Hyperthyroidism in Children

Hyperthyroidism in children is a condition in which an overactive thyroid gland is producing an excessive amount of thyroid hormones that circulate in the blood (“Hyper” means “over” in Greek.) Thyrotoxicosis is a toxic condition that is caused by an excess of thyroid hormones from any cause. Thyrotoxicosis can be caused by an excessive intake of thyroid hormone (for example so called “hamburger” thyrotoxicosis) or by overproduction of thyroid hormones by the thyroid gland.

The thyroid gland extracts iodine from the blood (which comes mostly from a diet of foods such as seafood and salt for example) and uses it to produce thyroid hormones (more specifically triiodothyronine  (T3) and Thyroxine (T4). The Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), which is usually used as a marker to indicate whether or not there is a thyroid dysfunction, is a pituitary gland hormone secreted to regulate these hormones. In 80% of the cases the cause for hyperthyroidism is an autoimmune disorder called Graves’ Disease, but it could be also a goiter or other thyroid abnormality.

Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism in Children

The symptoms of Hyperthyroidism in children are usually similar to those in adults: heart palpitations, restlessness, insomnia, emotional lability, nervousness, heat intolerance, decreased concentration, increased appetite and weight loss, to name just a few.  These symptoms however, mimic the symptoms of some other disorders, mainly psychological, and thus, the children can often be misdiagnosed. An abundant number of purely physical disorders or mental conditions can duplicate or imitate some of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism in children: sleep apnea, lead contamination, pinworms, excessive intake of caffeine or substance abuse, Fragile X syndrome, overly sweet foods with high quantities of glucose, excessive consumption of foods with artificial coloring, abnormal level of insulin in the blood, and fetal alcohol syndrome, or even celiac disease, to name a few. On the psychological scale, hyperthyroidism can often be mistaken with mood disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, some learning disorders, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD), adjustment disorder, pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), or even normal developmental deviations. Children, often labeled as hyperactive or diagnosed with ADHD may, in fact, have hyperthyroidism. Hyperthyroidism in children may present itself with many and different faces.

Unfortunately, thyroid blood test results are not so reliable to diagnose this complicated disorder.  The normal ranges of the most used thyroid indicators are as follows: Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) 0.3–3.0 μU/ml; Free thyroxine (FT4)  7–18 ng/l = 0.7–1.8 ng/dl; Serum thyroxine (T4) 46–120 μg/l = 4.6–12.0 μg/dl; Free triiodothyronine (FT3) 230–619 pg/d; Serum triiodothyronine (T3) 0.8–1.8 μg/l = 80–180 ng/dl (per American Thyroid Association guidelines, but may vary by different laboratories).

Thyroid test abnormalities are the first indicator that something might be wrong. Once diagnosed, there are 3 options for treatment that are widely recommended by physicians and endocrinologists:  Radioactive Iodine treatment (RAI), thyroidectomy and medication (propylthiouracil or methimazole). While the first two are very invasive methods that have life time consequences for the child, the medication method is considered the most appropriate by many physicians. The remission rates vary from 20 to about 50%, depending on many other factors and how severe was the disease when initially diagnosed.

Regardless, I would definitely suggest trying medication first, together with diet correction, vitamins, minerals and life style changes in order to control hyperthyroidism in children and adolescents. For example, the “Elimination diet” is found by some scientists to reduce over-activity symptoms in children drastically.  The foods, included in the elimination diet, are mostly fruits, vegetables, some light meat, juices and water, which is a relatively restrictive diet but not impossible to implement. Later on, new foods may be added one by one every week and children should be monitored for see how they react. Many of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism in children with this diet may vanish. It is also preferable to use organic vegetables and fruits in this diet as they contain more nutrients compared to genetically modified foods. Especially useful are goitrogenic foods and vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and all green leafy vegetables. You may check the diet suggestions for hyperthyroidism here: Diet for Hyperthyroidism. Also consider the restriction of iodine- rich foods like sea foods and nuts, especially walnuts. Avoiding aspartame (in diet sodas, chewing gums etc.) may dramatically improve nervousness and agitation in children.

You may be surprised how introducing small changes in diet and life style may lead to hyperthyroidism symptoms improvement. 

