Thyroids and AS?

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Im due to go back to the GP on Thursday coming for results of a blood test to see why my mood has hit a consistent alltime low.

A suggestion has been made that it could be thyroids.

Over the last while, I have had a weight gain, been depressed, dodgy sleeping pattern, etc.

What do others think?

I was very depleted in natural thyroid stimulation and was untreated until I was in my late 40s. I had ballooned up to 345 pounds and was pasty white and could never sleep well, but was tired all the time. While at a clinic for another issue a Rheumatologist saw me in the hall and spot diagnosed me with rampant hypothyroidism and would not let me leave until she had treated me and sent me home with thyroid medication. I was like a changed woman, dropped about a hundred pounds the first year and never felt better in my life.

So yeah, it most probably might be undetected hypothyroidism. It's good you are getting it checked.

I don't think the risk for hypothyroidism is any different for aspies. But as sinsboldly says, it can result in weight gain, hair loss, and depression - BUT its not the only thing that can cause those things. Any kind of depression generally leads to weight gain. Depression *IS* a common thread with aspies. Personally, I use caffeine to control mine. Other people exercise or use SSRI's like paxil, etc.

I have been researching online about hypothyroidism, and I found many articles that say there is a link between women who are hypothyroid, and their children being on the autism spectrum. I found this to be quite interesting.

I can think of one instance where that is true. A friend of mine has AS and she has two children on the spectrum. She also has a thyroid problem that is pretty severe.

My mother had a severe thyroid problem, having had a bad goiter (lack of iodine in the diet of several generations living in the geographical center of The States). I was found to have also a severe thryroid problem. There is no doubt I am autistic.

hummm. . this is interesting.

I think that the thyroid risk is higher for aspies because AS causes anxiety and Thyroid is also caused by stress,
There you go! the equation works.

which, hypo or hyper?

Not sure if there's any correlation between the two, but your symptoms are common ones for people with hypothyroidism.

If your doctor diagnoses you with that (using a blood test called a Thyroid Panel/TSH Test), he'll probably prescribe some daily medication for you to take (starting with a low dose, then building up to the full dose you actually need which will be determined by periodic blood tests).

Being diagnosed with hypothyroidism and finding the right medication was such a relief for me; lifting the depression and energy levels, etc. and letting me feel more like myself again.

If you are diagnosed with a thyroid problem, you'll probably want to go to Mary Shomon's About.Com Thyroid site for more info and forums at http://thyroid.about.com/ . She also has an excellent book on the topic, Living Well With Hypothyroidism that is available at most public libraries.




The most commonly prescribed drugs for the condition are usually very affordable, whether you have health coverage or not. (I pay $12 for a 3 month supply.)

A lot of doctors use the TSH test, but that test is notoriously inaccurate. TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) is released by the pituitary gland in our brains to cause the thyroid gland in our necks to produce more thyroid. If everything is textbook perfect, the TSH goes up when your actual thyroid level goes down (to cause the thyroid gland to make more thyroid) and then down when there is too much thyroid in your blood.

So if your body is functioning perfectly, then a high TSH means that you have low thyroid. Doctors use it because its a cheap indicator of the actual thyroid levels. But not everyone has a perfectly functioning body.

So anyhow, to make a long story short, you need to have your doctor measure T3 and T4 in your blood directly. T3 and T4 are the actual thyroid levels. Its quite common to have a normal TSH and low actual thyroid.

Yes, please do not rely on the TSH test. T3/T4 are the gold standard for diagnosing hypothyroidism. A friend who developed hypothyroidism resulting from Hashimoto's while in medical school learned everything about this, and for some reason told it all to me.

Separate note: Another possible explanation for hypothyroidism among Aspies is diet. Many Aspies eat very unusual diets, ones that may be deficient in iodine. Though salt is iodized, you still have to eat things with salt on/in them to get iodine this way. Or you have to eat a lot of fish/seafood/kelp. Similarly, an Aspie who eats a great deal of such things could end up with too much iodine, which would likely lead to hyperthyroidism.

The point about depression and its similar presentation to hypothyroidism is good, too. However, some people tend to eat less and sleep more when depressed. Besides, one quick blood test will rule in/out thyroid issues. Any good psychiatrist should order that test when evaluating a person for depression (so say my psychiatrists, at least).

We're actually in full agreement here. A Thyroid Panel (which I mentioned above) tests the TSH as well as the T4 and T3 levels. Sorry if I wasn't more clear in the way I worded my reply.

One caveat about iodized salt is that although we tend to eat a ton of salt in our diet, the majority of it contains no iodine at all. That's because while table salt is typically iodized, the salt in processed food is not.

This is useful and important information. My husband has been on a downward spiral with what appeared to be AS symptoms. I have told 4 doctors over 17 years that he had been diagnosed as a child with a thyroid problem as had is identical twin. The twin exhibits only mild AS and has been on sythroid continuously. I think they must have done only one test on my husband and missed the problem all along, all the while his cognitive abilities were at the point where one neurologist even thought he had dementia. At the suggestion of his AS therapist, I asked his neurologist to test his thyroid using whatever blood tests the other docs might not have been using. We got the results back this week and found he had low thyroid along with other low blood counts (low platelets and low white blood cells), the latter of which two internists ignored when they previously found them. We're looking forward to synthroid.

I never had any hyper/hypo thyroid issues, but I did get thyroid cancer and had to have the whole thing removed. Now without meds I would be completely hypothyroid! I initially had one of my other doctors test my thyroid levels but he didn't do the right test apparently. I really recommend seeing an endocrinologist if you have serious thyroid questions or concerns. They are the experts on that stuff.

There is a good chance the OP's issues are related.

BTW I had my metabolism checked at 19 and the Doctor told me it was the slowest he'd ever seen and that if it got worse I'd have to take thyroid meds. Perhaps this is why I did not grow beyond 5'7"???

I take iodized salt every day BTW.