thyroid issues, anyone?

joeymylove

Has anyone had issues with their thyroid during pregnancy? Apparently, my levels have been slightly low at my last two ob appointments and I have an appointment with an endocrinologist tomorrow afternoon. Any advice? 

kellie7

i've had hashimoto's thyroid for several years now. basically, my thyroid goes under and then over active. it's a pain to keep under control. but now that i'm pregnant, it seems to be under control. most people are either just over or under active. i think those are easier to keep in check. but they'll likely put you on synthroid (levothyroxin). it's a daily pill. and they'll check your bloodwork pretty regularly and adjust your medicine to keep your thyroid under control. honestly, it isn't a big deal. it's a pain to have to keep getting bloodwork, but you definitely want to keep it under control. your thyroid controls so much. if it's out of whack, you can gain/lose weight, feel depressed, moody, get headaches, have digestion (and bathroom) issues,...all kinds of stuff. it usually has to be pretty off though for those things to start happening. but i know i feel nervous or jittery if mine goes even just a little too high. don't sweat it though. go to the endo. it might go away after you give birth. i know for me, it won't. like i said, i've had it for years.

 

i know easier said than done, but don't worry about it. just go to the endo.

Jennairess

i have hypothyroid...was diagnosed 10 years ago when i was trying to get pregnant for my daughter....we tried for a year on our own with no luck...mentioned it to my ob when i went for my yearly and he checked my thyroid and sure enough it was off...put me on synthroid and i was preggo the next month....after i had my daughter (and while I was pregnant) i was sent to an endocrinologist to monitor my levels and stuff as when your pregnant your body may demand more. If your levels are not monitored your baby can be at risk for developmental problems or be a low birth weight. With this pregnancy the regs changed some since I had my daughter and they doubled up my dose a few days in the first trimester, than increased my dose each trimester after. i go for routine blood work and will have to continue after I deliver to start decreasing my levels back down to my norm. Its a pain having all the blood work done and seeing an extra doc, but its worth it and needed

Jena6121984

I did, I had hashimotos disease and an enlarged thyroid.  I was diagnosed 5 months before I got married in June 2009.  Throughout my first pregnancy I thought that it wasn't safe so i never really took it and got a lot of crap for it.  I kept having episodes of feeling choked and difficulty breathing and at 5 months PP I had my thyroid removed, due to the growing enlargement.  Now it's every 6 weeks bloodwork to see where I'm at and every day a pill that cannot be missed.  They are still having issues controlling it and as soon as LO is delivered my body should settle down and regulating it will be easier.  I'm on this medication and monitoring for the rest of my life due to no more thyroid gland.

stylechild622

i have hypothyroidism that started when i got preg. I take synthroid to keep my thyroid levels balanced. its really nothing to worry about as long as it is managed, good luck

ETweet

I have hypothyroidism and take levothyroxin daily. It took us 10 months to conceive with accupuncture and had a few tweaks with my med dosage during that time. Since getting pregnant I haven't had any issues with my levels although they do monitor it quite frequently. It's really not that awful.

jgarretson

I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism a few months before we got pregenant. My levels were fine until last week (week 27) and now I get to increase my dose of levothyroxin. Other then taking a pill every day it's a few extra blood draws to monitor so it's not a big deal to me. I've never had any symptoms or problems since my levels are only slightly off. Hope all goes well.

cheermom604

I was diagnosed with Grave's disease (hyperthyroidism/autoimmune) 6 years ago and had my thyroid zapped with high doses of RAI twice so now I will remain hypothyroidism the rest of my life since I no longer have a thyroid.  I agree with all previous posters that you need to watch it but otherwise its easy to keep under control with all the blood work and appointments.  I see my endocrinologist every 4 weeks (every three weeks I get blood work done) as the frist trimester (which is the most important when dealing with this) my levels werent watched like they should've been so I'm a little worried about if my little girl will have developmental problems (my level was 11 when it should've been between .4 and 4 when pregnant).  Oh well, nothing I can do now and Im being watched carefully.  Also, I packed on 30 lbs teh first 1/2 of my pregnancy and that was due to my synthroid having to be increased each time I went in.

beazbadazme2

I have Graves Opthomoly Hyperthyroidism. Diagnosed Feb 2010. We waited for my levels that were way too high to straighten out before TTC and it took us 6 months. I see my OB, endocrinologist and a high risk specialist. I get blood work done every 4 weeks and u/s every 4 weeks to monitor growth.

From what I was told, they only worry about baby coming out with "issues" if you were unmedicated and untreated prior to pregnancy and they have to "catch" it. In your case it sounds like they found a dip during their routine checks therefore, I wouldn't be too concerned.

FWIW my husband's friend is Hypothyroidism (low) and has recently had 2 healthy babies. Just listen to the doctors and baby will be fine.

danni914

I have hypothyroidism that was diagnosed a few months before I got pregnant.  They think that might have contributed to the unexplained infertility I was experiencing up until that point.  It's really not a big deal.  I take synthroid daily and get bloodwork every 4-6 weeks.  My dosage has been steadily going up throughout the pregnancy but that was happening even before I got pregnant because they were trying to figure out the right dosage for me.  Couple things to remember, you have to take the synthroid 30 mins to an hour before you eat in the morning so I set my alarm a little early so that I can take my pill and go back to sleep.  I am one of those ppl that needs to eat right when I get up so this works for me.  You also can't take vitamins or supplements with calcium within 4 hours of taking the pill so I take my pre-natals at lunch to avoid this.  Also I have had both the brand name synthroid and the generic levothyroxine.  Some people think there is a difference between the two.  I found this to be true.  I found the generic made me "shakey" for lack of a better word so I am on the brand name drug.  This isn't true for everyone but keep it in mind. 

Good luck with it!  I felt 100X better once I started being treated.  My energy levels are better so I don't crash at 2 PM anymore.  I hope it helps you too!

itsmevkb

I have been both hyperthyroid and hypothyroid during pregnancy.  Currently I am on meds for hypo and it's actually working too well and making me hyper.

My biggest advice would be aske exactly what levels they are testing.  Some docs only test TSH which isn't the best indicator of how well your thyroid is working, specially during pregnancy.  So, I would ask them if they ran or are going to run a full thyroid panel.  Also, be sure to get follow-ups after your pregnancy.  Hopefully your thyroid will return to normal but it's something to keep an eye on.