Thyroid Hormone In Babies Controls Pancreas Development And Diabetes Risk

haidut

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It has been know for years that maternal or fetal hypothyroidism increases the risk of dementia later in life. This new study makes the connection between thyroid hormone levels and subsequent risk of diabetes. While this is the first study of its kind it points strongly at fetal/child hypothyroidism as a cause of both type I and type II diabetes in adults, as well as other pancreatic disorders like pancreatitis or even pancreatic cancer.

Low thyroid hormone before birth alters growth and development of fetal pancreas | Physiological Society

"...Figuring out the full picture of how thyroid hormone influences the fetal pancreas will help ensure the health of babies with congenital thyroid hormone disorders and those born to mothers with thyroid hormone disorders. Commenting on the study, first author, Dr Shelley Harris, said: ‘The study highlights a novel role for thyroid hormones in regulating pancreatic development and opens up new questions to be explored’. Senior author Dr Alison J. Forhead added: ‘In individuals with low thyroid hormone before birth, abnormalities in beta-cell development may lead to increased risk of pancreatic disorders and type 2 diabetes in later life’.
 

Beastmode

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It has been know for years that maternal or fetal hypothyroidism increases the risk of dementia later in life. This new study makes the connection between thyroid hormone levels and subsequent risk of diabetes. While this is the first study of its kind it points strongly at fetal/child hypothyroidism as a cause of both type I and type II diabetes in adults, as well as other pancreatic disorders like pancreatitis or even pancreatic cancer.

Low thyroid hormone before birth alters growth and development of fetal pancreas | Physiological Society

"...Figuring out the full picture of how thyroid hormone influences the fetal pancreas will help ensure the health of babies with congenital thyroid hormone disorders and those born to mothers with thyroid hormone disorders. Commenting on the study, first author, Dr Shelley Harris, said: ‘The study highlights a novel role for thyroid hormones in regulating pancreatic development and opens up new questions to be explored’. Senior author Dr Alison J. Forhead added: ‘In individuals with low thyroid hormone before birth, abnormalities in beta-cell development may lead to increased risk of pancreatic disorders and type 2 diabetes in later life’.

We're requesting from our doctor to test our 10+ month old baby's thyroid as she's already showing signs of being hypothyroid. Both Mommy and Daddy (myself) are hypo and only started T3 the past year.

Are you familiar with treatments for this at such a young age that are aligned with the theme of healthcare that most share here on this forum?

We want to be as prepared as possible for the appointment as the suggestions so for other stuff is very "mainstream" healthcare.

Thank you
 
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We're requesting from our doctor to test our 10+ month old baby's thyroid as she's already showing signs of being hypothyroid. Both Mommy and Daddy (myself) are hypo and only started T3 the past year.

Are you familiar with treatments for this at such a young age that are aligned with the theme of healthcare that most share here on this forum?

We want to be as prepared as possible for the appointment as the suggestions so for other stuff is very "mainstream" healthcare.

Thank you

Red light and chill
 
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She goes to sleep every night with a red light on.

Not sure if you're being funny about the "chill" part, however I'll pass it on to my baby.

Maternal stroking and cuddling reeuces stress response in babies leading to higher glycogen storage yadda yadda yadda.

Love is pro thyroid and pro metabolism
 

Beastmode

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Maternal stroking and cuddling reeuces stress response in babies leading to higher glycogen storage yadda yadda yadda.

Love is pro thyroid and pro metabolism

There's definitely plenty of that. Our baby is with mommy and daddy all day.
 
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haidut

haidut

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We're requesting from our doctor to test our 10+ month old baby's thyroid as she's already showing signs of being hypothyroid. Both Mommy and Daddy (myself) are hypo and only started T3 the past year.

Are you familiar with treatments for this at such a young age that are aligned with the theme of healthcare that most share here on this forum?

We want to be as prepared as possible for the appointment as the suggestions so for other stuff is very "mainstream" healthcare.

