Underactive thyroid & childbirth

[Shellywelly1973]

Hoping someone can give me some advice. I found out i had an underactive thyroid about 2half weeks ago. Ive been put on thyroxine.

2 weeks ago i found out i was pregnant. My GP trebled the dose of thyroxine on the advice of a consultant.

I won't see a consultant until Im 16 weeks. I don't know how this will effect me giving birth. Its my 6th dc but never had any medical problems so this is all a bit strange & worrying. My GP lacks the most basic knowledge, he's insisting my thyroid had nothing to do with a mmc i had 3months ago...so dont feel confident with the care i am receiving. Ive got my booking in appointment on 21/6,it feels like a long was off!

Any advice appreciated.

TIA

Can't comment much on this particular topic, but it sounds like a good time to get a second medical opinion!

All the best.

FWIW, my friend had a similar problem with her thyroid and her DD ended up fine.

I'd ask to be referred to a consultant, in my last preg I increased by 50% I'm not an expert but triple sounds a lot!! Watch out for signs of over active thyroid which would mean your dose is too high, good luck and congratulations

hi, congratulations on your pregnancy :)
I have underactive thyroid and I'm pregnant with DC2. My first pregnancy was uneventful and I had a vaginal birth without complications. DS is absolutely fine.
I'm now 32 weeks and so far I have not had any problems. It's great that you already know of the problem so it can be monitored and controlled.
I agree that triple the dose sounds like lots, mine was adjusted by about 25% each time, I suppose it depends on how much thyroxine you were already on?

I have a very underactive thyroid and two healthy dc. As long as they monitor your levels well and you take the tablets you will be fine.

It's a myth you always need to increase them too. I am under a consultant, saw one every 3 weeks and never increased my meds. Everything was fine, my blood levels remained normal.

I normally take 200mg thyroxine.

Thankyou for your replies. I was so disheartened on Thursday when i started this thread.

I managed to speak to an endocrinologist on Friday. She actually called me as she was concerned about the thyroxine dose my GP had prescribed.

The good news my blood results from last Tuesday show a good improvement. Im staying on the dose until the blood tests results are stable. I will have an appointment to see an endocrinologist within 2 weeks.

Im a very non medical person. The idea of giving birth in hospital is very strange to me ( last 2babys have been waterbirths) so hopefully as Im doing better then expected, there should be no problems in giving birth. I will just wait & see, ultimately a healthy baby is the most important thing.

Thanks again.

Thankyou for your replies. I was so disheartened on Thursday when i started this thread.

I managed to speak to an endocrinologist on Friday. She actually called me as she was concerned about the thyroxine dose my GP had prescribed.

The good news my blood results from last Tuesday show a good improvement. Im staying on the dose until the blood tests results are stable. I will have an appointment to see an endocrinologist within 2 weeks.

Im a very non medical person. The idea of giving birth in hospital is very strange to me ( last 2babys have been waterbirths) so hopefully as Im doing better then expected, there should be no problems in giving birth. I will just wait & see, ultimately a healthy baby is the most important thing.

Thanks again.

Thankyou for your replies. I was so disheartened on Thursday when i started this thread.

I managed to speak to an endocrinologist on Friday. She actually called me as she was concerned about the thyroxine dose my GP had prescribed.

The good news my blood results from last Tuesday show a good improvement. Im staying on the dose until the blood tests results are stable. I will have an appointment to see an endocrinologist within 2 weeks.

Im a very non medical person. The idea of giving birth in hospital is very strange to me ( last 2babys have been waterbirths) so hopefully as Im doing better then expected, there should be no problems in giving birth. I will just wait & see, ultimately a healthy baby is the most important thing.

Thanks again.

TBH if you are going to have a chronic condition an underactive thyroid is not a bad one to get, as you are only replacing what your body would produce anyway - the medication has no side effects. I think my thyroid was a bit ineffective for years and now that I take thyroxine everyday and have my levels monitored I feel better than I have for years.

Sounds like your consultant is on the ball. At my local hospital an underactive thyroid does not rule you out of using the MLU or birth pools - if it's well-managed it's not a big deal. My levels did get too high for a while though - I needed less sleep, couldn't get pregnant and felt spaced out and high - so I would definitely recommend always keeping track of your levels and getting tested regularly. You also need to take the medication on an empty stomach and not eat for 30 mins for it to be effective.

good luck.