SOMETIMES ITS THE LITTLE THINGS

The thyroid is probably one of those things that when its working as it should, no one really notices it or thinks about it much.  But when it is not working as it should, it can cause some issues.

A child’s thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland in the front of the neck, just below the thyroid cartilage (Adam’s apple). Hormones produced by the thyroid affect all aspects of your child’s health including heart rate, energy metabolism (how effectively the body uses calories), growth and development. 

Last fall, Jonah was diagnosed with Grave's disease which means he has a hyPER thyroid or overactive thyroid.  Jonah's problem was just caught on a routine thyroid screening since kiddos with Down syndrome tend to have thyroid issues.

Thyroid problems are more common in children and adults with Down’s syndrome than in the general population. People with Down’s syndrome usually tend to develop hypothyroidism but sometimes they can have hyperthyroidism although this is much less common.

The reason HIGH thyroid is such a concern is it can cause heart issues as well as slow down growth and development.

Now this fall, Ben has been diagnosed with hyPO thyroid or underactive thyroid.  This too was caught on a routine screening.

Concerns for LOW thyroid are fatigue, weight gain, constipation, and decreased growtth.

Today the boys had appointments with the endocrinologist at Children's Hospital.

Ben's LOW thyroid condition is pretty straightforward.  It's a lifetime condition that will require a pill everyday for the rest of his life, but the pill has very little side effects so there are no real concerns unless we can't get him at the right dosage.  Good news except for the regular labwork that will be needed to check thyroid levels.

Jonah's HIGH thyroid condition is trickier.  The med he is on (PTU) has possibilities for serious side effects so he can only probably be on it 2-3 years before they would look to do a more permanent solution of radiation treatments to kill the thyroid or surgery to remove (very tricky surgery).  However, there is a chance that if we take Jonah off the med, his hyperthyroid will go into remission and stay normal on its own.  DS kiddos have a high success rate of remission, more than typical kids.  So at this point we are going to start reducing his med level with the hope of eventually going off completely and then see how his thyroid responds on its own.  So mostly good news for Jonah except the regular labwork that will need to happen every few months.