January 2016 Moms
ekscopp
member
Thyroid issues
ekscopp
member
Baby will be 17 weeks on Monday and ever since delivery I have been dealing with thyroid issues. I have hashimoto thyroiditis which was diagnosed years before getting pregnant. It's usually been well controlled and was throughout pregnancy. However, ever since delivery it has been super hyperthyroid. I have been in contact with my endo and I have been lowering my synthroid dose and monitoring my blood levels since. However, no matter how many times i decrease my dose, my TSH keeps dropping. I feel terrible. Headaches, difficulty sleeping, dizziness etc. Anyone else dealing with this? I'm so worried it will eventually effect my milk supply as I am EBF and just returned to work so pumping too. Breast feeding is really important to me, so I don't want anything to effect it. I just feel miserable and am at a loss of how to fix it. I plan to call my doc Monday, but wondering if anyone else is dealing with a similar issue.
Re: Thyroid issues
My personal experience with this sucked before I knew what was going on, I had crazy anxiety, insomnia, depression, I even had a panic attack once. It took what felt like forever for my OB, therapist and endo to realize my thyroid was causing all of my issues. Part of the reason they were kind of surprised that, like you, my thyroid was rock steady all during pregnancy (and has been for a couple years prior to getting pregnant.) But my endo has had a really hard time getting it under control postpartum.
I was hyper 5 weeks after delivery so she cut my meds. At my next appointment I was WAY worse, WAY more hyper, and she had to cut my meds drastically (4 days off medication entirely, then cut my dose in half.) That finally brought my thyroid levels back in the normal range, all except my TSH, which is literally nearly off the charts low. But again, she explained that that's the body trying to relax thyroid production for a while to correct for it being so high for a while. But her solution has been really intense monitoring - as I said, blood tests every 4 weeks for a year and I'm supposed to call her if I feel any hyper symptoms come back.
The good thing is that now that my T3 and T4 are at least normal I feel MUCH better. I'm sure I'll feel better still when my TSH is back in the good range.
As for breast feeding, I wouldn't worry too much if you have a strong supply 17 weeks out. When my thyroid skyrocketed the second time that coincided with my breastmilk dropping down to nothing and me being unable to continue breastfeeding, BUT, I had a terrible supply from the beginning (never more than 8 oz), my thyroid was the most unstable and out of control before the 12 week mark when your supply is established, and I think it was just the straw that broke the camel's back, not the main reason I had a low supply/eventually no supply. So, I wouldn't worry, you should be fine!
Anyway, very, very long post short - ask your endo about postpartum thyroiditis and if you haven't already, insist that your endo test your levels again. (If he/she won't or isn't knowledgable about postpartum thyroiditis, find another endo!) You may need to be monitored more frequently and have your medication adjusted more often in the first year postpartum. Good luck and I really hope you feel better soon!
ETA: One other thing I learned from my dr is that if you have postpartum thyroiditis after a pregnancy, you are very likely (she said it's almost certain) to have it in subsequent pregnancies, and even miscarriages. (This made me so sad/disappointed.) But, in good news, if you know that you're susceptible to it and you and your endo are prepared, it can be much easier the next time around, according to my dr. Here's to hoping! (If I even decide to go through this three ring circus again! Haha.)