Michelle O. in MO Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I had some blood work done on my 13yod last week (per the suggestion of the Hive) because I was concerned she was low on vit. D. I got the results yesterday. Her doctor said everything was "ok". I can sort of agree with that, but feel there's some tweaking I can do. There are a couple of things I could use some help with here. Her vit. D results were 40.2 - lab scale says 30.0 - 100.0 is normal. Someone here on the board told me I should aim for 50.0 at least. How would you suggest I aim for that? How much vit. D should I give her? I know it's 1,000 IU per/25 pds of body weight, but should I give her more than that to bring up her numbers? Thyroid - this is bizarre. Her TSH came back high at 5.120 - lab says 0.450-4.500 is normal. But her T4 was normal - 8.6 - lab says 4.5-12.0 is normal. We've had this problem before and she was put on the lowest dose of Synthroid possible. Unfortunately, she became a maniac on Synthroid and I took her off of it. I don't want to medicate her. I do want to support her thyroid better. How can I tackle this naturally? She has complained for a number of years now how tired/foggy she feels all the time. She is not losing hair, she does not have overly dry skin. The labwork also showed that her MCH and MCHC were slightly low so that's probably contributing to her fatigue a bit. Anyway, can someone help me create a plan of action for her? Right now she's not on any kind of supplementation whatsoever. Thank you! Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) Are levels different for children? Normal levels for adults are .3 to 3.0 Some labs/drs still use old level, but.... She should see a pediatric endo, imo. Of course, you can use some dietary changes to see if those help, but... Edited February 22, 2012 by 2J5M9K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caraway Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Are levels different for children? Normal levels for adults are .3 to 3.0 Some labs/drs still use old level, but.... She should see a pediatric endo, imo. Of course, you can use some dietary changes to see if those help, but... :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle O. in MO Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) Are levels different for children? Normal levels for adults are .3 to 3.0 Some labs/drs still use old level, but.... She should see a pediatric endo, imo. Of course, you can use some dietary changes to see if those help, but... This is a doctor I have never used before....I agree with you. There were enough borderline issues on her lab work that made me think we could do better. I should also add that if I have to medicate her, I'll do it. I have thyroid issues myself and there is NO WAY I would try to fix those issues through diet alone. I'd be a mess. I just hate the thought of putting dd on thyroid meds that she will likely have to take the rest of her life. How necessary is it to do this if her T4 is normal? Edited February 22, 2012 by Michelle O. in MO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle O. in MO Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLDoll Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I was just diagnosed with hashimotos a few months ago. So far my thyroid levels are all normal, so I've never been on meds. I quit gluten at my diagnosis and last month asked my endo to test my antibodies again, as well as my iron and vit D. I'd been taking 6000 units of vit D for months and my levels were 67. My endo was surprised when I told here how much I take daily, but she agreed its working for me. My antibodies had dropped by half (woohoo!), and although there's no way to tie that to going GF, I'll get tested again in a few months to see if they've dropped further. My iron was very low however and she wanted me to supplement. That seems to have helped with chill and fatigue, although its a little hard to tell because I'm also pregnant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Her levels were off enough that I would treat. Synthroid did NOT work for my dd... We switched her to a natural thyroid--Armor (now using Naturethroid). The 'pig' stuff is more easily recognized by your body... Synthroid is a square peg in a round hole... works for some but many are sensitive to the difference. Thyroid treatment is inexpensive... yes it is 'life long'--but it is extremely difficult to self-medicate (OTC) and give the thyroid enough support when levels AND symptoms are off. DD's Dr is a naturopath-- his wife takes natural thyroid supplements- and he is the KING of natural supplements (meaning he will have you taking $$$$ of supplements every month if you let him...). Sometimes a small pill is easier and provides a more consistent help. My sister has hashimotos-- she was initially put on Synthroid--once she switched to the natural stuff she was SO MUCH BETTER! My dd's growth was STUNTED because her thyroid problems were undiagnosed for too long. I suggest a ped endocrinologist... if you have a good one nearby. I could not wait until dd was 18 because I HATED our local ped-endocrinologists... the adult ones were so much better but would not treat anyone under 18. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiddenJewel Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Without have the Free T3 tested, you do not have an accurate picture of what active thyroid hormone is actually in her system. You can have regular T4 (inactive thyroid hormone) and low T3 (active) if you body is not converting T4 to T3. Thus you can have hypothyroid and have "normal" labs. Some doctor's offices consider 2.5 to be the acceptable high for TSH. So a 5.12 is actually quite hypo. My TSH runs close to 1 when my T3 and T4 are in good range. Optimal can vary for different people. If she is having conversion problems, adding in Synthroid (T4 only) isn't going to help her. If you don't want to do thyroid replacement, you might at least try the nutrients needed for thyroid health, particularly T4 to T3 conversion. Here are a couple articles that might help you head in the right direction to research. But with her levels that far off, I would seriously consider T3/T4 replacement. http://hbbase.com/thyroid-problems/vitamins-thyroid-health-6-types-vitamins-thyroid-gland.html http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/topsupplements.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 How would you suggest I aim for that? How much vit. D should I give her? I know it's 1,000 IU per/25 pds of body weight, but should I give her more than that to bring up her numbers? My 7yo son's ND-DAN! has him on two 1000iu's of D per day. I do have a friend whose daughter has a disease that is helped by vit d - she does much better with pure sunshine than supplements. Thyroid - this is bizarre. Her TSH came back high at 5.120 - lab says 0.450-4.500 is normal. But her T4 was normal - 8.6 - lab says 4.5-12.0 is normal. what's the T-3? (I've heard that is even more significant than the TSH and supplementation should be based upon that.) I would suggest a good naturopath if you go the supplements route as they will look at all the blood work - not just TSH - and treat appropriately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle O. in MO Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Thanks for the input everyone. You are all confirming what I was hoping I wouldn't have to do. I have had my own battle with thyroid issues for a number of years and am on Armour. I tried Levothyroxin but that was a waste of time. Armour has made a huge difference for me and I am guessing would probably work for dd. We have no ped. endo's in our area. Nearest ones are 3-4 hrs away. dd was seeing a ped. endo for 2 1/2 yrs from the age of 8-10yo. for elevated blood sugar levels. I was able to get that under control through diet. One of the endo's put her on the Synthroid because of an elevated TSH result, but we ended up taking her off of the medicine and putting that on the back burner because of dd's reaction to the Synthroid. Then we switched to a different ped. endo, had blood work done again and her TSH came back fine. Prior to the labs coming back on that test, the endo and I got into a rather spirited discussion concerning what kind of meds he'd put dd on if her TSH was elevated. He was very pro-Synthroid and I wasn't. :glare: I'm going to have to think about how to approach this. I guess the natural approach isn't really the most practical or smartest way to approach this. Thank you all for your input. I'm so grateful! Anyone have advice on the vit. D stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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