Consult a physician or dietitian before implementing this restrictive diet as they may recommend adding additional vitamins and supplements.  

There are also herbal preparations with Lemon Balm and Chamomile which are safe for children and may help different symptoms like palpitations, anxiety and insomnia. Meditation and yoga are some other alternative methods that can significantly and positively influence hyperthyroidism in children, even though it might be challenging for parents to introduce this methods into children’s daily routine, depending on the age of the child.

It is also a fact, that during teenage years the children go through many hormonal changes which may affect their thyroid function. I would rather consider hyperthyroidism in children as a temporary condition that will pass, as any other ailments,  if, of course, is properly addressed and treated. “Killing” the thyroid with RAI and thyroidectomy is an aggressive procedure that leads to permanent, life time hypothyroidism with all side effects and consequences. 

For more information, check my book on “Children with Graves’ Disease” which may help you make the right decision for your child. 

Is your child diagnosed with Graves’ Disease or Hyperthyroidism?

Are you wondering what to do and how to help your child? Do you know how?

I can only imagine how you feel, if you just left the doctor’s office with: “Your child has Graves’ Disease/ Hyperthyroidism”. No more explanations, at least not enough for you to understand what happened and where did you go wrong. Because I guarantee, you did everything right, but yet it went wrong. 

I do understand though how you feel- as a mother, and as a Graves’ disease ex-patient.

But you still don’t. Things like that just happen, even with little kids, teenagers, or young people who are just entering their lives. Unfortunately, it began to happen very often, even too often recently, as I can see from the emails I receive from concerned and devastated parents.

Graves’ Disease and Hyperthyroidism were “booked disease” for over a century for women 45- 55 years old. This is not valid any more.

136 000 people will be diagnosed with hyperthyroidism every year, only in USA. 11, 333 every month. 372 people every day only  in USA will hear this diagnose. I don’t know how many of them children, there is no statistic.  One in 89 people worldwide will get sick with Graves’ Disease.

Just for calendar year 2012 I have received over 4 230 emails from people suffering from Graves’ Disease or Hyperthyroidism, and many of them from concerned parents, whose child has just been diagnosed with this debilitating disease.

I am not a big specialist in children with Graves’ Disease, even though I had a lot of experience trying to cure my own Graves’ Disease and Hyperthyroidism.

As you probably know my story, I also managed to cure my Graves’ Disease without RAI treatment or Surgery. It’s been a long journey since then, but speaking now, 9 years later– I am perfectly fine, in a better health than I ever was before. So, it is possible, it’s working, it is doable and it’s not a magic.

During our correspondence with the parents I tried to be helpful by providing safe, easy to implement life style changes and suggestions. It was not easy, it was like stepping on moving sands. Nobody new what the outcome would be.

Gladly, things turned to be OK, no one got hurt and children still have their thyroids where they were suppose to be, i.e not removed by RAI or surgery.

I did a lot of research on the subject, but there wasn’t much to read. Graves’ Disease and children is a new thing and no one from the medical society is prepared.

I also figured out that if doctors are recommending RAI (which is proved to be very dangerous for adults, not to mention children), then most of the methods  I applied to cure my Graves’ Disease may still be applicable for kids, teenagers and young adults. Why not?

I never advised parents to stop their children’s medication- quite the opposite, they should be on medication to avoid thyroid storm! Do not stop your child medication under any circumstances and without your doctor’s permission!  

But do know, that  along with that medication  there are many things that could and should be done to help children recover and heal from Graves’ Disease and Hyperthyroidism without invasive methods like RAI.

There are many alternative and supplemental methods that can work together with the traditional medicine for faster results.

Based on the emails from parent and my own personal experience and research, I decided to write a new book, especially for kids, teenagers, adolescences and their parents mostly. The new book is called “Graves’ Disease and Hyperthyroidism Manual for Kids, Teenagers, Adolescents and their parents” Ebook. I don’t expect the children to sit down and read this type of books, but I do hope that their parents will before it is too late.

I also have written 5 other books on Graves’ Disease and  Hyperthyroidism, trying to cover everything that I know about this disease. I have research thousands of hours, I have read special reports and scientific studies, I’ve talk to many endocrinologists as well.

