Eleven-month-old Colombian baby is the weight of an eight-year-old
Although the Colombian doctors of this 11-month-old baby are exploring hypothyroidism, those of us in the Cushing's community believe it is much, much more. We would not be surprised at a pituitary tumor secreting both ACTH and growth hormone. Or a receptor defect. Or congenital hypothyroidism. Or all three. Hashimoto's, as discussed in the article, is very rare for an infant, but congenital hypothyroidism is not as rare. According to endodoc, "Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is a very important pediatric endocrinology diagnosis" and one should be careful to not miss the zebra in the horses.
(My random thoughts: Since he wears only a diaper, and I know first-hand that hypothyroidism causes one to freeze, especially in the extremities, I wonder if he is uncomfortable/cold? It doesn't look like it in the video, but.... Also, central/secondary hypothyroidism is caused by a pituitary tumor. Could that be a possibility? I so hope they explore all the options.)
I hope this poor child gets the testing and help he needs. And I wonder what society and the medical community would have thought (stereotyped)if the mother had been obese? As a friend of mine wrote, "It hit me that if the mother were heavy and poor, they would probably be calling it child abuse and trying to remove him from the home."
Don't forget the zebras.
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My heart broke when I saw this story!!! Then I screamed when I heard the doctor that was interviewed say, "we are doing further testing to see if it's obesity OR hypothyroidism"......give me a break!!!
ReplyDeleteA child doesn't have that type of weight gain and bones that have developed as an 8 year old by eating too much!!! I guess "blame the patient" is a universal technique when you're a clueless doctor.
Thank God someone did a story on this poor child so his need would be brought the attention of others. I've left a message with the reporter to see if she'll help me get this baby to a competent doc and likely surgeon. Fortunately, there's a wiz-bang neuro-endo in Brazil. So they wouldn't have to travel far.
I wonder, when doctors see something like this in the press, do they contact the families offering their services? Or contact others in their field to ensure a child like this doesn't die from lack of care?
Gina
Gina, thank you so much for following up on that child. He needs help desperately.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Robin