Hypothyroidism

plumpous

Hi everyone, 
I was told my TSH levels were too low at 0.24 and I need a full panel done. 
What does this mean for me? I'm really concerned. I did not have this during my first pregnancy. Is anyone going through the same thing? 
I looked online but it's a bit overwhelming. I called my doctor but still waiting for her to get back to me. Meanwhile, thought I'd see what other mamas have experienced. 

TIA! 

ashaw512

No experience with this. But word of advice do not use Dr. Google, it brings nothing but bad news. I hope your doctor can give you some answers tho.

neludelu

I'm lurking from June 17. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and hashimotos right before I got pregnant. If your levels are out of whack they will put you on a synthoid to raise everything. I would strongly suggest that you meet with an endocrinologist.

supermom83

I have PCOS and hypothyroidism, and my panel just got back at 2.95. I'm not sure what it means either and I'm waiting for my doctor to let me know steps I have to take. I'm on metformin for the PCOS, and I had tried some thyroid meds last year but was never able to find the right one and right dose and have just relied on the metformin alone...which isn't the smartest thing to do.

The range they like to see is 0.3-3 so you're barely under and I am almost over. When you have low TSH levels it means that you are overproducing thyroid hormones and it's called HYPERthyroidism, which can lead to sensitivity to cold and heat, fast beating heart rate and a slew of other symptoms. When you have a high TSH level like me, it means you are underproducing thyroid meds and it's called HYPOthyroidism which can lead to weight gain and insulin resistance which can lead to diabetes. 

glitterfish-2

I think that means you are actually hyperthyroid? 
I know my TSH was too high, so I'm on levothyroxine now, and it brought my TSH down to 0.74.

glitterfish-2

By the way, my endo said that baby started using his own thyroid at 12 weeks.

virginiaunicorn11

I have hypothyroidism, diagnosed in my first pregnancy. Then it stayed that way after my son was born, and this pregnancy, I've had to up my medicine dose.

Stay off Google. I did the same when I was first diagnosed, and freaked the F out. The reality is that they caught it early, treatment is easy, and now they will monitor your blood work. Taking a pill at the right time every day will be a pain, but likely that's the extent of the issues.

Obviously I don't know your personal situation. Just relating that I went through an initial freak out but that was 2 years ago, my son is a healthy 19 month old, and the bun in my oven is currently "better than the textbooks" in terms of healthy development, according to my OB and early anatomy scan. 

Breathe, mama! It will be ok!

eta: I've never been to an endocrinologist. I've always trusted my OBs and general practitioners and it was never suggested to me. Not saying don't do it...just that I haven't had to, and haven't had any issues. 

PurplePoppy424

I have had hypothyroidism since I was 16. I'm 30 now. This is my second child and my best advice to you is stay away from Google. It's really not a big deal. Your OB will probably refer you to an endocrinologist that will monitor your levels fairly closely and you'll have to take a pill every morning going forward. It may or may not fluctuate throughout your pregnancy and it may or may not go back to normal once you deliver. 

plumpous

Thanks so much everyone! 
After the panel, depending on the results they said they might send me to the endocrinologist and I might need medication. 
Also thanks for correcting me that I actually have HYPERthyroidism. It makes more sense too because I've been eating a lot lately and not gaining weight (which never happened to me) plus my heart does beat really strongly. 

JAM85

I have hypothyroid myself and at those levels you are approaching hyperthyroid as you said however you need a full panel of Free T3 and Free T4. It is easy to control with medication if you need it, but you definitely want follow up blood done soon so you can get on top of it if you need to. 

Xath

I'm hypo as well; google says all sorts of scary things (goiters?!) but thyroid conditions are pretty easy to manage.  My doc said it's a pretty "easy" life long condition to have, as medicine has advanced enough that it can completely replace the thyroid function if necessary. 

JmUDuuuukes 07

The below is completly based on my experience, so take it with a large grain of salt.

I am in grave's remission, so I was hyperthyroid before I got pregnant and got off meds as euthyroid before becoming pregnant.

It's also important to know your other results for free t3 and free t4. (It will help define your disease beyond just hyperthyroid)

I would work with an endocrinologist who is familiar with pregnant hyperthyroid disease. Methimizole (often prescribed for hyper) is category D- not safe during pregnancy or breastfeeding. This is very well known, but still good for you to know. PTC is more commonly prescribed, if meds are deemed needed. Depending on your test and it's limits, (many tests are different so while "normal" might be 0.3-3.0 for one test, for my test is was 0.27-4.2, so make sure you look at your limits) they may just monitor you if you're close to within range with minimal symptoms. I had elevated heart rate (120 resting), they put me on a beta blocker.

Ask a lot of questions and get second opinions when necessary.  

The up side is, with hypethyroid, you can go into remission and may not have to be on a daily medication for the rest of your life. 

star_beagle

Your TSH is actually on the hyperthyroidism scale, but you'd definitely need to see an endocrinologist. They will do a full thyroid panel and monitor your levels really closely. I'm hypo and I go every 4 weeks right now.

stokesm21

My Dr discovered my hypothyroidism when I told her we were going to start trying.  I looked up symptoms and it explained a lot but I can't say I was ever really concerned about it.  Should I be?!  lol  She put me on Synthroid and I go for blood every 4 weeks.  She up'ed my dose once but seem to be within normal range now. I haven't seen an endocrinologist and she's never told me that I would have to.  I guess it's just different for everyone. 

