would help anyone (what if someone was harboring thyroid cancer or something?).

Please be careful and good luck to you.

[gimel]

For the sake of the three of you, you do not want to waste time trying to find a good doctor who understands thyroid problems.  So, I suggest you have a look at this link, which is a listing of top thyroid doctors, by state and city within the state.  This is not the only source for good thyroid doctors, but it is one I have some personal experience with.  You can get a good feel for whether a doctor is the one you are looking for by reading some of the feedback from patients.  No matter which doctor you go to, if they don't initially plan to do so, insist that testing include free T3 and free T4 along with TSH.  

http://www.thyroid-info.com/topdrs/