Thyroid issues anyone?

myrainbowbaby2015 · September 2014

So last night I called the midwife because I hadn't felt baby kick for about 2-3 days. I'm only 23 weeks and the doctor told me It could happen so I just assumed everything was ok, but then I decided I was nervous so I drank sugary cold drinks, poked at him and a bunch of other things that normally make him move, but nothing. So the midwife had me come in to check him and his heart rate was fine

then she came in and told me she had been reading my notes and that my thyroid level was very high and asked had I seen the doctor about it yet as it had been done 3 weeks ago! She then looked at my face and must have realised I had no clue! No one told me, since the bloods came back I've had 1 midwife appointment and 1 doctor appointment and neither of them told me!! I then found out the doctor hadn't even read my notes before my appointment with him which doesn't shock me cause he knew nothing about me or my history when I saw him. Anyway this is a very long winded way of asking if anyone has dealt with this and how it effected them? I have to go see a endocrinologist and get put on meds. I've read a lot about thyroid conditions realating to early and late term losses and that's what makes me so mad is that I should have been on meds 3 weeks ago. And I've had 3 losses before so now I'm wondering if that could be why. Sorry this is so long I'm just really mad.

mandikins27 · September 2014

Wow im sorry you are dealing with this. I have no advice as it is nothing i have dealt with but i do think it was both the midwife as well as the doctors job to inform you

nah82 · September 2014

We have quite a few of us on this board with thyroid issues. I myself had half my thyroid removed 2 years ago because of nodules, making me hypothyroid. I take Levothyroxine and Cytomel.

I'm guessing by saying your "thyroid level was very high" they meant TSH level. If that is the case, it actually means your body is producing less thyroid hormones than normal, and you are hypothyroid. TSH is Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, not an actual thyroid hormone, but one that tries to stimulate your thyroid to produce more actual thyroid hormone, T4. Your TSH level usually rises as your actual thyroid hormone drops, because it is trying harder to stimulate your thyroid to produce. The treatment is usually either a synthetic hormone pill like Synthroid (generic is levothyroxine) or natural hormone pill, Armour Thyroid, to supplement what your thyroid is not producing.

In some cases, being hypothyroid can cause fertility problems and miscarriage, but there is a wide range of severity. It could have possibly been a factor in your previous losses. Mom's thyroid levels are most important to the baby before 20 weeks. After that, they have their own working thyroid and don't depend on mom's so much. It is good that you will be seeing an endo, they will have a lot more knowledge on the subject than your OB or midwife. You should be having regular blood work for the rest of your pregnancy to monitor your levels (and afterwards, too.)

I would recommend keeping track of the actual numbers yourself, too, not just being told they are "normal" or "high", etc. so you will be able to see for yourself if they are improving or getting worse. A TSH below 3 is considered "normal" (but not necessarily optimal for you as an individual). Anything above that is hypo. Your numbers should come down with medication, but it can take 6 weeks to be fully into your system. Sorry if I am bombarding you with too much info, I had to learn a lot in the past 2 years.

myrainbowbaby2015 · September 2014

That was very helpful thank you. Yea she explained that It's hypothyroidism because my TSH was high. I'll be going on medication called thyroxine (from australia different drugs) do you know if this is something that can get better after pregnancy or is it now lifelong thing? Cause I know I've had my thyroid tested many times before and told it was fine and now all of a sudden it's not. I don't know how they do they measurement of the hormone in the US but over here she said normal is between .4 and .8 and they like to see it below 2 and mine is sitting at 3.6 I have no idea what the measurement tool is though.

nah82 · September 2014

Pregnancy can sometimes send your thyroid out of whack and then go back to normal afterwards. Or it might be a lifelong thing, my aunt wasn't hypo until she had her second child and has been ever since. Unfortunately, some women suddenly get way worse shortly after birth, Postpartum Thyroiditis, and your thyroid can also sometimes cause breast milk supply issues. So, you should definitely still be checked after baby comes. So many of the hypothyroid symptoms are so similar to pregnancy and postpartum symptoms that they might get overlooked. I'm not familiar with the Australian scales and measurements, sorry!

Beauxbaton · September 2014

namcgee said:
Pregnancy can sometimes send your thyroid out of whack and then go back to normal afterwards. Or it might be a lifelong thing, my aunt wasn't hypo until she had her second child and has been ever since. Unfortunately, some women suddenly get way worse shortly after birth, Postpartum Thyroiditis, and your thyroid can also sometimes cause breast milk supply issues. So, you should definitely still be checked after baby comes. So many of the hypothyroid symptoms are so similar to pregnancy and postpartum symptoms that they might get overlooked. I'm not familiar with the Australian scales and measurements, sorry!

This. I didn't produce almost anything for a week. Not even a drop of colostrum. I was told it was probably due to my thyroid. and the thyroid symptoms mimicing pregnancy symptoms is why I'm having SUCH a hard time getting a proper dosage. Seriously. Its ridiculous.

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