Autism and Thyroid Issues

[Sportster]

Over the past few months I have not been feeling quite well, so I did like many folks and Googled the symptoms. Much to my surprise, everything is pointing toward an underactive thyroid, or hypothyroidism. Out of the sixteen possible symptoms listed, I have ten. It could be eleven since it lists thinning hair, but I no longer have hair to thin. However, that could be a symptom since my hair started to thin very early in life and hypothyroidism can take years to develop.

Difficulty swallowing is another thing I have been noticing. I feel as though I have something caught in my throat all the time and I'm constantly clearing it. It's rather irritating to say the least. The thing that gets me is how slowly the symptoms came on until recently when everything seemed to converge into one big symptom prompting me to research.

Here's a link to an interesting article about an autism/thyroid connection:

Hypothyroidism and Autism: The Story of Micah Boy Genius | Hypothyroid Mom

 

[Gritches]

I don't exactly know because I don't speak Doctor, but I do know I have an underactive thyroid and I take "nascent iodine" for it. 6 droplets in my morning 5-Hour Energy, and I feel a lot better.

 

[Butterfly88]

I have what my doctor calls an atypical case of hypothyroidism. Without medication my T3 and T4 are low but oddly my TSH is normal. I don't know if it's related to ASD or not. I had a pituitary adenoma at one point so we thought it was related to that. I've heard people with Down Syndrome often have thyroid issues, maybe people with ASD do too. My dad's mother had thyroid issues but the rest of my family is fine. I take brand name Tirosint for my thyroid issues, generic medication caused me to get angry.

 

[kay]

Hypothyroidism, I've taken generic Synthroid for 7 years. My mom never had any thyroid issues. Don't know about my dad, he had bigger concerns. I do have a cousin who may be on the Spectrum who has hypothyroidism.

 

[Sabrina]

I take Eutirox everyday (for hypothyroidism)

 

[clg114]

Over the past few months I have not been feeling quite well, so I did like many folks and Googled the symptoms. Much to my surprise, everything is pointing toward an underactive thyroid, or hypothyroidism. Out of the sixteen possible symptoms listed, I have ten. It could be eleven since it lists thinning hair, but I no longer have hair to thin. However, that could be a symptom since my hair started to thin very early in life and hypothyroidism can take years to develop.

Since I may have hypothyroidism, I started to wonder about any ASD connection. I was surprised to find several articles showing a possible link. One interesting article touched on the mother having it and a possible association to the baby developing an ASD. My mother had thyroid issues prior to her passing, so now it is making me wonder.

Vol 7 Issue 1 p.3 | American Thyroid Association

So, what are your thoughts? Do you have thyroid problems or perhaps your mother? Have you ever heard of such studies or a possible connection? I never realized what all the thyroid does, so it does seem to make sense.

Let the comments begin.

I have never made a connection between autism and thyroid problems before, but I probably should have. My youngest son, a Aspie, has had thyroid problems since childhood. We first noticed it when he was ten. His throat was swollen. We took him to his pediatrician and he referred us to a endocrinologist. This doctor diagnosed him with hypothyroidism and gave him meds to balance his thyroid levels. He had to go in once a month to get checked and they always changed his dosage. They thought he might grow out of it, so this went on for six years. When he was sixteen, they decided that he probably wasn't going to grow out of it. So they killed his thyroid with a radioactive pill. Now he takes levothyroxin once a day and see's the thyroid doctor once a year.

 

[pjcnet]

I have hypothyroidism (an under active thyroid) which was left non diagnosed for a good while along with sleep apnea which also causes fatigue and tiredness. Instead I was told my extreme fatigue was just depression and then I was then given unnecessary and extremely harmful antidepressants instead that basically finished me off, they were extremely detrimental to my life and in my opinion dangerous, in fact there's been many law suits in the USA. The real reason I had no energy, couldn't concentrate and was falling asleep every time I even sat down for more than a minute, despite sleeping for up to 12 hours a night wasn't discovered until after I lost my fight to keep my job due to health reasons since they stated that there was no sign that I would recover within a reasonable time.

