August 12 - Endocrinologist

Today we took Max to the endocrinologist. When he was still in the NICU, he had two blood tests that indicated a potential thyroid disorder. The two major hormones produced by the thyroid gland are thyroxine (commonly called T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Max twice showed skewed results for T4 levels, so he was put on Synthroid, a synthetic form of the T4 hormone thyroxine.

Today's visit was intended to get baseline values for more detailed tests. The endocrinologist will monitor Max' T4 and T3 levels, as well as levels of the precursor thyroid hormones T1 and T2. If it is eventually determined that he does have hypothyroidism, he'll be prescribed a long-term treatment plan.

When they drew blood today, they took it from a vein in his scalp. We've been told that there are fewer nerves there, so it's preferred blood test location until enough hair grows in to make it difficult.

For now, he's being kept on the Synthroid, but his prescription was changed to the name brand instead of the generic versions he has been taking. This is because the dosage of the generic versions may deviate minimally from the labeled amount, whereas the dosage of the name brand version is manufactured more accurately. In adults and older children any slight dose variance is insignificant, but because Max is so small, that even tiny deviations in dosage could be non-trivial.