young male with continuing thyroid porblems

[annelewis]

my son, aged 17 , has now been on Thyroxine for about a year - 75mg rising recently to 100mg. athough initially fine, over the last two months, he has become increasingly bad again, experiencing chronic tiredness, chronic anger and irritability, feeling in a kind of dream- mode, and extreme difficulty getting up in the mornings, to the point where he is at risk of losing his college place. Despite the rise in thyroxine, there has been no noticeable improvement, and the symptoms/ behaviour match those of a year ago, before he was placed on thyroxine. Are these symptoms likely to be related to his thyroid, or would they have nother cause. If thyroid, what treatment would you recommend? people treat him as if he is malingering, and while he smetimes lacks motication etc, the change in him over the past two months has been very noticeable, and we think, must have some identifiable cause.

[Dr Petros Perros]

The teenage years are not easy for the youngsters or for parents (I speak from experience) and there are numerous reasons that could be driving these symptoms. Young people also hate taking tablets and that is a very common problems, especially with thyroxine when one can feel no immediate benefit. If his thyroid blood tests are normal then it is highly unlikely that the thyroid is the explanation.

[Dr David Kerbel]

I agree with Dr Perros but the levothyroxine dose does seem low.
Sometimes one can partially replace thyroxine but by doing so there is negative inhibition reducing bodies own formation of thyroxine and levels can drift down again.
I would recommend regular 3 monthly TFTs and make sure TSH is suppressed below 2.

I would also make sure your son has had a FBC & glandular fever test - these are cheap & easy, glandular fever could help explain some of his symptoms & often presents at this age.