But the purpose of this manual is special- it is written to help mostly parents who are facing this diagnose, I am very aware of the fact that a 13 year old boy for example will not sit down and read what he should eat, how to exercise and what things he shouldn’t do. The parent or the guardian is the one who makes the decisions on this topic and who is responsible for the child.

So this is what else you can find in this book:

◊ Graves’ disease and hyperthyroidism, explained in plain English, no fancy terms. You can understand what exactly that disease is about.

◊ Differential diagnosis for Grave’s Disease– is your child correctly diagnosed?

◊ Understanding your child’s Thyroid Test Results– TSH, FT3 & FT4. Thyroid antibodies tests.

◊ 10 reasons to avoid RAI treatment and thyroidectomy for your child. He/ she will be thankful to you one day.

◊ AntiThyroid Drugs (ADT). Advantages & Disadvantages. Beta- Blockers. Prescription and side effects.

◊ Emotional Factors, Psychological Background and Psychoanalytical Explanation of Graves’ Disease/ Hyperthyroidism.

◊ 25 Psychological characteristics of children who are most likely to develop Graves’ Disease and how this can be helped.

◊ Five (5) reasons why your child exactly may develop Graves’ Disease.

◊ Neurology, Stress and Graves’ Disease.

◊ Alternative and supplemental treatments for Graves’ Disease and Hyperthyroidism

◊ 12 Reasons to Use Energy Medicine. REIKI and Graves’ Disease.

◊ Guided Imagery for Hyperthyroidism. Color Therapy (Chromotherapy).

◊ Acupressure for Graves’ Disease. Physical Exercising for Children with Graves’ Disease.

◊ Aromatherapy for Graves’ Disease. 10 Calming Aromatherapy Scents.

◊ How to treat the cause of the disease so it doesn’t come back again. See, treating the cause is as important as treating the symptoms of Graves’ disease/ hyperthyroidism. If one of them is overlooked, then the disease will come back again.

Diet, Vitamins and Supplements. Herbs. Holistic treatment for Graves’ Disease in children.

◊ 10 herbs that can help Graves’ disease symptoms- learn a completely NATURAL way to treat the symptoms. My favorite that I personally recommend is Valerian Roots & Lemon Balm.

◊ 10 supplements & vitamins you can use to help the healing process. Some of them are really important for the recovery and you should use all available methods to achieve better health (avoid multi-vitamins as they may contain iodine).

◊ 12 dangerous foods and substances that should be avoided if your child has Hyperthyroidism…(one of them is aspartame).

◊ 15 healing foods and ingredients, and their variations, proven to help Graves’ Disease and hyperthyroidism (broccoli, cauliflower and other leafy vegetables).

◊ 31 Goitrogenic foods for Hyperthyroidism and Graves’ Disease (Goitrogens, for example, are foods that naturally inhibit the uptake of iodine and work much like certain anti-thyroid drugs (like Methimazole, Propylthiouracil, Carbimazole), inhibiting thyroid hormone synthesis, release or action.

◊ 9 Goitrogenic Herbs and recipes for herbal teas. 20 General Secrets of Holistic Healing.

◊ Thyroid eye disease- Home Remedies and exercises for improving the eyes, in case they are affected. (Flax seed oil is my favorite, perfectly safe).

And a lot more- I just don’t have the space here to list everything included in this 150 pages book.

I also share 5 cases of other people, who were able to change how they feel, and cure their hyperthyroidism just by avoiding certain foods, ingredients and substances (especially when it comes to Aspartame). Is that possible? You’ll see that this is possible, by all means. I know that from personal experience.

I experimented and tried so many things, foods, recipes, herbs and I continue to do this, even today. My life became a small laboratory for Alternative Therapies and experiments in life style and I am opening this laboratory for you today. And I do believe that what I know can help your child as well.

I consider the things I write about as safe for your child  and easy to implement. They don’t cost much, and are affordable for any family. No fancy stuff.

However, I have to say that, if you are in any doubt at any point in the book, consult your endocrinologist first, or a herbalist or any other health care provider you find necessary. With kids we have to stay on the safe side- always. 

“Graves’ Disease and Hyperthyroidism Manual for Kids, Teenagers, Adolescents and their parents” Ebook: now, for a limited time only $24.95.

