Young age of onset

Morgaine_on_the_move

I have realized lately that I was hypothyroid from a young age, maybe 10 or 11. I was cold all the time, very sleepy in school, and a few years later, had heavy periods. I was a little overweight even though my parents fixed healthy foods and I played sports. My hair came out in the shower all the time. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 24, though. Anyone else?

natyasa

Although not diagnosed until recently (31 yrs of age), I suspect that I've had Hashimoto's since childhood. I was truly a chubby kid, never "skinny" albeit eating healthy. And I remember spurts of weight loss (when Hashimoto's goes hyperthyroid).

In my adult life, I was most "fit" when very very active (gym 4-5x/week, 90 minute yoga sessions 2x a week) and even when "fit" I always ballparked around 130lbs. To maintain that weight, I had to work very very hard - the slightest bit off and I'd gain weight very VERY easily.

I was definitely hyperparathyroid in my childhood (passed my first kidney stone when 13 years old). And some research journals indicate that hyperparathyroid and hypothyroid go hand-in-hand. Whether is it one that leads to the other, or some sort of adrenal fatigue is not yet known.

Sad how it takes so long to diagnose, right?

krennie8

yes. I put on a ton of weight in 5th grade (I was a twig prior, and really only went to "mid-normal" but got stretch marks all over my body) and then in 6th grade my mother had to come pick me up from school once every couple weeks b/c I was so tired I couldn't get through class. My hands and feet at this point also felt like ice bricks no matter how warm it was outside. (This latter bit continued right up until I was on the correct dose of Synthroid). Additionally at this point my friends would want to play outside and although I used to love doing that, all I wanted to do was lay in bed b/c I had zero energy. I even thought I was depressed for a while b/c of my fatigue, but I never had any of the other symptoms of depression.

My mother was severely hypothyroid in her early 20s, so I was tested many times however I think I was "subclinical". They're doing the same thing to my sister now (i'm 27, she's 14). She was tested 3 times b/c her results were apparently "very high" the first two and they didn't believe they were correct. What a shock the third time they take those as gospel b/c she was finally "in-range". No, it just means she's going hypothyroid not that she's "normal". Anyway, #RantOver

starsandowls

I suspect I've been hypothyroid since I was a teenager, but I wasn't diagnosed until I was 38. My thyroid has been under suspicion since I was 15, and my TSH always tested bang on 4.0, and it was only when it got to 4.43 that a doctor was willing to prescribe synthroid. None of the doctors who tested it would say, "Hmm, that's borderline, and you have symptoms, let's follow up with an endocrinologist." It was always, "See a therapist for that depression that you clearly have; depression takes lots of forms! And lose weight; you'd feel better if you weren't so fat." In retrospect, this is like telling a drowning person to learn to swim and stop being all nancy negative about that whole breathing thing.

LisaWill86

I was diagnosed just shy of my twenty-eighth birthday, but my doctors suspect that I was born with Hashimoto's. My mom also has it and was not diagnosed until I was about twelve years old. Because there are so many members of my family that are of poor health or close to it, everything that was wrong with me was assumed to either be genetic or a child wanting attention. I heard a lot of "Shut up and quit faking it!" when I was younger, which I can't say I fault my parents for, just saying... there were the signs. I was always cold ("Put on a sweater."); my joints, especially my back, always ached ("Everybody feels that way. They just don't whine about it."); my hair fell out in clumps at times ("It's your hormones - it happens."); extremely heavy periods ("Some women have light ones, some have heavy ones."); mental health problems (This one was basically ignored because my parents didn't know how to handle it); extreme fatigue (another "Everybody feels that way..."). There were more symptoms, but these are the main ones that come to mind...

Unknown

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mags911

I was diagnosed in the Army at 19 because I kept getting sick and felt tired...turns out Hashimodo. I've been on 175 MCG forever. I have been up and down over the years and 2 pregnancies. Most weight issues ate due to self control but can't help but wonder if I am metabolically disabled as it is harder.

bmskid

When I was 11, they discovered that my thyroid was completely dead.
I think that I had had it for a very long time, and I blame it for a few other medical conditions from which I suffered, including Osteochondroma, where the growth plate from my shoulder fused with my bone, so a portion of the "bone" in my arm is cartilage instead of bone.
I have no way of proving this, I just assume. The thyroid takes awhile to die completely, from what I understand.
I am also very short compared to everyone else in my family. I blame it for that, too. haha.

gaelicstorm26

My Hashi's was discovered accidentally. At age 10 I began having a lot of problems swallowing food and gained weight. I was undergoing a series of tests for the swallowing when they discovered the Hashi's. I was 11 at the time. I'm now almost 32.

I wish that there was more research going on for Hashi's right now. I would like a way to stop this madness!

Morgaine_on_the_move

@ LisaWill86: you weren't born with it. Untreated hypothyroidism in babies less than two results in a very low IQ and developmental delays. You could have developed it as a young child, though.