my sons weight gain

[mikesmom22]

My 12 yr old son has gained 23 lbs in the past year.  the year prior he gained aproximately 20 lbs as well.  His annual physicals have otherwise been normal he has normal blood lipid levels.  He is currently 63 inches tall and weighs 160 lbs. My concern is for the weight gain particularly because he has a substantial roll of belly fat at his waist.  His eating habits are probably typical of most 12 year old boys - he loves to eat.  While we are very concious of healthy eating at home he does eat large portions and will eat plenty of snack foods at friends homes etc. The rest of our family is in the average to below average weight catagory.  My paternal grandmother has been on thyroid medication for many many years although I do not know anything about her condition (she is currently 101).  Here's my question: Is there sufficient reason to have my son checked for thyroid issues or not?  At his last physical thyroid was not evaluated and blood labs for lipids indicated he did not require any further blood labs for 2 - 3 years.  Perhaps this weight gain is a trend that will reverse itself once puberty/growth spurts begin.  Your advice?

[magpieannie]

Tamra has great advice. He definitly could be low (HYPO) thyroid. My daughter is nine and born without a thyroid gland so we have a little experience with this! She is 56 in. tall and weighs 120 lbs. Also has quite the poochy belly (we call it the thyroid belly, as many with hypothyroidism suffer from this.) When ever my daughter is low on her thyroid hormone levels she gets very hungry as it effects her blood sugar and seritonan levels in brain. She doesn't feel quite right  and needs enegy, so carbs and sugary processed foods are a temperary fix, then she crashes and whole cycle begins again. In the mean time, the weight can just pack on as they are low metabolic and their bodies cannot process the unhealthy kid foods. It has taken us awhile to get a handle on all of this. High protein, low carb, low sugar eating is best. (kid cereal is the worst). More fruit and "real" food. We are also doing Glutin free which has really helped my daughter. Her thyroid hormones are very balanced now and her diet is good and it is really putting a halt on her excess hunger and weight gain (she even commented yesterday how she is not really that hungry anymore- trust me, this is a mirricle!!!). Follow Tamera's advice and get a closer look at ALL his thyroid and antibody levels. It is probably not your imagination! Post the results and reference ranges when you get them and we will be glad to comment. God Blesss!

[TamraW]

Yes, you definitely should have him tested. If you have ANY history of thyroid disease in your family, your son has a much higher chance of getting thyroid disease. Get him checked for Hashimoto's auto-immune thyroid disease. There is hormone he can take that will help him shed the pounds if his thyroid hormones are low.

Many doctors will ONLY test and treat the TSH, which is actually a pituitary hormone. I just want to pull my hair out when I hear this.

Your son will require the TGab and TPOab tests to determine if Hashimoto's (the most common cause of low thryoid in developed countries) is behind his weight gain. DO not settle for anything less.

And, yes, your doc should order the FreeT3 and FreeT4 test to determine his current levels. Naturally, most docs will insist on the TSH test. This is fine as long as the others are ordered as well.

This site lists recommended endos. Some really specialize in diabetes and don't know enough about treating thryoid. Call the office ahead of time and ask the nurse if the doctor will test the antibodies and treat the free levels, not the TSH. Then, you've found a good endo.

http://www.thyroid-info.com/topdrs/


Take care and let us know about his progress.

:) Tamra