Re: My Son's recent labs

December 8, 2008

That TSH looks a little high to me. The chapter on Hashimoto's in Thyroid Manager states that the TSH should be kept between 0.3 and 1.0. Some good alternative docs like it completely suppressed to keep the antibodies down.

A suppressed TSH may also head off any possible thyroid cancer that may be cooking. "Odd cysts" and vascularity would make me suspicious.

>> Hi all,> > I just got back from the doctor's office and we've got my younger > son's (13 yr. old) first thyroid labs. The Frees are mid to upper > range, TSH is 2.39 (range 0.5-4.30), so that looks perfect. But, his > Thyroglobulin antibodies are positive (TPO is negative), so it's > conclusive that he has Hashi's. At his last appt, the doc had done a > sonogram and saw some very odd cysts and his thyroid is very > vascular. We've started him on Synthroid (I'll wait to push for > Armour). The curious thing about this son is that the ONLY thyroid > symptom (hypo) is constipation. He also claims to have memory issues > as he doesn't do great on tests at school (lots of rote stuff in 7th > grade), so we'll see if this helps - his H/W and quiz grades are > high. > > There's already been a noticeable improvement in disposition and > schoolwork for my older son.> > I really do want to encourage all of you with teenage kids (and even > younger really) to trust your instincts on thus and push for a > comprehensive analysis (including sonogram), as I really feel this > will help my boys alot. It can be very difficult to see this problem > since the docs will tell you that teenage boys are just like this. I > had suspected my oldest was hypo 5 years ago and while a GF diet and > nutrients have helped, the lack of energy he had for years was just > not normal (again, despite pediatrician telling me it was). > > B.>

December 9, 2008

Jan,

Thanks for your response and info! So, this TSH is based on no

treatment - it was prior to starting any Synthroid. I do have a

concern as the doc thinks a TSH of 1.5 is okay, whereas I have read

that they should target to 1.0 or less. I know she will not let the

TSH go below 0.3. I may workaround this by getting the ZRT blood

spot thyroid test - that showed my TSH to be at 0.3, even though

blood tests showed <.

I also do need to consider a second opinion and a backup for their

treatment - given that the office visits to current doc take almost

the whole day, it's not unreasonable for me to try an alternative

that is closer to FM/ville, but based on recent activities, I'm

not sure if Dr. L will be the best choice. Although, interestingly,

treatment for my older son actually pushed his TSH to 4.5 (he had

been 2.3 pre-treatment). So, if the same happens with my younger

son, Dr. L maybe able to reasonably treat them with his protocols,

especially since my younger son has antibodies. Or would folks

recommend I take my younger son to a doc that treats cancer - I'm

not typically a wait and see person with my kids when it comes to

this sort of thing, particularly given that these problems are on

both sides of the family.

If I can't find a local backup, I will travel out of state - I'm

thinking west coast would be my best option - either San Diego or

Seattle. I was thinking of taking them to my doc in Seattle anyways

for toxin evaluation, etc. Or, I might consider SF, as we'll be

traveling there in March for Spring Break.

Also, I'd appreciate whether anyone has experienced an increase in

nodule size after starting treatment? My older son now has a

palpable nodule on the left side - he's currently on 87.5 of

Synthroid - we have doc's permission and Rx to treat him up to 100,

as based on symptoms there is still room for improvement and

increase in thyroid treatment. I'm also thinking that now may be a

good time to discuss switching to Armour. I did discuss this with

Doc yesterday and she's very open to that. But, next appt is 3rd

week of Jan when the boys are out of school for a day. Although, I

could try to get them in the week before Christmas (week after

next).

Also, the doc mentioned that she herself recently had problems

trying to get Armour thru Walgreen's - her local one said that

Walgreen's was planning to stop stocking it. So that's another

thing I want some feedback on - since the reformulation, has anyone

else encountered this with Walgreen's?

I'll also be digging for info on the bone loss and heart issues

supposedly associated with treating the thyroid to suppression of

TSH. That's her big problem with my situation and if we find that my

sons also don't do recover well with the TSH suppressed, I will need

lots of ammo. I found some info on another website, but it doesn't

seem to be enough. I will dig through pubmed, but I'm wondering if

anyone has found any info elsewhere. I did tell her about the

calcitonin in Armour and she knows we've had issues with low Vitamin

D.

B.

>

> That TSH looks a little high to me. The chapter on Hashimoto's in

> Thyroid Manager states that the TSH should be kept between 0.3 and

1.0.

> Some good alternative docs like it completely suppressed to keep

the

> antibodies down.

>

> A suppressed TSH may also head off any possible thyroid cancer

that may

> be cooking. " Odd cysts " and vascularity would make me suspicious.

>

December 9, 2008

,

I had the same problem as your older son

once I started on Synthroid. My Hashi’s really flared up, I felt

worse than I had ever, nodules grew rapidly and my TSH went up. I

switched to Armour after my TT last November and things are better.

I get my Armour from Walgreens and so far

have not had a problem. They did state that they had did not have it when

I called in my prescription last month, but then called me back and said that

they are now keeping it in a different location behind the counter and actually

had it. I also just got off the phone with them and they said that they

is “absolutely not since there are so many people who take it” and “it

would be stupid to stop”…my pharmacist also stated that she is one

of several pharmacist that call all the time to be put on the waiting list to

ensure they get their shipment.

Penny

From: Texas_Thyroid_Groups [mailto:Texas_Thyroid_Groups ] On Behalf Of mhbarnes_99

Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008

9:52 AM

To: Texas_Thyroid_Groups

Subject: