Help with the Ups and down of a Thyroid Problem

Kathy,

A great website with info about hypothyroidism is www.johnleemd.com. I hope you find some helpful information there!

Without a thyroid, her metabolism is not there. Your metabolism helps your body with its energy level. If she isn't taking her medication, she probably has no energy, and may even be suffering from a type of depression. You should consult your physician. I know going back to the Dr. may not but what you want to hear, but she may need a bit more help than you can give her. Thyroid problems run in my family and some don't have them anymore. If they aren't regulated they do not feel well generally. My mom gets to where she doesn't function very well when her thyroid isn't regulated. I hope this helps. What a hard age to deal with so much. Good luck!!!

I do not know about dealing with cancer, but I have a thyroid issue. I feel really bad if I don't take my med, and really think if you talk to your daughter and let her know it is supposed to make her not so tired and sluggish she will probably want to take it. It makes such a difference!

Hi Kathy,
I have a thyroid problem too. The thyroid controls everything in your body, your daughter needs to know she MUST take her medication! Here are a few examples of what I experienced when I forgot to take my medications...My mood would change from feeling "On Top of the World" to "Wanting to Blow it Up" and All the Emotions Inbetween(in less than 0.01 second).
I would get tired and have to lay down and take a nap. I also take other medications, (Being at the MERCY of Your Thyroid) If your thyroid is out of "Whack", it might not let you other medications work right.
Kathy you are going to like this part, with the medication helping the thyroid to work normal, "The Sky's the Limit" as to what your daughter can do.

Have a Great Day!
Colleen

She needs to be in charge of her body, she needs to learn now that this is her responsibility and you may need the dr to help you with this... if she learns now that this is something that she has control over then it may help with the rest of her life... I am sure that she is fed up and feels that she is not in control of anything any more... make this a good thing in her mind she is old enough to be in control even if mentally she is only 6 she would still be old enough...

Hi there.

I had Hodgkin's disease which destroyed my thyroid when I was 21 years old so I appreciate the challenge of remembering to take medication daily.

I would suggest seeing an endocronologist if you aren't seeing one now. They are experts in this field and mine has helped me more than my general practioner and helped me get the right dose of meds.

Does your daughter have low energy? If so, I highly recommend supplementing her diet with a acai super juice that tastes great, is low in sugar and has helped me greatly with my energy. The website is www.mymonavie.com/thesuperberryjuice.

Email me if you would like a referral to a Denver endocronologist.

Cheers,

S.

I started treatment for Hypothyroidism when I was 16 years old. For the next four years I only took my medication off and on (due to laziness mostly). As a result of my lacksidasical approach to my medication I gained weight, lost hair, had no energy and slept at least twelve hours a day, had mood swings, was sick all the time and I also suffered from severe depression. Now that I am on a regular dose and I take it as directed every day, my symptoms are much lighter and I regret that I missed out on so much of my teenage and high school experiences (almost not graduating from high school being a big one!). I would talk to your daughter about this being an important time in her life and she will want to remember and enjoy these teen experiences as much as possible, and without using thyroid meds properly it could affect those experiences. I also was seeing an endocrinologist at UCSF who treats thyroid very aggresively. He recommends taking 80% of your body weight as your dose of synthroid. (Not using generic brands, they are NOT the equivalent) Most women don't get treated aggresively enough for thyroid problems, the doctors only prescribe enough medication to alleviate the negative symptoms (weight gain) and not to completely fix the problem. I know its probably hard for you and your daughter to understand how much the thyroid affects the body and everyday functioning but you should talk about it and research it as much as possible together. I would also recommend consulting with more than one doctor, its what I had to do to find the right one who would give me treatment that actually made a difference.

As a teen I had a very hard time remembering to take my medicine. I only started to do it because I learned that not taking it could make me gain weight. I did finally figure out that I felt good if I took it. Mentally, physically, emotionally, everything. Maybe you can find soem side effects that would give her incentive and then she can figure out she likes feeling better. Really though, once she's taking the medicine at the same time everyday, on an empty stomach, and all the rest they say, she shouldn't have any thyroid problems as long as the medicine is well adjusted. One thing to keep in mind is that as much as 80% of the medicine can go unabsorbed, especially if taken with food. Big culprits are dairy, iron, and calcium. Just learned grapefruit, too. Another thought. I know they say generics are the same, but this is one medicine that generics never worked for me (as well as some family members). Not regulating her thyroid may be affecting her cycles, which may explain the ups and downs. I hope you can find some answers.

Hi KAthy,

I have to take pills everyday also. If her energy level is not there yet talk with her doctor. Once they got my medication right i felt like i had energy of a 20 yr old again.

A few things to consider there is a connection between thyroid conditions and candidis. Here is one good link, but there are lots more with good information. If you are here in Golden run down to Vitamin COttage and talk with them. Sory this link is so long.

http://thyroid.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http...

Also look at Armour it is a natural medication that replaces the synthetic meds. I am working with my doctor to see how it does. so i can't give you to much info there.

Finally, have her eat as much vegies and fruit as possible. Preferrably not cooked.

If you want you can call me at ###-###-####. I have been doing a lot of research for myself on this for the last few years.

J.

Hi Kathy,

What an aweful lot to have to contend with at the tender age of 14!

I developed my thryroid disorder while pregnant with my son 21 years ago. It was diagnosed relatively quickly but after many attemps to control it with meds, I was given radio-active iodine which also killed it. I will assume one of the medications your daughter is on is thyroid hormone (Synthyroid in my case). Unfortunately no one except your daughter knows how she is feeling. When I miss a couple of days of my Synthyroid, I get all of the original symptoms back: nausea, headachy, extremely tired and cranky, nervous, shaking hands etc. These symptoms will also appear if the dosage of the hormone is too low or too high. After 21 years my Doctor still makes me have bloodwork 4 times a year to ensure my TH levels are where they should be. I ultimately suffered one of the side affects of this and now have Graves Disease, meaning that the tissue around my eyes swelled up and my eyes became quite bulging. I've had 2 surgeries to try to correct this including having bone removed from one eye socket.

The sad part is that only she can decide if she prefers feeling those symptoms as opposed to feeling healthy. At 14 they don't listen much to us anyway, so perhaps you could speak with her friends and have them intervene as only other 14 year-olds can. She is more likly to pay attention to them if they tell her how tired she looks, what a drag that she doesn't have the energy to hang out with them more, etc. May sound a little mean but her best interests are at heart from all concerned.

Perhaps there is something she wants really badly that could be the reward for taking her meds for 6 weeks. Explain to her that 6 weeks will allow her body to feel normal again. She can then decide which feeling she prefers. I certainly choose to not feel the aweful symptoms on a daily basis as it's exhausting. To help you understand how she is feeling, it is a lot like the first few weeks after delivering a baby. You are completely incapable of mustering up enough energy to do anything and generally don't feel very good about yourself nor anyone else's opinion lol.

Hope that helps a little bit.

I have Hypothyroid problems. Its so important to take the pills everyday. When i was first diagnosed with it, i didnt take the whole pills thing seriously. I would skip a day here and there..and i even forgot for a whole. week. But i started noticeing that when i didnt take it..i would get moodier...my hair starting thinning out, my skin was so much drier.I was missing periods. I have gained weight from it. I didnt think it was all from my thyroid until i talked to my dr. and he said that the thyroid controls so much more than people think. So if your daughter doesnt have one...just think of all the things the pills will help regulate. My heart goes out to you girls...to have had to deal with cancer and now the thyroid. Please tell her that she will not regret taking the thryoid meds...she will feel so much better once its in her system ..and take it everyday, cause even skipping one or two days does make a difference.