Post partum thyroid issues

[deathnotquitewarmedup]

Hi all, hoping for some reassurance. I was diagnosed with overactive thyroid a few months ago but doc felt it was likely to be post partum and had warned me that there was a good chance that I would end up with an underactive thyroid after a few weeks/months.

Sure enough, I've been feeling like I was hit by a bus for the last month or so and when my blood tests came through last week my free T4 had gone from 29 to

I was diagnosed with an under active thyroid when I was about 4 months post partum, which then led to a diagnosis of Hashimotos disease. My TSH was 183 when I was diagnosed and I felt like I was dying (no exaggeration) but I do seem to remember feeling better quite quickly (within a few weeks)

It might be that you need a higher dose than what you have been prescribed? Or are you deficient in other stuff as well? Iron? Vitamin D? I seem to recall being given a short sharp dose of Vit D supplements around the same time.

@PrimeraVez thank you for your reply- god I can't even imagine was TSH that high feels like as I also have literally felt like I might be on the way out at times over the last couple of weeks! I have only been on the medication for 2-3 days so I think too early to tell if it's working, but was just hoping to hear stories (like yours!) where it took a couple of weeks to make a difference rather than a couple of months. I feel like I can cope with a week or two more but 6 weeks+ feels like an eternity to be feeling so awful!

Interesting that you ended up with a diagnosis of Hashimotos- does that mean it didn't go away? I know my GP mentioned that sometimes with post partum thyroid problems they can be temporary and resolve in a year or so.

I had pp thyroiditis, it followed the same pattern as you, over to under active. It was very very hard, especially in the interactive period with a young baby. I really sympathise with you. My doctor wouldn't prescribe anything and by 7 months pp, my levels were normalising.
I had blood tests every 2 weeks to check,and was advised to have an annual blood test as pp thyroiditis can mean you may have thyroiditis problems when older.
I'm 43 now, and my results have always been normal since.

Under, not interactive

@deathnotquitewarmedup yes, I was originally told it might ‘just’ be post partum thyroiditis and resolve itself within a year but once I had been referred to an endocrinologist and she ran more in depth tests, I ended up with a Hashimotos diagnosis which is permanent.

I’ve never really got a clear answer on whether I had thyroid issues pre pregnancy or if that kick started the whole thing but in my massively non-medical opinion, I think it was always an underlying issue that pregnancy just exacerbated. It took me a year to fall pregnant with DC1, but after my diagnosis and beginning taking thyroxine, I have fallen pregnant a further 4 times, always in either the first or second month of trying which seems like a big coincidence?!

I hope you start to feel better soon, post partum days are hard enough without dealing with this!

Thanks everyone! @Notashandyta that's rubbish that GP wouldn't prescribe you anything but so glad it resolved. My issues didn't even start until about 7mo pp, and didn't go underactive until about 12mo pp so hopefully it will be short lived.

@PrimeraVez that's really interesting. I have had my thyroid checked in the past and the numbers have always been normal but like you it took us about a year to conceive so will be interesting to if it just goes away or not 🤔

thank you all for your help, it's really useful! X