Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Jeanne:
    
    I found out that I had hypothyroidism like you right after I was
    pregnant, but they believe that I most likely had it as early as my
    late teens.  
    
    I have been on synthroid for about a year now, and have be so amazed at
    how much better I feel, and how my weight has dropped from the
    medication (two GREAT side effects).
    
    We are pregnant with our second child right now, and being medicated
    has been a blessing!
    
    Best of luck with your 5 mo old!
    
    Jolene

    Same situation with the thyroid; the doctor discovered it wasn't
    functioning up to capacity just after my first child.  I had a history of
    hypothyroidism in the family (my sister) so he check specifically for
    it.  He also told me I could "blame it on my daughter," i.e. the
    pregnancy brought on the condition.
    
    I've been on Synthroid for about 4 years and have had a second
    child.  Apparently one of the side effects of untreated hypothyroidism
    can be infertility.  However, once the appropriate hormone level is
    established it's business as usual.  Now I go for a blood test once a
    year (part of my routine physical) and just take my pill every morning.  
    It's become a non-issue.  
    
    It *is* fascinating what far-reaching effects a pregnancy can have!
    
    Lois
    

    Jolene,
    
    The doctor told me that I would be on this medication
    for a very long time.   I was told that synthroid is
    a natural drug like insulin.
    
    I do feel 100% better and I am beginning to wonder if
    this is a problem that I have had for a very long time.
    
    Congrats on your pregnancy.  It's good to know that I
    when we have #2 that it will be safe to take synthroid.
    
    Jeanne
    

First it was gall bladder, then it was thyroid.

Five months after the birth, I went in for emergency gall bladder surgery.

Three years after the birth, it was discovered that I had hypothyroidism or
whatever it is called.  The symptoms had been there for at least a year, but
I had had no idea all of those things could be related.

       Carol

Another "lovely" side effect of pregnancy or, in my case, pushing for over and
hour to get him out.  After a year they were still the size of a small egg
(my husband said it looked like a large walnut) so I had to have them taken
out.

ccb

    So, what were the symptoms of hyperthyroidism?
    
    

    
    
    It's notes like these that confirm my belief that God is a man ;').

    For what it's worth....  I've been on thyroid medication for the past
    15 or so years being treated for hypo thyroidism (underactive thyroid)
    They claim it's hereditary but I know of no one in the family with it.
    I gave birth to my first child a little over a year ago and continued
    to take my medication throughout  my pregnancy (I took synthroid at the
    time).  I have been seeing a thyroid specialist for this and not a G.P.
    as some folks I have met do.  An appointment every 2 to 3 months
    throughout the pregnancy with blood tests determined the amount of
    medication I should have in balance with my weight gain.  I'm now
    pregnant again and have no fear of taking this medication at all.
    
    Thyroid affects a lot of different functions of the body - it's nothing
    to fool around with - if you suspect a problem - get checked.  The
    tests I had were non-evasive procedures with the exception of taking
    blood.  I have been told to expect to be on this medication for the
    rest of my life - it really is no big deal - but you do notice if
    you forget to take a pill in the morning.  (P.S.  My Dr. continued with
    2 - 3 month check-up until the baby was about 6 months old then we
    began every 6 months then once a year as usual.)
    

    I have a tendancy to get psorasis (an inherited condition, thanks
    Dad!).  While I was pregnant, it flared up big time.  Since then, it
    has subsided somewhat, but is nowhere near as light as it was before I
    got pregnant.
    
    Not a big deal, but if I don't treat it *every* day, it will be.
    
    And I wonder why it takes me so long to get ready for bed.  Brush,
    floss, remove makeup, put on medication, put oil on the psorasis to
    keep it moist, handcream, and vaseline on my lips.  I'm a walking
    grease factory...  :-)
    
    judy

    Could someone tell us the symptoms of hyperthyroidism?
    

The thyroid is like the thermostat of the body.  If your thyroid is overactive,
it's like your whole body is running on high -- you have lots of nervous
energy, your heart races and you may experience palpitations, you feel hot and 
are very sensitive to high temps, you may lose weight.

If your thyroid is underactive, you feel really tired, you may gain weight.
Basically, your metabolism is slowed.

Hope this helps some, and I hope it's accurate -- I'm not that knowledgeable
about this but I'm willing to fill a vacuum :-)

Most of us here are talking about *hypo*, not hyper-thyroid.  
There are so many symptoms, and they may be related to other things.
The thing that finally got me to see a doctor was that I was missing
periods.  When they called, they said that they had found out what was
wrong, and it was why I was feeling tired, etc.  I was really surprised,
because I hadn't told them I was feeling that way.  

I had trouble concentrating sometimes, and got tired easily.  I don't 
remember the rest of my symptoms.

      Carol

    Hi,
    
    I thought I'd add what I know about thyroid problems. I've been taking
    thyroid hormone for about 12 years. I had hypothyroid, then two
    goiters, and was finally diagnosed as having Hashimoto's disease.
    My doctor said I'd had thyroid problems all through my childhood that
    were untreated and the thyroid now has scar tissue and has ceased to
    function.
    
