Breastfeeding with a thyroid problem- any medics about?

[hellymelly]

I've posted in health about my thyroid, but last night a thought struck me and has sent me into a small panic. I have antibodies to my thyroid- surely I have then passed these on to my dds through my breastmilk? My smallest dd turned 5 recently but still has a night bf. I am horrified that I may have passed on thyroid disease to her. I will ask my GP but as they are generally a bit clueless about breatfeeding I wonder who I could ask who would know- an immunologist? I am just thinking that as we pass our other antibodies on through our milk then I don't see how this would not get through.

If you have passed it on it would be thought your genetics not through breastmilk. By breast feeding you have give your children the best start.

Drugs can pass into breastmilk but there are very few drugs that would mean it would be unsafe to feed.

If you wanted to speck to some one about then I first start with the BfN drugs in breastmilk helpline. The lady who a answers is a trained breastfeeding supporter and pharmacist.

www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/drugs-in-breastmilk.html

I haven't started the thyroxine yet, I got my prescription on Thursday and haven't had a chance to pick it up. I'm concerned about the antibodies, one of the postive things about bf is the protection that antibodies from the mother give the baby, but when those anti-bodies have gone awry and are instead attacking a healthy organ (as in auto-immune thyroiditis) then I am imagining that the same antibody response is then given to the baby- I don't knwo enough about the immune response to know if this is accurate, and I am also wondering if any research has been done on it at all- can't imagine parents agreeing to bloodtests on their babies somehow..

Really interesting question. I'm worried over the same thing. I'm in the process of getting diagnosed with lupus or sjogrens syndrome, same sort of thing, auto-immune, antibodies attacking things they shouldn't.

I'm wary of asking the doctor because I think most docs will just say to give up breastfeeding. DD is 18 months but allergic to cows milk so I definitely want to continue feeding her.

But what about these rampant antibodies? It's a worry.

Yes, it is isn't it. Auto-immune disease isn't well understood anyway (no funding in it according to my GP). And most medics know nothing about breastfeeding... I am hoping to persuade my dd to stop soon (she is very reluctant !!) but she will have had these antibodies flooding her system for the past five years, and her sister before her, as my thyroid has been sluggish for years but only now has plunged to a level where my GP wants to medicate and I've finally been tested for antibodies. I really don't know who to ask to get a thoughtful response and I don't want to put my five year old through a blood test particularly. I think with lupus there are periods of remission? Might the antibodies in your case not always be there? It is such a horrible thought that I might have damaged my dds health through the very thing that should sustain her.

Well I've inherited mine from my Mother too, but not through her milk as I wasn't breastfed at all. I've been so pleased that I bf both dds well into toddlerhood, we have a lot of allergies and asthma in the family and I really wanted to bf my children to help avoid these. Also as I have gluten issues (poss coeliac) and I think being a very prem baby fed formula may have contributed to that. I've only just found out that my hypothyroid is the auto immune type, and the image of antibodies attacking my tiny dds organs suddenly hit me last night! I am too old for another baby, so whats doen is done now, but I would like to know if it could have affected them as thyroid problems apparently are very difficult to spot in smaller children, but can have serious effects on growth etc.

Leonie- am slightly disturbed by the fact that fig 3 in the first lot of pics looks vaguely similar to my dd, am hoping that is a post treatment pic! Maples am about to check out the kellymom link, thanks v. much for that.

maples I just read the link- am very reassured by that as kellymom is usually well informed and up to date. I really appreciate you finding that for me.