Thank you

The treatment would be either T3 or T4, depending on how high the TSH comes back. Some countries prefer T3 for babies since they are considered a higher risk population and doctors do not want to take any chances with T4 not being strong enough. Hypothyroidism in babies can lead to lifelong issues, and is usually treated aggressively. If the doctor recommends T4 only, I would point out what I just said above and that there is significant evidence T4-only therapy is much riskier in babies than adults. If he/she balks then I would ask for at least a T4/T3 combo, which should be easier for the doctor to agree to. But let's see what the blood tests show first.
I would NOT agree to the genetic tests, which they often push as standard for checking for hypo. Your baby's DNA will likely be stored and sold to all kinds of companies for profiling that would make the Gattaca actors blush. I would ask for simple blood test for TSH, T4, T3, rT3 and antibodies, as well as anything else the doctor deems relevant to check.
https://raypeatforum.com/community/...our-dna-all-promise-of-privacy-is-bunk.20443/
https://raypeatforum.com/community/...nia-is-collected-and-sold-to-companies.23852/
 

Beastmode

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The treatment would be either T3 or T4, depending on how high the TSH comes back. Some countries prefer T3 for babies since they are considered a higher risk population and doctors do not want to take any chances with T4 not being strong enough. Hypothyroidism in babies can lead to lifelong issues, and is usually treated aggressively. If the doctor recommends T4 only, I would point out what I just said above and that there is significant evidence T4-only therapy is much riskier in babies than adults. If he/she balks then I would ask for at least a T4/T3 combo, which should be easier for the doctor to agree to. But let's see what the blood tests show first.
I would NOT agree to the genetic tests, which they often push as standard for checking for hypo. Your baby's DNA will likely be stored and sold to all kinds of companies for profiling that would make the Gattaca actors blush. I would ask for simple blood test for TSH, T4, T3, rT3 and antibodies, as well as anything else the doctor deems relevant to check.
https://raypeatforum.com/community/...our-dna-all-promise-of-privacy-is-bunk.20443/
https://raypeatforum.com/community/...nia-is-collected-and-sold-to-companies.23852/

Thank you!

Beyond the blood work will have done next week, she shows plenty of signs already (i.e- low body temp-rectal, slow gut, slower growth, sleeping patterns, yellowish skin on her scalp.) I'm basing this off what I've learned to notice in myself as I imagine it would be the same for any age.

We've avoided the pediatrician as much as possible as the typical recommendations (i.e- eat avocado for growth) has us wanting to pull our skin off. Ray Peat suggested getting her billirubin as well, but the extra sunlight lately seems to have helped remove the yellowish tint almost completely.

Very thankful for this forum. Will update the results when received.
 

Beastmode

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I requested a full thyroid panel and these are the results ( I was led to believe it had everything else i.e- RT3, antibodies):

T4 ug/dL (TOTAL): 10.5
TSH: 2.620
T3 ng/mL (TOTAL): 1.42

According to the pediatrician, her #'s are good so to not worry about it being a thyroid issue. I imagine a pediatric endocrinologist would say her thyroid is fine as well based on these #'s. We asked her to do the achilles tendon reflex test and went over her signs of being hypo, the Dr kept saying "Let's get her iron levels up with the drops as that's what's most important right now!"

Any ideas?
 
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haidut

haidut

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I requested a full thyroid panel and these are the results ( I was led to believe it had everything else i.e- RT3, antibodies):

T4 ug/dL (TOTAL): 10.5
TSH: 2.620
T3 ng/mL (TOTAL): 1.42

According to the pediatrician, her #'s are good so to not worry about it being a thyroid issue. I imagine a pediatric endocrinologist would say her thyroid is fine as well based on these #'s. We asked her to do the achilles tendon reflex test and went over her signs of being hypo, the Dr kept saying "Let's get her iron levels up with the drops as that's what's most important right now!"

Any ideas?

What does she mean by "iron numbers"? Did she do a full test for ferritin, transferrin, iron saturation and serum iron, or just the latter? If it is just the latter, I don't thin this is enough to recommend iron supplement. A person can have low serum iron and still be with normal or even high iron saturation.
 

Beastmode

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What does she mean by "iron numbers"? Did she do a full test for ferritin, transferrin, iron saturation and serum iron, or just the latter? If it is just the latter, I don't thin this is enough to recommend iron supplement. A person can have low serum iron and still be with normal or even high iron saturation.

