[Ski]

#1074463

If his thyroid hormone levels are off, the nausea may be from that (not everyone experiences the same symptoms, but it would appear that stomach problems are part of his GD experience). Are you getting copies of his lab results so you know where his levels are? Reducing the medication may or may not change his levels ~ the levels are the most important part. The antibodies can increase and decrease for reasons that are not well understood, so sometimes GD patients on ATDs can experience "flare ups" of symptoms when the antibodies increase. Keeping an eye on his thyroid hormone levels yourself will be helpful as you go through this with him.

[amyl]

#1019838

Hi,
I’m brand new to this board…I discovered it when I was searching for a link between stomach problems and Graves’. My son has dealt with stomach problems for 6 years. Over the past 3 years, he was incorrectly diagnosed and treated for Crohn’s disease. I took him to the Mayo clinic and found out that he doesn’t have Crohn’s rather he has Graves. Once he began treatment for GD, his stomach problems got much better. Over the past 2 weeks, his stomach problems have returned and he’s nauseous 24/7 with no relief. He’s been taking very strong prescription anti-nausea meds but they don’t help at all. Approximately a month ago, his endocrinologist reduced his GD meds and I’m thinking there may be a correlation between the reduction in meds and his nausea. Has anybody else experienced problems like these? I did a search on nausea and read old posts which were helpful but I’m hoping somebody else might be able to help us. I really appreciate any responses.
Thanks!

[amyl]

#1074464

Thank you very much for your response! I talked with our Pediatrician about this possibly being a side effect of GD but he didn’t agree. Well, I’m following my "mother’s intuition" and I called our Endocrinologist and requested some blood work. We got that done yesterday and are now waiting for the results. I will make sure to always request his results now so I can keep track of them too…thanks for that suggestion!
Can you please tell me what "ATDs" are. I’m not familiar with that acronym.
Thank again for your help!!!

[Bobbi]

#1074465

ATD is one of the shorthand terms we use here on the board. It stands for AntiThyroid Drug, specifically meaning any drug which acts as a chemical block to the production of thyroid hormone. In the United States that means either PTU or methimazole (Tapazole). In the UK that typically means carbamazole. But the term ATD is useful because despite there being different chemicals used, which means they interfere in slightly different ways, the side effect issues, etc. are pretty much the same.

[DianneW]

#1074466

I remember talking to a young woman with Graves’ whose main symptom was nausea with vomiting. She had major weight loss as well. For her, this improved when her thyroid levels stabilized.

There’s no way to know if your son’s nausea is a result of his thyroid levels or if he has some other underlying problem. I hope his doctors will keep looking for other problems to be on the safe side, and if those are ruled out there’s a likelihood that your son will feel better once he’s been on ATDs long enough to have some healing time.

How old is your son?

Best wishes,

[amyl]

#1074467

Hi Dianne!
My son is now 16 yrs old but has had severe stomach issues for the past 3 yrs. It got so bad, he couldn’t go to school and I really thought we were going to lose him. We were sent to a gastroenterologist who put him through exhaustive testing and decided he might have Chrohn’s disease. She began treating him with IV meds and, after awhile, it became clear that the treatment wasn’t working so I took him to the Mayo Clinic where he was quickly diagnosed with Graves’. What was so frustrating about all of this is that my husband and I both have hypothyroidism and I always made sure each doctor was aware of that but nobody ever tested his thyroid. My son also has high blood pressure but his doctors never investigated that either. I even took him to a neurologist because my son’s hands were incredibly shaky. He said that there was nothing wrong and that he was just a person with a tremor. My son was so shaky, he had trouble writing and drawing. The doctor’s at Mayo finally listened to me and investigated all of my son’s symptoms. A simple blood test identified his hyperactive thyroid and the iodine uptake test confirmed GD.

Because of all of this, I have learned to follow my instincts and never just accept what doctors are telling us when it doesn’t seem to make sense. I really think my son’s stomach issues are related to GD even though our doctors don’t agree. I can’t wait to get the results of my son’s blood test tomorrow to see if his thyroid has gone hyper. If it has, then I’ll be convinced that his nausea is caused by his GD. If not….well, I’m not sure what we’ll do next.