Hypothyroidism is a lot rarer in men than women, but in my case it's likely to be genetic since my Mum and Aunt (my Mum's sister) has the same condition. My autism could also be genetic however since both my brother are also autistic, although they're on the lower functioning end of the spectrum and I also suspect this was caused due to lack of oxygen since my Mum has asthma and suffered throughout every pregnancy and all 3 of us needed oxygen at birth, in fact my brother Daniel who is the least able of all actually stopped breathing completely and had to be resuscitated. It's strange that the condition has been linked to autism, however my brothers and I was born many years before my mother had any symptoms of thyroid issues.

As many people probably know hypothyroidism is usually treated by taking Levothyroxine** tablets that simply replace the hormone that the thyroid isn't naturally releasing, you take them for the rest of your life. Every 6 months or sometimes sooner if particularly unstable, I have to have a blood test to determine if my dose is still correct as most people suffering from this condition have a partially working thyroid that tends to slowly get worse over time. I started on a 100mg Levothyroxine tablet once a day and this has gradually increased to 200mg over the last 15 years, my Mum has however been stable on just 100mg for the last 20+ years since she was diagnosed. I still don't think the synthetic hormone replacement works as well as if your thyroid was working properly however because after my diagnosis I started uncontrollably putting on weight which I discovered is quite common with this condition and I have never got my full energy back. I was always a reasonable weight without any issues until 15 years ago when all this started. I don't even drink alcohol, I'm vegetarian and I don't eat as much as I used to and if anything I eat less than most people, so I know the condition has caused me to become very overweight which is complicating other health issues including sleep apnea, it doesn't seem to matter what I do now, my weight remains an issue.

PS: I also have lymphedema in both legs that causes symptoms very similar to pitting oedema (fluid build up / swelling) requiring constant compression to prevent serious wounds caused by my skin splitting (it's a chronic condition), I have breathing issues (suspected COPD, having further tests) and I am now even having joint issues including an issue with my knee which is causing pain. I basically feel like my body is a complete wreck that is falling to bits at only 48 years old.

**PPS: Other brand names for Levothyroxine include Thyrax, Euthyrox, Levaxin, L-thyroxine, Eltroxin (Europe), Thyrox (South Asia), Eutirox, Levoxyl, Synthroid (North America) and there maybe even more, but they're basically the same thing, a synthetic hormone that replaces what the thyroid gland isn't naturally producing.


Edit:
This article also talks about how the treatment can cause weight gain as it definitely has for myself:

How Levothyroxine can actually SLOW Down Metabolism and What to do About it

I have found this today and now I'm going to see my doctor as there is an alternative "T3" medication. The thing is I've repeatedly told my doctor the thyroid treatment is making me put on weight for years and have been ignored, I will not be ignored now, in fact I'm getting quite angry thinking about how they could have unnecessarily left me on the wrong treatment for 15 years and that's after ruining my life by saying it was depression and wrongfully putting me on dangerous antidepressants before they eventually diagnosed me correctly. If that's the case I'm tempted to look at possible legal action.

 

[Siobhan]

I was tested for it but didn't have it.

 

[Rayner]

My mother, and little sister both NT's have chronic problems with their hormones being unbalanced. In my sister's case, they put her on Synthroid and it seemed to help. I'm not sure what they did about my mother, unbalanced hormones were just one of her problems.

 

[Jimbo]

I have had hypothyroidism since age 5 or earlier. My thyroid has always been huge and it's been hard to swallow for many years. I take levothyroxine every day.

 

[As sweet as-pie]

I recently got diagnosed with hashimotos hypothyroidism which my mum, both my aunts and my grandma have. It's hereditary in my case but I definitely know that trauma and stress can trigger it, which is a lot higher in us auties.

 

[Rayner]

I believe that is what they ultimately diagnosed my little sister as having. It took her serval months to get it diagnosed.

