RE: Pediatric Graves Disease

December 14, 2011

I thought I would answer this as an adult who had pediatric Graves.

Firstly, there are several forms of thyroid malfunction, of which Graves is

one. It is crucial to know which type you have because not treating could kill

you. Yep. You need a doctor, preferably an endocrinologist, to figure this

out.

Graves disease is, essentially, when the thyroid becomes overactive and the

person enters a hyperthyroid state as measured by two simple blood tests. How

hyperthyroid you are depends on your blood levels AND on what feels normal for

you. For example, as an adult I prefer blood levels that are borderline

hyperthyroid because that feels normal for me. My blood values may be

completely wrong for someone else. Thus, there is some discretion involved when

deciding to adjust thyroid levels with medication and this is why it is

important to have a doctor with whom you can have a discussion. Not treating

hyperthyroidism can lead to heart attack and permanent heart damage. Not

treating hyperthyroidism can lead to a life of mysterious illness and strange

behavior.

That said, Graves seldom just happens to you all at once. It isn't like on

Monday you have normal function and on Tuesday, hey ho, you have Graves.

Instead, there is variability in functioning that develops sometimes over a year

or so, and sometimes over a lifetime. Knowing now what I know about Graves, I

can look back and see the times in my childhood when my thyroid levels were

starting to vary. My behavior was nuts, but only sometimes.

As a child it is almost impossible to have this degree of self-awareness. The

triggers for my episodes of hyperthyroidism were stress, stress, and stress

(think exams) and especially chronic stress (think school failure). Lack of

iodine was another: iodized salt is essential. Prolonged exercise is another

trigger because it exhausts your already over-worked metabolism. Illness: if

you get the 'flu and recover but then 'crash' about a week later, that is a

classic sign of thyroid trouble. Being too busy, too energetic, a bit over the

top mentally is another. In my case, I was misdiagnosed as manic-depressive

because I would be too energetic (thyroid level too high) and then totally

exhausted (thyroid levels would be exhausted by prolonged demand). Of all

people, it was my gynecologist who figured-out the correct diagnosis, bless her.

The symptoms for overt hypethyroidism are easily found on the web. What is

harder to identify is what I have listed; more subtle symptoms that indicate

function is becoming variable and you are on the path to developing full-blown

Graves if not treated.

What I wish is that my parents had taken me to a doctor, or that I knew onset

for women is around 13, or that periods make it worse, or that it runs in

families or that ... If you think your child has thyroid issues, then have

blood tests every three months. The thought of self-medicating for this scares

me.

December 14, 2011

Not self medicating... The DAN found it in my Aspergers six yr old... Then five.

She has thyroid antibodies so her body is trying to shut off the flood of

hormones at the expense of the gland itself. :-(

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lizardcrawl1 wrote:

>I thought I would answer this as an adult who had pediatric Graves.

>

> Firstly, there are several forms of thyroid malfunction, of which Graves is

one. It is crucial to know which type you have because not treating could kill

you. Yep. You need a doctor, preferably an endocrinologist, to figure this

out.

>

>Graves disease is, essentially, when the thyroid becomes overactive and the