I have to say that finding this Foundation has been so comforting!!! It really helps to find a group of people going through the same things as my son. I’m finding that his doctors are not being very open to minded to the idea that my son may have some "unconventional" side effects to GD. So, thank you very much for your help and support!!! I’ll let you know the results of his blood test when I receive them.

[amyl]

#1074468

Hi,
I received my son’s blood test results and he has gone "hyper" T3 uptake = 46, Free T4 = 1.99 and TSH = 0.06
The doctor has made a slight increase in his methimazole so hopefully he will begin feeling better soon. I’m very curious to see if his nausea improves with his thyroid.
Does anybody know the difference between T3 uptake, Free T3 and Total T3? It seems the past 3 blood test results have yielded results for these different test (Oct showed Free T3, December showed Total T3 and January showed T3 uptake) I asked the person that called me with the results what these different test show but she didn’t know (I thought it odd that she couldn’t explain that to me).
Again….thanks for your help!
Amy

[DianneW]

#1074469

Hi Amy,

The T3 uptake test, or T3 Resin uptake, helps estimate the availability of thyroxin binding globulin (TBG). This is the protein that carries most of the T3 and T4 in the blood. The higher the level of TBG , the lower the value of T3RU. A higher T3RU value means less TBG is available, possibly as a result of hyperthyroidism.

A total T3 is a measure of all the T3 in the serum (blood).

A Free T3 is an estimate of the T3 in the serum that isn’t bound to proteins, and is therefore "free" and available to the body, which in the case of hyperthyroidism is the amount that will actually contribute to hyperthyroidism.

Each of these tests might have specific limitations that lead your son’s doctor to want the information from a different one at other blood drawings (you’d have to ask the rationale of that).

I’m really hoping he sees resolution of his stomach symptoms as his hyperthyroidism is controlled! It appears you have reason to be optimistic about that at this point. Do keep us updated!

[amyl]

#1074470

Hi Dianne,
Thanks so much for your help…again! You know, I consider myself a fairly intelligent person, but all of these different tests are very confusing. I’m guessing that along with the meaning of each individual test, you also have to take the interaction of other test into consideration before determining how to proceed. I’m the type of person that tries to really understand medical issues so that I can talk intelligently to our doctors, but GD, and all of the tests and medicines that go with it, is complicated. I’m glad our doctor understands all of this, because I’m having trouble with it.
Again, thanks for your help and I will keep you posted on my son’s progress!!
Amy ” title=”Smile” />

[Jake_George]

#1074471

Amy,

I did not see in your posts if your son is being followed by a pediatric endocrinologist. Ped Endos are better educated and equiped to treat and know the effects of Graves’ disease on a youth. Even though he is 16, he is still developing and when you facter growth hormones, thyroid hormones and just plain stress into the equation, a pediatric endo may be just what you are looking for.

They may also be able to help with the mental aspect of the disease an his age. The anxity that comes along with Graves’ is hard for an adult let along a teen. Has that aspect been looked into?

[amyl]

#1074472

Hi Jake George!
Yes, my son does see a pediatric endo but not very often….maybe every 3 or 4 months. The dr. said he didn’t really need to see him too often b/c we could do a lot by phone. So, if my son shows signs of any type of infection, or signs of becoming Hyper or Hypo, I call and request a blood test. I’m sure they would see him more often if I requested it.
My son also sees a pediatric cardiologist b/c his blood pressure is a little high. Lastly, we go to a pediatrician who hasn’t been very helpful with GD. When my son started getting nauseous again, I took him to the pediatrician who actually looked at me and said "I’ve already told you I can’t help you with his nausea". I couldn’t believe it! I left there, came home and started searching the web. That’s when I found this Board. I’m going to start looking for a new pediatrician but this is the like the 4th or 5th doctor that hasn’t been helpful with my son’s nausea. We’ve done the pediatric GI doctor route and that turned out to be a disaster! I don’t want to go down that road unless there’s absolutely no other option.
My son appears to be very calm on the outside, but isn’t on the inside. He occasionally will tell me how stressed out he is about school, etc. but he doesn’t show it! I’m sure that contributes to his stomach problems. He did see a psychologist for awhile, a few years ago and it was a battle to get him there. I don’t think I could convince him to do that again. He’s good about talking to me so I’m trying hard to keep that line of communication open so he can vent when he needs to.
I know I’ve already said this, but being a parent is tough work!!!!
Thanks for your help!!!
Amy

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