meet a new specialist, learn something new! yesterday we met dr. hsiang, the chief of endocrinology for nemour children’s clinic (Pensacola). she is an extremely intelligent woman who was very informative. we received a “crash course” in the function of the thyroid, and how important its proper functioning is, especially in children with Down syndrome. not that i fully understood all that she was saying (she even drew pictures) but all i needed to hear was that elevated thyroid is related to impaired cognitive development! i know i’ve read this before, but somehow had forgotten that fact. it is especially important in regards to young children, birth to age 3; the critical time when the brain is developing. that is why it is so important that their thyroid levels be tested every 6 months.
at this point wyatt’s level is only on the “high side of normal,” so she is going to keep a close watch on his levels. he was tested at 13 months (yes, i delayed his well-check appt by 1 month! july was BUSY!); we will test him again next month at 16 months. She also wrote orders for a bone age study that can help evaluate how fast or slowly wyatt’s skeleton is maturing, which can help her diagnose conditions that delay or accelerate growth such as hypothyroidism. he did terrific holding his little hand on the table for the x-ray! so cute! (why didn't i get a picture of them getting his picture??? oh yeah, i was holding him!)
today i will call our new pedi to have wyatt's 6 month thyroid bloodwork sent to dr. hsiang for further comparison. she will then have 2 bloodwork results to start tracking wyatt’s thyroid function! wyatt is off (above) the down syndrome growth charts in both height and weight, but not in his head circumference. i think it’s probably because of the smaller head size, as well as his “sluggish bowels” (that can be an indicator of hypothyroidism) that she ordered the bone scan….i’ll be anxious to get those results!
i'm sure it's this way when you have a child with any syndrome, illness, or disease, but just when i think i've kind of got things under control; i've researched, asked questions, read tons of stuff, etc..... i realize that i have so much to learn!
Well that is interesting - my girl's already on thyroid meds, but who knew they could do a bone study? I'm only just getting my head around the sleep study thing! There really is always something new, isn't there?!
ReplyDeletelol-I'm with Sally! always something!
ReplyDeletethey actually wanted to do a trial run-taking Caleb off his thyroid meds to see how his blood work would run, but I said no, not right now. #1. he's on about the lowest dose (25mcgs) #2. doesn't bother him taking it-we've got it down to a science lol. #3. it's inexpensive, and most important #4. I want to make SURE about brain development. Def. not something I want to mess around with. I know they say age 3, but I've decided age 5 will be his cut-off!
It can be quite a challenge running up and down with two young girls. Before even reaching the playground, I would already be feeling lazy. I decided to try thyroid iodine supplements . In three weeks I felt a huge difference.
ReplyDeleteRead up on soy, peanuts, broccoli, cauliflower, and more... I am hypo and just found out soy is bad! No wonder I'm tired all the time!
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