They only tested the latter. I asked about the others and I received the response "This indicates she needs more iron!"

In addition, we just paid $780 out of pocket for a thyroid panel that's useless as they didn't test for rT3 (I asked for this as well.)

Speechless...
 
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haidut

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They only tested the latter. I asked about the others and I received the response "This indicates she needs more iron!"

In addition, we just paid $780 out of pocket for a thyroid panel that's useless as they didn't test for rT3 (I asked for this as well.)

Speechless...

OK, the first statement about serum iron suggesting she needs more iron is flat wrong. I don't want to start trouble with your doctor here but you have the right to demand the tests that you want especially considering it could have been done with the same amount of blood that was tested for serum iron.
If you want, you could do it yourself - order the ferritin, transferrin and irons saturation tests from the websites that offer direct testing. @Dan Wich has put a website together that compares lab providers based on cost, so you can find the cheapest provider. It should not cost more than $120 for those 3 tests.
Feelin' better through biomarkers - SelfTestable
 

Dan W

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@Dan Wich has put a website together that compares lab providers based on cost, so you can find the cheapest provider.
I should probably put a note on the pages that most of the providers only allow patients over the age of 18. But Life Extension will do any age if you sign a permission form, and their iron panel is reasonably priced ($48):
Iron Panel | Blood Test | Life Extension

Ulta Lab Tests might be even cheaper, but I don't know whether they allow babies.

They all use LabCorp or Quest phlebotomy offices, which mostly serve adults. So just a warning that they might not have as much experience doing blood draws on babies...
 
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Beastmode

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OK, the first statement about serum iron suggesting she needs more iron is flat wrong. I don't want to start trouble with your doctor here but you have the right to demand the tests that you want especially considering it could have been done with the same amount of blood that was tested for serum iron.
If you want, you could do it yourself - order the ferritin, transferrin and irons saturation tests from the websites that offer direct testing. @Dan Wich has put a website together that compares lab providers based on cost, so you can find the cheapest provider. It should not cost more than $120 for those 3 tests.
Feelin' better through biomarkers - SelfTestable

Thank you! I meant to attach the results from the CBC tests from last week.
 

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haidut

haidut

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Thank you! I meant to attach the results from the CBC tests from last week.

Thanks. I see her point now. Since hemoglobin and hematocrit are low it is suggestive of low iron status. But just to make sure I would still do the ferritin, transferrin and iron saturation index if possible. In the future, those 3 tests should always be done as part of a CBC test as the hemoglobin/hematocrit values are only indirect biomarkers of iron status while the 3 I mentioned are considered the definitive way to prove or rule out iron deficiency/overload. Some people can have low hemoglobin and hematocrit due to bleeding issues but their iron values may still be normal and not need iron supplementation.
 

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Thanks. I see her point now. Since hemoglobin and hematocrit are low it is suggestive of low iron status. But just to make sure I would still do the ferritin, transferrin and iron saturation index if possible. In the future, those 3 tests should always be done as part of a CBC test as the hemoglobin/hematocrit values are only indirect biomarkers of iron status while the 3 I mentioned are considered the definitive way to prove or rule out iron deficiency/overload. Some people can have low hemoglobin and hematocrit due to bleeding issues but their iron values may still be normal and not need iron supplementation.

Thank you! We'll get the full panel done so it's more accurate this time. Since we started the test we've integrated liver and egg yolk in her diet. She was only drinking milk (breast and goat) up until this point. Apparently they're safe sources of iron (which isn't the only reason we chose those foods,) but can facilitate her "potentially" low iron levels in proper direction.

We're still pissed about the thyroid panel because we could've gotten some useful info and possibly got her the thyroid medication if needed. My gut tells me she's on the hypo side and observing her daily. What the doctor says it's normal to have "craddle cap" (for example, I said "maybe it's common, but that's not the normal we live by in my household." We're hoping the liver (vitamin a) may help sort that out as well.

I've personally stayed away from doctors my entire adult life (20+) years for a reason. I wish there was a way around it for my little one.
 
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Maverick

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What about acinar cells of pancreas, the cells that produce digestive enzymes, are they affected? Is there any study you've come across?
 

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