You’ll also get the following bonuses to help you cope with Graves’ Disease and Hyperthyroidism absolutely FREE:

BONUS #1 (Value $29.95- Yours Free)

 Graves’ Disease & Hyperthyroidism Color Therapy Ebook will show you:

BONUS #2

Low- Iodine Cookbook- created and delivered by the courtesy of Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association

This ebook contains 90 pages of recommendations and recipes especially tailored for people who are about to have RAI treatment for goiter. But still- very useful to see what foods to eat and avoid.

Useful ingredients, allowed and not allowed foods, tasty recipes from people who survived the battle with Thyroid Cancer. 

BONUS #3 (Value $29.95- Yours Free)

 Graves’ Disease & Hyperthyroidism Rainbow Diet

This is another  ebook about foods organized and grouped by color. How they affect our body and when we should consume them to improve our health. It’s an alternative Diet Book, that you can use in combination with “Ultimate Diet Secrets for Hyperthyroidism and Graves’ Disease”

◊Red foods that work in a red way–red vegetables, red fruits, red minerals and red vitamins–one of them surprisingly is chocolate.

◊Orange foods and foods that work in an orange way–we are attracted to orange foods when our bodies need to release significant amounts of stress and toxicity.

◊Yellow Foods and foods that work in a yellow way. Problems with learning, concentration and memory indicate a lack of yellow energy in the body.

◊Green foods– they calm our emotions by providing the nutrients that body uses to balance all the energies.

◊Blue and violet foods can help your Graves’ Disease. Learn what you need to eat, when you have thyroid problems.

BONUS #4 (Value $19.95- Yours Free)

Vinegar For Your Health Ebook

◊ Recipes with Vinegar for different diseases

◊ Cancer, Eczema, Headache and Hair Loss, Depression, Eyes- tired and sore and 30 more Ailments

◊ How to make your own Vinegar

◊ Effects of Cider Vinegar on the blood

BONUS #5 (Value $19.95- Yours Free)

Vitamin World- Everything About Vitamins Ebook

Are Vitamins and Minerals important if you have Graves’ Disease or Hyperthyroidism- I know that they are!

◊ Everything about Vitamin C, K and A

◊ How to store Vitamins

◊ Vitamin B and Vitamin B6- why it is important for Graves’ Disease or Hyperthyroidism

◊ Where to buy Vitamins ◊ How to use Vitamins and Supplements Safe

BONUS #6 (Value $29.95- Yours Free)

Top 10 Superfoods and Herbal Cures Ebook

◊ Healing Foods and Herbs for different health conditions

◊ Healing Foods for Anxiety and Depression

◊ Healing Foods for Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s Disease

◊ For Lupus, Candida and Psoriasis and many other diseases

◊ Blueberries, Broccoli, Garlic and Apples- all these can heal if you know how

And so much more!

TOTAL BONUSES VALUE- $ 234.30

All these bonuses and any of my books, if not all, will provide a total MAKEOVER of your and your child’s present Life, so their Graves’ Disease & Hyperthyroidism will improve easy and quickly!

All of these books, with your guidance of course, will help your child to achieve a NEW HEALTHY LIFE STYLE. You’ll have thousands tools in hand that you can try and implement in your own life- TODAY! 

100% GUARANTEE for 365 days

Yes, you have 365 days, or 1 whole year to try everything I write about, or part of it. I know that Graves’ Disease or hyperthyroidism will not go away for 24 hours- I know that.

Of course, you still have my 100% GUARANTEE– if these tools I am giving you now don’t work, or you feel they are not applicable for your child to whatever reason you get your money back. No questions asked, as always!

Still wondering and not sure? (Have in mind that this comes only as an ebook for now. I am working on the paper version)

“Graves’ Disease and Hyperthyroidism Manual for Kids, Teenagers, Adolescents and their parents” Ebook + Bonuses above totaling $234.30

Only $24.95

P.S. Take care of your child’s Health and life today, before it’s too late. Hurry up, because with my over 15 000 subscribers this offer will be available for only for the first 100 people.

Enjoy your books and bonuses, if you have questions, you can always send me an email to mythyroid@gravesdiseasecure.com