New to this Forum

[Oregondaughter]

Hi.  I'm new to this particular forum, but not to MedHelp.  Up till now I've spent all my time on the Ovarian Cancer forum with questions about my mom.  I know how helpful that forum has been and am sure that this one will be also.  I took my nearly 9 year old daughter in to the doctor yesterday for a general check up and asked that they run some tests because of her increasingly low energy.  She is bright and active but just wears out easily.  I honestly thought she was anemic and maybe needed some iron.  Anyway, her doctor called me today (which always scares me when they talk to you directly instead of a nurse) and said that the bloodwork came back and she had an elevated TSH at 93.  When he told me the normal range I was blown away.  He said that she had hypothyroidism and was phoning in a prescription for her and wanted to see her again in a week.  So, I'm glad that there is a diagnosis and solution, but I wonder what this all means for my sweet Anna.  Any thoughts or suggestions would be very appreciated.

Thanks,
Denyc

[cbread]

My friend's daughter was tiny her whole life, just a wee thing and finally got diagnosed at 7 with hypothyroidism. She started on medication and grew three inches! She is now tracking in the average range for height...

[Oregondaughter]

Thanks for your comments and thoughts.  I appreciate it.  There has been no dramatic change in Anna, just an increase of fatigue and continued lack of appetite.  In hindsight it's probably been going on for a couple of years.  I've just recently learned with my mom's ovarian cancer not to let seemingly small things continue on without questioning them. She is a very petite little girl, that doesn't seem to be on the onset of puberty.  I have a 12 year old daughter and know how that goes. She's actually slowing down in growth a bit.  I appreciate the advice on getting  a second opinion, and will certainly follow up with that.  Thanks. I'm a bit overwhelmed with medical situations at the moment and am not thinking quite as clearly as I could.

[stella5349]

Hi Oregon,

I am familiar with a member on OV CA board named Mary53. She is wonderful.

I post on the childrens questions, lightly.  With a TSH of 93.0 ( right?) that would certainly warrant more testing on thyroid levels. I hope you doctor runs a complete thyroid/pitutiary panel including thyroid scans and maybe brain MRI to make sure there is no autoimmunity involved or dysfuction of something else causing the high TSH.

Do you have thyroid disease in your family?

I think children are resilient also, and I think their little bodies go through so many ups and downs with changing that sometimes labs can/will pick up on a problem that may be temporary until there bodies stabilize again.

I think it has to do alot with the growth hormones and that if there is a change naturally going on - then a TSH lab can be effected. Have you noticed any changes lately in her eating more or a spurt in her growing? Kids at her age level - near 4th grade can be developing enourmously and a big change happens to thm in a very short time. Some girls near her age are looking at ovulation sooner now a days too and that can effect hormone testing.

It's a hard call if meds should be given to your daughter, especially knowing her TSH lab is so high. Sometimes thyroid meds can alter a function of the gland permanently and suppress that gland to where she may require meds forever. I'd hate to see that happen, if she is just going through a growth spurt and things would even out natually giving some time.

As a parent - if this was my child, I would read all I could on introducing the meds to her at such a young age. I would check out all options of both conventional and intergrative medicine. I would get two or three opinions from different doctors, not necessarily in the same theories of treatment options too. I definately would want an opinion from a pediatrician that understands hormone issues with young children first before making any decisions.  I would review the history of your daughter's last few months of life and start a journal in the things that have been changing - like weight - behaviors, height, increased appetite, fatigue- etc.  I would anylize every bit of information I could think of and write it down. I would discuss the definate possibility of her growing changes with these doctors and discuss all the journal information you can come up with. Maybe even suggest vitiamin and mineral deficency too.

I agree with cbread on getting routine labs done as often as said - every month for a duration of time. I think I would calculate those changes if any to see if things are just natually occuring within her body and hormones.

[Rite760]

Oh my heart goes out to you and your daughter! She is so young! I have a 12 year old so I can imagine how you feel. But as cbread says it is so good they are on to it so quick and getting treatment which should settle her a lot. It can occur in children I know, but I'm not very experienced in whether it differs much to adult thyroid problems. But I wish you both the best of luck. I'm sure she will soon feel much better.

[cbread]

It is great that they detected it and she will get treatment. The replacement for thyroid is one of the most well tolerated pills you can take- but if the condition is permanent then she will take it for life.  But it's a wee pill and she should feel 'better' fairly quickly and probably her old self again in 2-3 months.  Kids are very resilient!  Some cautions- have her levels checked every month for the first six months...it's hard to get the dose just right.  And find an endocronologist for her since she got diagnosed so young.