I recently got diagnosed with hashimotos hypothyroidism which my mum, both my aunts and my grandma have. It's hereditary in my case but I definitely know that trauma and stress can trigger it, which is a lot higher in us auties.

 

[Gritches]

Just curious, but did you have any blood work done or did you notice symptoms and figured you had thyroid problems? I'd much rather do like you're doing without seeing a doctor and "trusting" their judgement. If I can take nascent iodine and jump-start my thyroid, that would be much better.

Bloodwork, but no doctor told me to start taking iodine. The doctor was like "oh, you have an underactive thyroid, you must feel like crap. Now go away." As a side note, I find it much easier to trust the results of bloodwork than trust a doctor.

I found out about iodine later. Starting using it, started feeling better than I have in years.

 

[LucyPurrs]

Bloodwork, but no doctor told me to start taking iodine. The doctor was like "oh, you have an underactive thyroid, you must feel like crap. Now go away." As a side note, I find it much easier to trust the results of bloodwork than trust a doctor.

I found out about iodine later. Starting using it, started feeling better than I have in years.

Well, that's a ridiculous response by the doctor. He could have put you on thyroid and repeated bloodwork to make sure it was the right dose. I take it and have to use iodized salt as well. No doctor has ever told me to take iodine directly and I've had thyroid issues since 1969 and seen many docs for it. Hope you get a better doctor.

 

[LucyPurrs]

I think that hypothyroidism can be diagnosed with the T3 T4 and FSH tests that Butterfly mentioned. That could be done as part of routine bloodwork as it has been for me. Shouldn't take months or a genius to figure it out. In my case I also had a tumor (adenoma) on my thyroid- they took out half and in those days the treatment was to shut it down so I couldn't get thyroid cancer later in life. So have been on thyroid or Synthroid all my adult life with no issues.

 

[Fitzo]

Difficulty swallowing is another thing I have been noticing. I feel as though I have something caught in my throat all the time and I'm constantly clearing it. It's rather irritating to say the least. The thing that gets me is how slowly the symptoms came on until recently when everything seemed to converge into one big symptom prompting me to research.

I went to the doctor yesterday for persistent throat problems. I am having a number of tests including thyroid function, but the doctor seems to think many of my recent symptoms may be related to having a very stiff neck. Like you I am generally healthy but have been feeling 'off' recently. I have had unexplained chest pain, elevated cholesterol, this persistent throat issue, lower energy, possible thyroid issues and sometimes muddle headedness. The doc seems to think these may all be related to my neck and spine! I was amazed!
Anyway, I am having various tests and also going to see an osteopath. As an aside, my mother has thyroid problems too. I'll let you know if anything interesting turns up.

 

[Streetwise]

The elevated cholesterol could explain muddleheadedness autists appear to have a gene mutation for lipidaemia that is high cholesterol ,it would also explain low energy lack of oxygen from the heart would mean low energy lack of oxygen to the brain and oh joy more health problems

 

[2205]

I have hyperthyroidism. So my thyroid gland produces too much T3 and T4 and that makes my body go at high speed, making me anxious, restless and to unwillingly lose weight.
I know I have certain antibodies that trigger the overproduction of thyroid hormones. But where and why those antibodies came I have no idea. Only small hypothesis is that since my thyroid issue started just after I got vaccinated against tetanus and were on antibiotics for a week due to injury. These are the only possible connections I see that could mess with immune system and create antibodies.

But on hypothyroidism and autism I think there might be some connection. I know that people with eating disorders (anorexia) often develop hypothyroidism due to malnutrition and energy deprived body. Now, taking into account that people with autism often have restrictive eating habits and might therefore be undernourished, then it might be the case for hypothyroidism in autistic people. Their thyroid is just trying to balance body energy expenditure and energy intake, therefore slowing it down. But that has no scientific backup, just my thoughts based on what I've read in general about thyroid, eating habits and autism.