If you take Synthroid...

vermont7

Do you plan on stopping after baby is born? I just started taking it at the beginning of this pregnancy, and the NP at the office said not to pack it when I go to deliver and I will just stop then and should be all set to breastfeed. What is your plan? 

boydstm

Hm... Hadn't thought about it and doc hasn't said anything. Do they not want you to take it because it could transfer when BFing? 

LittleBirdy24

boydstm:

Hm... Hadn't thought about it and doc hasn't said anything. Do they not want you to take it because it could transfer when BFing? 

It doesn't affect your milk...I've been on it since 2005 when I had my thyroid removed.  My dose went back down after I had DD, but I was EBF and had to continue taking it so that much I know.  If you don't need it when you're not pregnant, then there's no reason for you to stay on it, I would think.

Annya26

I am on it and will be going to a much lower dose immediately after baby is born. I had my thyroid removed so I need to keep taking it, but since your body supplies the baby's thyroid hormones during pregnancy we need extra. As soon as they come out your levels would skyrocket quickly if you kept taking it.

MesmrEwe

That sounds COMPLETELY counter to everything I've had with being hypothyroid...  You may not need to bring it with you to the hospital, but to just cut it out completely without having your levels checked first sounds completely medically irresponsible...  I'd get a second opinion on this one!!! 

vermont7

I was told that prior to pregnancy my level was only slightly high (I think 4.1 or 3.4 maybe, they changed the "normal/optimal" level from 5 to 2 though), but that it would be working in overdrive while pregnant and the medicine would help stabilize the level. When they checked me after 6 weeks on it, I was a 2. I think that they believe since I didn't need it before pregnancy (no side effects ever noticed by myself from my thyroid level), that I won't need it after.

sucreintheoven

Ive been on synthroid since i was 5 days old. Whether you need to stop taking it or not ALL depends on your TSH levels not what any dr says. If you have thyroid problems you should definitly see an endocrinologist. They will activly diagnose your hypothyroidism. If you just started being hypothyroid due to the fact you are pregnant, you still need to test your thyroid levels after the birth and not stop unless your levels are naturally normal. Ive been tested every six months or more for my entire life. Being pregnant, my dr has significantly increased my dose, but after the birth depending on where my levels are, he might again decrease the dose. YOU SHOULD NEVER JUST STOP, he needs to TEST your levels!!!

colinemma

While I have been taking it since I was a teen & our situations are different in that respect, the protocol isn't. You should be monitored by a Doctor after the birth before you just discontinue this or any med really. Esp. is the thyroid levels are low. One symptom of low thyroid function is depression...... something you don't want to add to a body following birth. I would double check the NP's info with your Doctor.