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Post by barbara on Jan 9, 2009 17:24:29 GMT -5
My granddaughter's fingers are becoming mis-shapen, especially noticable over the past few months. If she holds her hands out flat, palms down, each of the fingers curve upwards, and the end joints bend at an even more upward angle. Several of her fingers appear bent sideways/crooked, and when she tries to hold her fingers together, some of them will cross over the finger next to it. She has also developed this same thing on a couple of her toes. She says there is no pain, no loss of use, and no injuries. I have had custody of her for over five years, so I know that this is a relatively new thing.
I took her to her doctor today, and they want to send her to a bone specialist to rule in/out some type of an autoimmune disease, since they are in our family.
The only labs I have on her were taken in July, 2008. Don't know if they will shed much light:
T4 11.3 (5.9-13.0) TSH 1.0 (0.3-5.1) Free T3 3.7 (2.3-4.2) TPO Ab <10 (<35) (could not get # other than <) TG Ab <20 (<40) (could not get # other than <)
Anybody have any thoughts/ideas??
Thanks, Barbara
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Post by justaustin on Jan 9, 2009 20:53:16 GMT -5
I"d suggest that you read up on Ehler's Danlos Syndrome (EDS). See if your dear granddaughters symptoms could match with this. This is a connective tissue disorder. There are different variants of the disorder. There is one variant that affects the autonomic system. Symptoms can include those with POTS or low aldo/low renin folks. Other folks have such hypermobile joints they need to wear splints. They can subluxate/dislocate joints doing simple things...... With another form, women may be advised not to get pregnant due to they may not be able to carry to term or risk of further injury.....
Not many docs are up on this either. I think there is specific testing.... There are a few docs in the country that specialize with EDS.
Laurie
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Post by barbara on Jan 9, 2009 23:08:21 GMT -5
Laurie,
Thanks for the info, I will definitely do some research on EDS, as well as anything else that looks plausible!
Barbara
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Post by barbara on Jan 10, 2009 13:42:01 GMT -5
I did forget to ask -- does her thyroid look good for a 10 year old? I do wish they would have given the numbers for the AB's, as at least three people in my immediate family (including myself) have hashi's.
Thanks, Barbara
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Post by justaustin on Jan 11, 2009 11:12:46 GMT -5
Hi Barbara,
I agree. It does stink that actual #'s weren't provided for antibodies. Her thyroid labs look OK. It would have been helpful to have had a Free T4 included instead of Total.
I think you will need to keep on top of her thyroid given strong family history. As she gets a bit older---estrogen increases--(estrogen binds with thyroid hormones), her Frees might drop. So keep an eye out for hypothyroid sx with onset of puberty. Have her TSH,FT4 and FT3 checked on regular basis....
You are a great Grandma!! Laurie
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