Thyroid issues

I’ve read quite a bit about hypothyroidism, and from what I understand, if your T3 and T4 levels are fine but your TSH is just slightly elevated, doctors usually hold off on hormone replacement therapy. They tend to wait until actual symptoms surface or until the TSH starts climbing steadily—which is essentially what they call subclinical hypothyroidism. It isn't necessarily cause for panic if treatment doesn't start immediately; you can monitor things over a six-month period to see how they shift, provided you stay on top of regular checkups. That said, I know it can be more serious in children because a slowed metabolism can interfere with both physical and mental development. Isn't that why newborns are screened so rigorously? Because untreated hypothyroidism can lead to developmental delays.
To be perfectly honest, even for adults, I don't think I ever felt more cognitively foggy than during that window right before I finally got a diagnosis for what was happening to me.

Yeah, obviously you can't give a 100% diagnosis for Hashimoto's without checking for those antibodies first 🙄—I mean, I really have to question the doctor who actually made that call...

And honestly, I didn't even have my antibody results back before they just slapped a Hashimoto's diagnosis on me—apparently, based on everything else, that was the only logical conclusion. It feels like they’re incredibly stingy when it comes to running full diagnostic panels; I didn't get any of the actual details until I paid out of pocket to see a specialist privately.

It is definitely worth doing some digging to find a top-tier endocrinologist, though. Especially for a child, since they’ll likely be managing this for the rest of their life—it's much better if they can stay under the care of the same doctor from the start. If anyone happens to have a recommendation for someone great, I would love to hear it.

So, here's the deal—with Hashimoto's, they usually call it subclinical if your TSH is acting up but your fT4 and fT3 (you know, the free T4 and T3 levels) are still sitting in the normal range... or maybe just flirting with the bottom edge of it. Typically, doctors start throwing levothyroxine at you once that TSH climbs above 7 mU/L—assuming you're looking at the standard US reference range of 0.27-4.2 mU/L for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone.

But honestly? It’s not necessarily a bad thing to start on Synthroid even if your TSH isn't quite that high yet... I mean, some specialists actually swear by doing exactly that.

And listen, don't just settle for checking total T4 and T3 concentrations... you really need to get those fT4 and fT3 levels checked alongside your antibodies too.

Oh, and before I forget—total disclaimer: I'm definitely not a doctor. I've just got a bunch of my own health issues to deal with, so I'm just speaking from my own messy experience here...

There's honestly more and more debate lately regarding Hashimoto's... But since we're dealing with an autoimmune condition, you really have to consider—both with today's testing and whatever comes down the line—that having Hashimoto's just bumps up the risk of running into other autoimmune issues way more than if you didn't have it at all.

Jose Miller3 said:have you seen an endocrinologist yet?

I'm positive there’s an endocrinologist out there who specializes in kids. I wouldn't just take a pediatrician's word for it when it comes to a diagnosis like this...

Get a second opinion, honey...

Hey Justin Gonzalez87! Don't panic—like Jose Miller3 said, it's nothing to lose sleep over.

The pediatric endocrinologist you want is Dr. Dumić—he's over at Mayo Clinic. Just figured I'd tell you so you aren't wandering around aimlessly. He's the best.

thanks, though I'm not actually in NYC😉

Justin Gonzalez87 said:thanks, but I'm not in NYC right now😉

Yeah, I was actually gonna send you a DM about this, but I'll just say it here...

Hashimoto's isn't something you should mess around with—especially considering what your little girl is already dealing with primary-wise😍

It might be worth thinking about making that trip to NYC after all, just to see a pediatric endocrinologist... even if it's a massive trek.

I know I would definitely do it...

Jose Miller3 said:Yeah, I was actually going to send you a DM about this—but I'll just say it here.

Hashimoto's isn't something to mess around with—especially considering your little girl's primary condition. 😍

It might be worth considering making that trip to NYC to see a pediatric endocrinologist, regardless of how long the drive is.

Personally, I’d make the trip...

