July 30, 2006
Diagnosis and Symptoms, Thyroid
Question from Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA:
My stepson has been told that his thyroid is low, but that he will outgrow it. He has since come to live with us and I noticed that he was drinking a lot and craving a lot of sweets. I had my brother check his blood sugar one afternoon and it was 155 mg/dl [8.6 mmol/L]. That morning, he had two bowls of cereal for breakfast and, later, one peanut butter sandwich for lunch. He has gained a tremendous amount of weight in a very short period of time. Do children actually outgrow low thyroid problems? If not, could he be having some serious problems developing?
Answer:
I would have him see a pediatric endocrinologist in your area. There are good ones at the University of South Carolina Medical School. They need to see him and look at the data. I would not want you to just dismiss this. The weight gain could be from thyroid or maybe it’s not. If it is not, there is the potential that he will develop diabetes down the road.
LD
