Sign Up Today!

pamelahaze · 03-03-2007, 04:59 PM

The doctor is telling my Mom it appears that her thyroid is supressing her pituitary gland completely. Can anyone tell me much about this problem? I type in this problem in my search engine and all I see are the functions of the glands and pituitary tumor also pops up. Help?

K9Mom · 03-03-2007, 08:22 PM

Not much to go on here...you did not say if your Mom is hyperthyroid or hypothyroid or what her diagnosis is....so I'm just giving you my best shot based on limited information given, okay?

The only thing I can think of...what he possibly meant by "thyroid suppressing the pituitary" is this:

When things work properly the pituitary gland signals the thyroid to either "make more" thyroid hormone or "make less" thyroid hormone via the hormone called TSH. When we are hyperthyroid due to Graves disease we have an antibody called "TSI" which overrides the TSH signaling and tells the thyroid to make more thyroid hormone regardless of what the pituitary is saying. This is what makes us hyperthyroid.

pamelahaze · 03-03-2007, 08:27 PM

Well, she's been taking a low low dose of synthroid for an underactive thyroid for years with no problems. All of a sudden her levels shot sky high making her seem like she's way overactive. A second test showed the same. He's sending her to an Endocrine specialist but the appt is not for 1 month. 1 month is a long time if her pituitary is not working 'at all' am I right?

Pamela

Quote:

Originally Posted by K9Mom

Not much to go on here...you did not say if your Mom is hyperthyroid or hypothyroid or what her diagnosis is....so I'm just giving you my best shot based on limited information given, okay?

The only thing I can think of...what he possibly meant by "thyroid suppressing the pituitary" is this:

When things work properly the pituitary gland signals the thyroid to either "make more" thyroid hormone or "make less" thyroid hormone via the hormone called TSH. When we are hyperthyroid due to Graves disease we have an antibody called "TSI" which overrides the TSH signaling and tells the thyroid to make more thyroid hormone regardless of what the pituitary is saying. This is what makes us hyperthyroid.

K9Mom · 03-04-2007, 02:30 PM

If there was any danger to your Mom then her doctor can call the specialist and get her in earlier. Did they stop the Synthroid since her lab results came back showing her hyper?

I just thought of some other possibilities....
Has your Mom taken any supplement that has iodine in it recently? (thyroid hormone is made from iodine atoms) Has she had any medical test done with contrast dye that contains iodine? Seaweed/kelp is very high in iodine and could mess up a thyroid too.

Sign Up Today!

Join Our Newsletter

Whoops,

Thank You