If that specialist is private, then there's no issue; if not—which I suspect is the case—I need a referral that I'm never going to get.
I've already mentioned how my pediatrician doles out referrals like they're gold—I simply don't have the energy or patience left to keep fighting this.😢

Hmm...🤔...if there isn't a pediatric endocrinologist in town, they have to refer her to NYC, right? Right? 😁
I'll head out this afternoon to see what the situation is.😉

Sorry to jump in out of nowhere, but I wanted to ask something:

chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis ~ is that basically Hashimoto's? 😕

That’s what it says on my lab results [from about 4 years ago 😬]. My TSH was high back then and my antibodies came back positive. Every time I went in for a checkup, my levels were technically euthyroid, but it's been a really long time since my last follow-up.. 😳

Justin Gonzalez87 said:If that endocrinologist is private practice, then no big deal—but if they aren't, which I'm pretty sure they aren't, I’ll need a referral that I am never actually going to get!
I've already vented about how my pediatrician doles out referrals like they're water in a desert—I don't have the energy, the patience, or the health left to keep repeating myself.😢

hm...🤔...if there isn't a pediatric endocrinologist in the local network, they have to refer me to NYC, right? Right? 😁
I'm heading out this afternoon to see what the deal is.😉

They aren't private practice.

If they won't give you a referral for something like this, just switch pediatricians. 🙄 I've seen way too many cases where kids were treated incorrectly and then just passed along to the next person. If a kid that small had high TSH, they would've been sent to Dumica ages ago. Hashimoto's is typically an adolescent or adult girl thing—it doesn't show up in little kids all that often. As for treatment, some people think it's better to start Synthroid immediately upon diagnosis, while others wait until actual hypothyroidism kicks in. So, it’s not exactly an emergency as long as T3 and T4 stay within the normal range. But once those drop, then you've got a problem—hypothyroidism leads to growth issues.

@Megan Reed, yeah, that would be Hashimoto's. It progresses slowly, and sometimes it even goes into remission—rarely, but hey, maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones. 👍

The more I read through these threads, the more uneasy I feel😁
I actually find myself gravitating toward that first response—just don't panic🙂
We’re testing for antibodies next week, so I’ll have a better idea of where things stand then...

I called the local clinic today; they don't have an endocrinologist on staff, but they mentioned one available in Washington, D.C. Does anyone have any insight? Is there someone specific worth seeing?

Hey Justin Gonzalez87, I just happened to stumble across this thread of yours!

So, my sister's dealing with Hashimoto's—she’s 31 and finally feeling like herself again after six months on a daily pill. Honestly, just like a few of you mentioned before, the absolute worst part was right when she first got the diagnosis. It all started about two years ago with this brutal mix of exhaustion and being sleepy but unable to actually sleep, plus she was totally unmotivated and super irritable. She just chalked it all up to stress and burnout because her job is pretty intense and carries a lot of responsibility. She lost her appetite too, though she figured the weight gain was just because she finally quit smoking. At one point, she even went through these bouts of paranoia and anxiety that were so bad she genuinely thought she was losing her mind and needed to see a psychiatrist, but once again, she just assumed it was the overworking. Then things got scary—her heart would start racing like crazy, sometimes even waking her up in the middle of the night, and she’d feel like she couldn't catch her breath, almost like she was choking or her hands were seizing up. When she finally went to see a cardiologist, he told her her heart was perfectly fine but suggested it might be a thyroid issue. And sure enough, it was.

I was actually wondering, how did you first notice the symptoms with your girlfriend? Like, did they just pop up out of nowhere, or were you guys already doing regular checkups when everything came to light?
I know people with Down Syndrome tend to deal with autoimmune stuff more often, especially when it comes to thyroid issues, so you really have to stay on top of those hormone levels. We actually went in for some bloodwork last summer to get everything checked out, and thankfully, all the results came back totally fine.

We’ve been monitoring her thyroid every six months since she was born—up until age one, depending on the specialist—following our geneticist's advice. One time the T3 was high, another time it was the T4, then we had two perfect readings, and now we're facing this.
She isn't showing any symptoms beyond what I mentioned above—maybe some sleepiness or getting tired easily—but honestly, if she’s walking around for an hour or two straight, of course she’s going to be tired 😁, so I don't see how that connects to Hashimoto's.

Justin Gonzalez87 said:I called the Sunce clinic today and they don't have an endocrinologist on staff, but they mentioned one is available in Washington, D.C. Does anyone know anything about them? Who is it, and are they actually any good?

Dr. Barbir.
I'm his patient, also dealing with Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism.
My diagnosis was originally handled up in Dubrava, but I switched over to him after I moved.
The man isn't much of a talker and carries himself with a bit of an attitude, but if you bombard him with questions, he’ll answer every single one.🙂

Good luck!😘

I have a question,
has anyone here actually tried homeopathy, and does it even make sense when dealing with Hashimoto's?
I heard from someone else that it helped a few people, but I'm really not sure what their specific diagnoses were.

Emily Myers78 😘 🙂