Hypothyroidism Support Group

I cant comment on the asthma part of this but, I know that Thyroid issues do not go away. Your son needs to be medicated for this for the rest of his life. If the synthroid made him feel bad ask the doctor to try something else. Once the medications kick in( usually takes 4 to 6 weeks) he will start to feel better. Odds are the doctor wont get the dose correct right away so he will need to be monitored via blood tests and have his medication adjusted periodically. Once eveything is regulated you will see a vast improvement in how your son is feeling. Good luck :)

Really even with thyroiditis he will still have to be on Meds? I thought that was just an inflamation of the thyroid which will eventually go down by itself. He hasen't actually been diagnosed with Hypothyroid. He goes for another blood test in about 3 weeks and I can see where his levels stand then. I'm desperate to help him feel back to his old self. At 17 this is devastating for him! He's missing so much of his Sr. year. We will try the meds again after his next blood test. Thank you so much for the advice

Well to be honest they aren't related but Thyroid disease can cause your son to have breathing problems and if he has asthma it can make his asthma flare up... I have thyroid, asthma, and a muscle illness called Mysthenia Gravis and they all interact with each other so I have to be careful when taking medicine for all of these for to much could cause a severe asthma attack and that is something I don't want...but I would continue him taking the medicine for his thyroid if it has made him sick that means that he may be taking to much medicine and the doctors need to lower the dosage or he needs to eat before he takes it.. I wish you all the luck in the world with you son and hope everything works out as you want them too...

~Smooches~

The TSH level of 4.16 is not high. The ashthma could also be making the TSH fluctuate. I wonder if he even has a thyroid problem, what makes you think he does? Has he had the Free T3 and Free T4 checked that is more important than just the TSH. Alot of Drs. do not understand thyroid disease. Synthroid is not effective at treating this disease--- I have Hashimotos Disease with non-cancerous tumors. Get another opinion on the thyroid issue but be careful to not stop the asthma meds.

Also, you never eat before taking thyroid meds. Take them right away in the morning and wait at least an hour before eating anything. Best wishes to you and your son.

@Barbell, I don't know what doctor you have seen but some doctor's will tell you that if your stomach gets upset that you can eat something like a slice of bread or crackers to settle the stomach before taking the medicine according to what your dosage is, but eating is "not necessary" before taking the medicine but you can if you chose to... it will still take affect regardless to how you take it for I take mine in the morning and I eat breakfast before I take any medicine and I wait about 10 to 15 minutes after I eat so my food can settle before taking it because if not I will feel naseated....It is not manditory for you to eat before taking it but you can if it makes you ill....

A low thyroid condition that is untreated can make you more susceptible to any illness because it makes your body less warm and able to fight off infections. I have never heard of it causing an increase in asthmatic symptoms but it does affect immunity esp if you have Hashimoto's.

The "new" levels for TSH are between 1 and 3 with the closer to 1 the better. These "new" levels have actually been recommended since around 2003 but many doctors (MD's) still go by the old levels which go up as high as 5.5 with some of them.

I would like to ask why you are so devastated by this, its not as bad as having diabetes really and lots of people have that, it can be pretty well regulated with one pill a day once you get a general idea of what dose you need and its really not that bad in the whole scheme of things. I don't think of my thyroid hormone as medicine, I think of it as a hormone my body used to make that it needs, I guess I just have a different frame of mind about it.

If it does turn out to be Hashimoto's which they can test for with an antithyroid antibody test, there are lots of us out here with it and we lead normal long lives which are fairly healthy but we do have to take our "Meds" or our little pill daily. It would be nice if it could come in a patch or something as I guess I do somedays wish I didnt have to take a daily pill but its not that bad and its fairly inexpensive as far as pills go.

Oh and the eating and taking your pill dilemma, Just make sure you dont take it with anything containing Iron such as Iron fortified cereal or meat or a VItamin pill. Some people take theirs before bed thus avoiding any food interactions or having to wait to eat in the morning.

Good luck and there is alot of support out here!