HELP for 13 year old's weigh gain with Hypothyroidism

[Jewelsof68]

I have a 13 year old that has Hypothyroidism. She was diagnosed at age 7; same as her mother. They haven't really given her a Hashimoto's diagnosis even though she has a goiter.  I'm told that an endocrinologist won't see her until she's had her period for 2 years (which will be January 2017). She was always very, very skinny and suddenly over the last 3 years she's really gained and her eating habits haven't changed a great deal. She isn't a big junk food kid or soda drinker. She isn't into sports so her physical activity is school or playing with neighborhood kids.  Her recent labs were TSH 1.60 and T4 1.4.  I'm told they are fine and the ranges are within the guidelines.  I don't see anything for T3 on here.  To have gained probably 30-40 in the past 3 years.  Seems crazy that she weighs 165 lbs at 5.3 at 13.  She is on 75mcg of Levothyroxine daily and she is faithful taking it. Never misses.  We take every night before bed.  I'm 47 and weigh 175 and I'm 5.10. Her father is 6.1 and weights 198. We are so frustrated and I'm beginning to wonder her doctor is missing something.  Her goiter is still quite large. I'd love any advice you could offer.   She is bothered by her size but my husband and I explain that there are all sizes and we are curvy; nothing wrong with it and we are healthy.  She is crazy concerned but unless she has a major growth spurt she is going to be a heavy girl.  My husband has been passive about it until recently and now he's seeing it and is very worried.  In his words, "how does she go from being so skinny and she was a twig to now very chunky and she doesn't eat a ton of bad food or tons or food period." Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Barb135]

Basal temperature is not necessarily a good indication of thyroid status.  One must go by Free T3 and Free T4... When I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2008, my basal temperature was running at normal levels, if not high, all the time, but my TSH at diagnosis was 55.5 and my Free T4 was 0.6 (0.8-1.8).  My doctor refused to test Free T3... He didn't remain my doctor for very long, especially, after my TSH plummeted to < 0.01 when I started on Synthroid, but my Free T4 was still at 0.6 and he started backing off on my med, in spite of all the symptoms...

You should also have your daughter tested for insulin resistance, which often goes hand in hand with hypothyroidism. I found that changing my diet to low carb, higher fat, made it much easier to lose weight, because fat doesn't spike the blood sugar like simple carbs do. I stick with veggies and healthful fats, like olive oil, avocado, coconut oil, butter, nuts, seeds, lean meats, etc.  

Exercise is also key...

[TheLightSeeker]

Basal temperature has proven to be quite reliable at detecting mild to moderate hypothyroidism.
Dr Barnes noted that relatively few other conditions lower the basal temperature below normal (including pituitary or adrenal deficiencies, malnutrition, some drugs, menopausal hot flashes), but these can be fairly easily ruled out.
Oh, and something which I have  come across a few times recently is that some hypothyroid patients,
may also have low grade undiagnosed pathogenic infectious conditions such as Mycoplasma,
Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia.
These chronic infections  cause low-grade fever conditions, thus rendering the basal temperature
testing unreliable.
And then there are the extreme things that just go against the accuracy of  the basal temp. testing, like taking the temperature with granny flannel jammys on and the family dog not only in the same bed, but right next to the temperature taker!
True story! A lady friend, whose Dr
would not order Free T3 and Free T4 asked me what to do and I suggested the  Basal Temp. Test.
When she said her temp was just over 37 Celsius, I was first surprised, since she was always cold,  most of the time.
It was only when I asked for details that the truth came out, lol!
Upon repeating the test w/o the dog and the flannel jammys, her temp was indeed  consistently lower than normal.
Her new Dr. now has her on Armour and doing much better!
Cheers,
Niko

[TheLightSeeker]

As far as medical thyroid  testing goes, the most indicative & accurate for cellular thyroid function are: Free T3 (fT3), Free T4 (fT4) AND Reverse T3 (rT3).
All 3 are needed!
  FT3/RT3 ratio is probably the most reliable marker for low cellular thyroid function. Ideally It should be higher than 20.

To my opinion though, we cannot find a better method to test than Dr. Barnes Basal Temperature Test. (there are several versions now)
I have devoted countless of hours, scanning through the studies and groundbreaking work of Dr. Barnes, The Father of Hypothyroidism, lol!
  Simply brilliant and way ahead of his time!

Instructions For Taking Basal Body Temperature:
Use an ordinary oral or rectal glass (not digital) thermometer.
Shake down the thermometer the night before, and place it on your nightstand.
The first thing in the morning BEFORE you get out of bed, place the thermometer under your arm for ten(10) minutes.
Record the temperature reading and date right away!
Repeat for 10 days.
Normal Range: 97.6 to 98.2
Averages below this range indicate hypothyroidism.

In your daughter's case, Levothyroxine, which is T4, instead of converting
under ideal circumstances into T3, could be converting into Reverse T3, thus lowering further Free T3 (bioavailable T3)
So, should this be the case, she will likely benefit from Cytomel -which is only T3- and Natural Desiccated Thyroid - contains mainly T4 & T3 but also includes T1 & T2 , which are balancing thyroid hormones.
The minimum starting doses for both should be tried at first and her thyroid function monitored frequently, so periodic adjustments and tweaking can be made, until a good thyroid balance is achieved.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Best wishes,
Niko