Hypothyroidism

[Nic]

Hi, my youngest son so far has tested negative for Celiac although we will be looking into it farther as children under 5 often have false negatives. He has the chronic constipation that his Celiac brother had and also has hyptotonia and developmental delays. I recently learned that these are also symptoms of Celiac. Since he was an infant, every doctor suspected hypothyroidism due to the developmental delays, the hypotonia, and also the soft spot on the front of his head was open until he was two. And it was huge, I could fit the width of three fingers int there. He is also 52 lbs. which is in the 100 % for his age but pretty much only eats fruits, veggies, and pasta. Definitely does not over eat (I will also mention he is tall, 43 inches). My question is, can children test negative for something like this and really have it? Can it maybe just show up later? He tested negative when he was about 1 year old and I don't believe anyone ever looked at it again.

Nicole

[ravenwoodglass]

Hi, my youngest son so far has tested negative for Celiac although we will be looking into it farther as children under 5 often have false negatives. He has the chronic constipation that his Celiac brother had and also has hyptotonia and developmental delays. I recently learned that these are also symptoms of Celiac. Since he was an infant, every doctor suspected hypothyroidism due to the developmental delays, the hypotonia, and also the soft spot on the front of his head was open until he was two. And it was huge, I could fit the width of three fingers int there. He is also 52 lbs. which is in the 100 % for his age but pretty much only eats fruits, veggies, and pasta. Definitely does not over eat (I will also mention he is tall, 43 inches). My question is, can children test negative for something like this and really have it? Can it maybe just show up later? He tested negative when he was about 1 year old and I don't believe anyone ever looked at it again.

Nicole

Hi Nicole, It is not only children that can show a false negative adults do at times also. In countries that test routinely asymtomatic children are checked at age 4 or 5 and then again at puberty. It can take a while for enough antibodies to show up. There are also times when a doctor will decide a low positive is a negative unfortunately. Considering he has a diagnosed celiac brother I would get the panel run again and as soon as he has the blood drawn I would put him on the diet. IMHO dietary response is the true test.

[2kids4me]

Were you wondering about false neg with celiac only, or the thyroid tests?

My daughter tested in normal range when she was an infant and again at 2 yrs. By the time she was 4 - her TSH was over 900 (normal is under 4) and her T4 was 5 (normal is over 12) and she had developed myxedema.

If your child is symptomatic then one would expect low levels of thyroid hormone and high TSH if the thyroid was the problem.

I am glad you are still investigating - something is not right metabolically and I really hope they are not making you feel like you are making him overweight. I went home really depressed after I saw a neuromuscular specialist and the first comment wsa " she is pretty pudgy" then another called her fat....

it felt like they judge first instead of seeing the issue - whcih is - she cant walk, she is gaining weight withiout eating much and something is wrong.

Good luck , I'll be thinking of you!

[Nic]

I am sorry if I sound ignorant but I really am regarding thyroid issues (my husband is hypothyroid but I never really investigated it the way I do Celiac). I was asking if hypothyroidism can be missed the way Celiac is when they are young. My doctor is actually wonderful about Lucas, he said, "he is in the 100 th percentile, but don't worry, he is not fat, just a big boy". Like I said, he is tall also (in the 90th percentile). He was born 10.8 pounds and 22 and a half inches. But I do not feel as though his food intake supports his weight. He rarely eats breakfast (even though it is served to him daily), snacks on only fruits during the morning, has lunch but does not over eat, and then dinner. An occassional snack in the afternoon and dessert after dinner. I monitor his servings well on any treats that he does eat, for example 3 cookies or 1 brownie, a handful of chips on rare occassions. Am I understanding you correctly that your child tested neg. for hypothyroid first and later tested positive?

Nicole

[zip2play]

Hypothyroid can also be horribly misdiagnosed for adults as well. I am still messing with thyroid conditions and I started seeing DR's about it in May of last year. After finally getting a sonogram, it was found I have 8 nodules on my thyroid. The surgeon and my DR disagree on how to treat it. I am currently waiting for us all to decided!

Monica

[2kids4me]