“Can hypothyroidism be fixed?”

Depends on the cause

Hypothyroidism is very easy to treat since it involves taking a single, small pill containing thyroid hormone when the body no longer makes sufficient thyroid hormone itself. Most of the time this is caused by an inflammation problem called Hashimoto's thyroiditis but sometimes babies are born without a thyroid gland present or functioning, sometimes there is some surgical procedure that removes the thyroid gland and sometimes there are cysts or other thyroid problems causing hypothyroidism. All are treated with thyroid pills. For babies, these are usually crushed up in apple sauce or something else so the baby doesn't have to work to swallow the pills. Thyroid hormone treatment usually needs to be adjusted with growth and development; followup blood lab testing is needed to learn when and how much change of dosage is needed and this too is fairly simple to follow and adjust. Thyroid treatment is a life-long need so having a board certified pediatric thyroid specialist and eventually an adult thyroid specialist follow these problems is the best system to optimize care and followup.. Stuart Brink, MD Senior Endocrinologist, New England Diabetes & Endocrinology Center (NEDEC) c/o NEDEC, 196 Pleasant Street, Newton Centre MA 02459-1815, USA phone 1-781-572-4533, e-mail: stuartbrink@gmail.com

Hello! I'm sorry to hear of your daughter's new diagnosis. Hypothyroidism is generally due to a thyroid which is not producing enough thyroid hormone. Though this cannot be cured, it is managed with medication, such as Synthroid. I hope this helps! Yvonne

This can be treated with the right endocrinologist.