Xath

@stokesm21 There's no reason for concern if you're being monitored.  Untreated hypothyroidism can cause complications (infertility, higher risk of miscarriage or premature birth), but if you're being treated with synthroid/levothyroxine, and checked regularly, you should be a-ok.  

mj8215

I was incidentally diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis during an ultrasound scanning course where my friend and I were scanning each other (fun story) and at that time was seen by an endocrinologist who confirmed that I was euthyroid ie didn't need any medication at the time. However once I got pregnant, repeat testing showed I had new mild hypothyroidism and the endocrinologist put me on synthroid for the exact reasons @Xath mentioned, and levels have been fine since. So, yea, one more thing to remember watching but not too big of a deal, hopefully. Hyper requires a different strategy as mentioned above but there are options for that, too. I know it's stressful to get this kind of news while also adjusting to pregnancy - try to trust your doc, ask them a lot of questions and don't google too much, as best you can (easier said than done, I know!).

glitterfish-2

Resurrecting this thread because I saw the endo today and she told me that I have to be on the lookout for 2 things after delivery: hypothyroidism means you may not lactate enough, or if your meds are too high, you may have oversupply. Also the hormone shift would often give a few days of high energy, followed by a crash which could result in Ppd. She said in fact many cases of ppd are undiagnosed thyroid issues.

ETA: Googling this reminded me that she called the second condition postpartum thyroiditis. 

nktrodden826

GlitterFish said:

Resurrecting this thread because I saw the endo today and she told me that I have to be on the lookout for 2 things after delivery: hypothyroidism means you may not lactate enough, or if your meds are too high, you may have oversupply. Also the hormone shift would often give a few days of high energy, followed by a crash which could result in Ppd. She said in fact many cases of ppd are undiagnosed thyroid issues.

That's really interesting, I wouldn't have guessed that!  

irishrose54

@GlitterFish oh man. I knew my hypo would put me through some sh*t post partum but man, it really sucks! Not looking forward to having to adjust meds/get back to the right dosage. 

neludelu

GlitterFish said:

Resurrecting this thread because I saw the endo today and she told me that I have to be on the lookout for 2 things after delivery: hypothyroidism means you may not lactate enough, or if your meds are too high, you may have oversupply. Also the hormone shift would often give a few days of high energy, followed by a crash which could result in Ppd. She said in fact many cases of ppd are undiagnosed thyroid issues.

Thanks for this info. I will ask my doctor about it tomorrow! How are you feeling?

cielaw89

GlitterFish said:

Resurrecting this thread because I saw the endo today and she told me that I have to be on the lookout for 2 things after delivery: hypothyroidism means you may not lactate enough, or if your meds are too high, you may have oversupply. Also the hormone shift would often give a few days of high energy, followed by a crash which could result in Ppd. She said in fact many cases of ppd are undiagnosed thyroid issues.

Dang, my hypothyroidism has been pretty stable since being pregnant, but I didn't think about what could happen post-partum. Hoping that my luck holds out and my meds stay the same (they haven't changed since pre-pregnancy). Definitely will need to bring this up with my doctor.

neludelu

Also, this might be a good confession for Friday but is it terrible I slip into hyperthyroidism for a bit so I can get a boost with losing all this baby weight? :-)

glitterfish-2

@neludelu I'm fine, she didn't adjust my meds now, although I need another check in 2 weeks because my T4 is on the very low end of normal. I feel as fine as I probably could at nearly 36 weeks pregnant, but thanks for asking! 

See my edit that she called it postpartum thyroiditis. @cielaw89 @irishrose54 @nktrodden826

SpongeWorthy

@GlitterFish I didn't really think about how hypothyroidism would affect me postpartum. Thanks for bringing it up!  I will have to ask my OB on Friday - my endo seems kind of clueless.

JAM85

So I was under treated hypothyroid with my first and I had a very good supply- milk came in within 24 hours with a c section too. But you definitely need to stay on top of your meds and get ALL your levels checked out asap post birth (TSH, free t3 and free T4)

@GlitterFish my Free T4 has been low end normal and below normal despite TWO raises in my meds. I think sometimes it gets depressed during pregnancy and o didn't want to up my meds any more at that point because I didn't want to go hyper and my Free t3 was good. So we will check at my 6 week post partum appointment and go from there 

star_beagle

Thanks for resurrecting this thread! I definitely had not even thought about how my hypothyroidism would affect me after birth. My levels have been pretty stable the past three visits and they're now below 2. I'll definitely have to ask my endo at my next appointment. 

PurplePoppy424

I actually just saw my endo for the last time pre-baby yesterday. He pretty much said if you haven't changed by now (surprisingly I haven't) you won't. If any changes occur, it will happen about 6-8 weeks after giving birth so I don't see him again until after DS is here. 

My levels surprisingly never never changed after birth with DD. My supply was normal. I had issues solely because I didn't respond well to the pump after I went back to work.