    But what I really put this note in was to tell you all that there was 
    an article recently in a medical trade magazine (I think JAMA) that
    revealed the problems with long-term thyroid hormone use. The patients
    in the tests revealed that long-term thyroid hormone use led to lower
    bone density in patients. So, making a greater risk of osteoporosis for
    them. I was  stunned that none of my doctors had ever told me this. 
    So the message is this: exercise & get lots of calcium if you're at
    risk for osteoporosis anyway. The bone density loss was greatest in the
    arms of the patients so do lots of push-ups, I guess.
    
    This isn't very scientific, I know, but I would feel badly if I didn't
    share what I found out through my own research. The article appeared
    last spring. 
    
    Elizabeth

    Elizabeth,
    
    I heard that taking Synthroid can cause that, but I 
    understood that was by women who abuse it.  There are
    women who go to several different doctors and get
    prescriptions for it.  That take larger quantities of
    it because it gives them energy and makes them loose
    weight.  
    
    It's true all women should exercise and take plenty
    of calcium.  The article I read stated that you should
    only take (synthroid) what your doctor prescribes and get 
    checked regularly to make sure that the amount is correct.
    
    Do you still have goiters?  If you don't did they go away
    with medication, or did you have them removed surgically?
    
    I have a goiter that is quite large and the doctor is not
    sure if the medication can take care of it.  He said I
    may have it the rest of my life.  They have also had to
    do a needle biopsy (that was worse than childbirth).  The
    radiologist missed and now I have to go back for another one
    just to make sure that it is not cancer.
    
    What is Hashimoto's disease?
    
    Jeanne
    
    

    As I understand it, Hashimoto's Disease (or Hashimoto's Thyroiditus) is
    a disease of the auto-immune system.  The person's body makes
    antibodies against the thyroid, slowly causing it to stop functioning. 
    Thyroid hormone is taken orally as a replacement.  
    
    LZP
    

    About two years after the birth of my son, after fighting months and
    months of post-partum depression, and an all over lousy feeling, I
    was diagnosed with *hyper*thyroid problems.  I felt like I was on fire,
    I was nauseated and shaky and my head spun. Also my throat felt full.
    My doctor ordered a thyroid scan which takes 24 hours to perform.  On 
    the first day I went in for a baseline scan of the thyroid, then I was 
    given an isotope dye internally (by mouth I think) and asked to return 
    the next day, same time, for another scan to see if the dye had been 
    assimilated by the thyroid gland properly. 

    At least that's how it was explained to me.

    The scan showed that my thyroid was working overtime and needed to
    be slowed down.  I was given a drug, the name was a three letter
    acronym which I never found in my PDR, and the doctor explained that
    it wasn't in there because it was such an old and standard drug
    (like aspirin is) that it is no longer included in today's PDRs.
    I felt better almost immediately.  I was warned that too much of 
    this drug and I could begin to experience *hypo*thyroidism and the
    damage may be permanent.   

    I was on this medication no longer than 6 months.  I have read that
    thyroid problems are quite common after childbirth and seem to be 
    related to varying degrees of post-partum depression. 

    Jodi-

    
    

    Hi,
    
    To respond to the Synthroid abuse question Jeanne raised, the article
    in JAMA studied patients who had been taking an average dose of
    Synthroid for a long time. The dose was .1 mg, which is what I've been
    taking for more than 10 years. No mention of Synthroid abuse in the
    article, these were just patients with Hashimoto's who have been taking
    .1 mg for a number of years. Then their bone density was tested. The
    article recommended bone density testing for patients like these (if
    they were at risk for osteoporosis at all). Patients at greatest risk
    for osteoporosis are fair women with blue eyes who are petite in build
    and don't exercise or get  much calcium, in general. This is in no
    way a very scientific or specific answer; I'll have to get the article
    so I can refer anyone interested to it so they can read it for
    themselves. 
    
    Elizabeth

    There is also a correlation between Hashimoto's and Arthritis. My
    daughter came down with arthritis (to a degree that she didn't walk for
    six months) within six month's of being diagnosed for Hashimoto's.
    Notice both are auto-immune systems related. She is still on synthroid
    more than twenty years later and although bothered occassionally by
    arthritis (sometimes more than occasionally), has survived it all with
    aggressive physical therapy/excercise and hightened nutrition. 
    
    	The advocacy of excercise and hightened nutrition during pregnancy
    is an area that I believe would go a long way towards reducing the
    recovery time after delivery. Many doctors promote this, many do not. I
    do some nutritional consulting on the side, and my experience (or
    rather those mothers that followed this health philosophy) indicate a
    high correlation between optimal health during pregnancy and how one
    feels afterwards.  Everyone is unique and the
    chemical/physical/emotional balance is extremely individualistic. In my
    opinion, and the opinion of many experts in the field, consider
    maintaining good health, based upon the RDA (recommended Daily
    allowance)  to be the minimum requirement to prevent disease in a
    healthy person, and certainly not enough to promote well being, or
    feeling good. In a pregnant women, I believe the RDA to be below
    minimum. 
    
    	I'm sure this is debatable, but this is my opinion based upon my
    interpretation of the studies and the experience of the people I've
    come in contact with. This includes my wife and the dancing we did the
    night before a delivery of one of our four children.