James has Overactive Thyroid

[Janet McClure]

James has been having several issues and I thought it was related to his heart. He has lost 20 pounds since he had his myectomy in January. He does not sleep, does not eat, stays hot all the time, is pale and has been having trouble in school. He stays very tired all the time and had been also complaining of his heart beating funny and fast. He has also been saying he felt like his medicine wasn't working as good as it use to. I took him to the heart doctor a week ago and Dr. Dooley in Atlanta said everything looked pretty good. His heart rate was high though and also his blood pressure was high. He did increase his Lopressor to 100 mg a day to see if that would help him feel better. Finally I got to thinking he was anemic. I took him to his primary care doctor on Friday and they did blood work. I got a call today thinking they would tell me he was anemic and I would just have to put him on iron tablets but instead I got a call saying he thyroid levels showed he had hyperthyroidism and they want us to have a thyroid scan done later this week.

I got to reading about it and it also said that it could cause heart palpitations, fast heart rate, higher blood pressure and all the other symptoms that James has. I was relieved to see there is a reason James has been feeling the way he has but was upset that it's another problem for us to deal with.

Just wandering if anyone else has had any issues with that and how it affects his heart disease. I has now been almost 10 months since James had his myectomy and I can't believe what a difference that surgery made. He is 13 and is soooo cute and having girlfriends already.

Anyway, I would appreciate any info! Janet McClure

[Reenie]

Re: James has Overactive Thyroid

I don't have any experience with that but he's in my thoughts while he struggles with this. I hope you can get him leveled out soon.

Reenie

[shirleymahoney]

Re: James has Overactive Thyroid

Janet

I hope James is feeling better soon and you and your family are in my prayers

Shirley

[Linda]

Re: James has Overactive Thyroid

Janet - I'm glad you're seeing good results with the surgery. Girlfriends? That's a whole new phase to your lives. Hope you get a handle on this thyroid situation quickly. Best wishes - Linda

[Glen Beamish]

Re: James has Overactive Thyroid

Hi Janet, I had Hyperthyroidism that was caused by the medication Amiodorone because Amio has a lot of iodine in it.
Actually Hyperthyroidism is one of the side effects you have to be tested for when taking Amio.
Once I stopped taking Amio, my thyroid levels returned to normal, but I cannot go back on Amio.
Is Lopressor the only med your son is taking and do you know can the Thyroid be effect by it.
If not then hopefully the other tests will find the cause.

[Laoshur]

Re: James has Overactive Thyroid

Janet,

I hope you get to the bottom of this as soon as possible and that it will turn out to be a simple and easily corrected situation. I will pray that you will not have to deal with another health problem in your family. Now girlfriends... well that's a bigger and long-term prayer for you!

Rhoda

[Cynaburst]

Re: James has Overactive Thyroid

I have a underactive thyroid and take supplemental thyroid hormone. Mine is caused by an autoimmune disorder called Hashimoto's Thyroiditis which has nothing to do with the HCM.

There are meds that they can give James to slow down his thyroid, and if those don't work well, they may want to remove it and give him supplemental hormones instead. They also may test his thyroid to make sure that he doesn't have any nodules which are secreting extra hormone.

While its not that fun to have thyroid problems, it is more of a nuisance than anything.

[Toogoofy317]

Re: James has Overactive Thyroid

I have a friend who has hyperthyroidism and he got it in his mid 40's. He is now in his sixties he takes one pill a day and has no other problems whatsoever.

So, hopefully that will be of some comfort.

Mary S.

[Danielaeh]

Re: James has Overactive Thyroid

Hi!

My husband is 38 years old and last year he went throug the same problems.
If your son took anty-arrythmics (like Amiodorone) during the last 6 months it may be a result of it.
For hyper there are almost no medications.
He needs to rest a lot, watch his weight and do blood test every week to see how he is progressing
Also think about the diet in order to help the body to deal with changes.
The theorid is very small but very important and influences every action between the brain and the rest of the body and that is why he does not sleep or eat etc...
It is important to find a specialist in the area because he will need help.
It is possible to do a test using radio-activity to check what is going on.
You will need a lot of patient since it may take a while before recovering.
And do not forget to test all the time the heart rate.

[Burton Borrok]

Re: James has Overactive Thyroid

With all the medication I’m on the doctor prescribed Zemplar for Secondary Hyperparathyroidism but the insurance disallowed it because she had not first prescribed Hectorol – a type of vitamin D prescription. Because of my hyperlipidemia she said I would have to be monitored very closely and it’s too risky and would probably screw up my cholesterol and triglycerides. The outcome is that she will not prescribe the Hectorol and the insurance will not approve the Zemplar until she does. Net result is that I am now taking nothing for that condition.
Burt

[AlecW]

Re: James has Overactive Thyroid

Hi Janet,

I haven't posted for a very long time, but here's a subject with which I have firsthand experience. I have both HCM and Grave's Disease (one type of hyperactive thyroid). The worsening of HCM symptoms from the latter led to my HCM diagnosis.

As always, it is most important to listen to your doctors. There is already some misinformation among the responses to your inquiry here.

Treatment of hyperthyroidism depends first and foremost on the cause. Once you know the cause, you can treat the disease; sometimes with meds, sometimes surgery, sometimes radiation. Several symptoms can usually be controlled medically until the thyroid quiets down again. For example, some of the same meds we use for HCM, such as beta blockers, help with the tremors and rapid heartbeat of hyperthyroidism.

In the case of Grave's Disease, which is an autoimmune disease that stimulates thyroid hormone production by the entire thyroid gland, the first line treatment is suppression with drugs. If that doesn't work, the treatment is thyroid ablation using radioiodine. Drink some radioiodine, your thyroid gets wiped out, and then you take daily thyroid hormone pills, cheap and well tolerated, as replacement therapy. Every once in a while you get some blood work to check that you're getting the right amount of thyroid hormone. Piece of cake. The key is that once you begin treatment, you tend to start to feel better fairly quickly. And as a side benefit, you won't have to take iodine pills in the event of a catastrophe at one of our aging nuclear power plants.

I don't want to trivialize hyperthyroidism. Yes, there can be other complications; but all in all, I wish HCM were such an agreeable affliction.

Best of luck.

[shirleymahoney]

Re: James has Overactive Thyroid

Wow Alec

That is rare to see a Dr. post on here, but glad to have you back and hope you stick around this time

Shirley