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Original poster

Post partum thyroidism

28 replies

Concernedkay · 24/03/2023 08:54

Hi, I'm 8 months post partum and had my bloods done for hair thinning and some aches and pains, and my thyroid levels have come back abnormal. Although my t4 level is normal at 14 my tsh level is 10.6 which after Googling seems to be very high.

I'm retesting as it's been a month to check if the levels are going down as it could be a post partum issue and I'm being tested for antibodies incase it's an autoimmune issue.

Does anyone have any experience with this and did your thyroid go back to normal? How was it ttc after and how was your pregnancy? This is a shock as I conceived very quickly and had a very healthy pregnancy and birth with my baby. I also have lost weight instead of gaining.

OP posts:
Unexpecteddrivinginstructor · 24/03/2023 09:00

Similar story to you, did not put on weight either. Had successful pregnancy afterwards, you increase levothyroxine as soon as you know. Healthy teenager now. Tried coming off it about 7yrs ago but my body wasn't happy so on it for life. Bonus is you get free prescriptions for everything.

Icecreamandapplepie · 24/03/2023 09:06

Hi, I had this after my first.
Overactive to start with, then underactive, which is when I went to the gp. Levels were back to normal by the time baby was 10 months from what I recall. Was pregnant again by then, so didn't affect ttc. Didn't get it with next two babies.

You have my sympathies, it was a difficult thing to deal with on top of looking after a baby.

Original poster
Concernedkay · 24/03/2023 09:16

@Unexpecteddrivinginstructor

Thank you I'm glad your pregnancy went well. Haha I guess that's one plus with the free prescription. Did you have any side effects with the synthetic hormone?

OP posts:
Original poster
Concernedkay · 24/03/2023 09:18

@Vintagecreamandcottagepie

Thank you, that's good to hear that yours went back to normal. Do you remember what your tsh level was? I've read that levels over 10 have less chance of going back to normal although at this point I'm subclinical as my t4 is still normal.

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Writeandroll · 24/03/2023 09:20

Hi - I had it 4 months after my first, treated with Propylthiouracil. I never paid attention to levels but anything that could be raised was.

I got pregnant easily with my second at 12m post partum. From 20 weeks I needed two weekly scans to check heart development and growth. He was checked immediately after birth by specialists and two days after so we had to stay in hospital, he also needed a blood test at a few weeks old.

Both babies totally fine, my issue was later diagnosed as Graves and almost three years later it’s now in remission.

Whatthediddlyfeck · 24/03/2023 09:22

Mine went under active after I had my eldest who’s now 25. I’ve been on a stable dose of thyroxine ever since (tested every 18 months), and I successfully conceived my next child on the first month of trying,standard increased dose during pregnancy, and haven’t ever really had any issues.

Original poster
Concernedkay · 24/03/2023 23:02

Do any of you recall an excess in iodine intake at the time? I've been taking multivitamins for years and they've all been at the highest of the daily recommended value I've read that sometimes thyroid disorders are induced by excessive iodine.

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AlltheFs · 24/03/2023 23:09

Mine returned to normal within 12 months, no treatment required. My only symptom was aching joints but I was only tested because I had GD and had to have bloods taken for that to check that was gone.

Original poster
Concernedkay · 25/03/2023 11:58

@AlltheFs

Hi that's good to hear yours returned to normal! Do you remember what your levels were? It's so strange for me because I have all the symptoms of a fast metabolism that people have said to me before that I could have an overactive thyroid so I'm hoping this is transient.

OP posts:
Original poster
Concernedkay · 25/03/2023 13:27

Also did anyone feel nodules in their neck when diagnosed?

OP posts:
AlltheFs · 26/03/2023 14:12

Concernedkay · 25/03/2023 11:58

@AlltheFs

Hi that's good to hear yours returned to normal! Do you remember what your levels were? It's so strange for me because I have all the symptoms of a fast metabolism that people have said to me before that I could have an overactive thyroid so I'm hoping this is transient.

If you can make any sense of this?

Post partum thyroidism
Post partum thyroidism
AlltheFs · 26/03/2023 14:21

I did lose loads of weight after I had DD but was also BF so hard to tell what attributed to that.
Can confirm I am fat again now though, some years on.

Original poster
Concernedkay · 26/03/2023 14:46

@AlltheFs

Thanks for sharing! Your results show your thyroid was overactive instead of under active. Do you remember what month post partum you were at this point. I feel like in the first few months I may have had an overactive stage but now I'm in under.

OP posts:
AlltheFs · 26/03/2023 14:52

5 months

Original poster
Concernedkay · 26/03/2023 14:55

@AlltheFs

I was tested for the first time at 7 months. That's probably why you went back to normal your numbers were not that far out their normal ranges. I'm quite far out so I'm hoping mine maybe could still normalise 🤞🏼

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Happycroc · 26/03/2023 15:15

@Concernedkay did they do the thyroid antibodies test?

I was put on a low level of Levothyroxine during my second pregnancy as I had IVF and my TSH was above the threshold for what they would like it to be. Postpartum I wasn't told to stop taking the Levothyroxine and at my 6 week check my TSH was practically zero. I stopped taking the Levothyroxine and when they retested my TSH a few weeks later my TSH was mid-teens. The doctor did an antibodies test and this confirmed that I had an under active thyroid and I was put on Levothyroxine for life.

from what I understand the TSH blood test will only give you a snapshot of your TSH at that time but the antibody blood test is required to diagnose

Original poster
Concernedkay · 26/03/2023 16:36

@Happycroc

Hi, yeah my antibodies test is next week so I'm going to have to go from there. I have no symptoms though. I've read pp thyroiditis is mostly transient but a lot of peoples seem to turn permanent.

OP posts:
Glwysen · 26/03/2023 16:41

I was told i would be on thyroxine for life; i took it for about 3 years which included my second pregnancy and about a year afterwards. Thyroid function has been fine ever since

Original poster
Concernedkay · 26/03/2023 16:53

@Glwysen

That's great news! I worry about pregnancy after this was everything okay with you? Do you remember what your tsh level was before being on treatment. Did you decide to have a break from treatment and then after retesting it was just normal?

OP posts:
magma32 · 26/03/2023 16:59

Yes me but I had antibodies so I’m on levothyroxine for life. My symptoms were ‘normal postpartum’ symptoms but to the more extreme but only when the goitre was noticed I went to get it checked. I would look up Mary Shomon and Hypothyroid mom for future pregnancies as doctors don’t tell you anything. It’s a case of making sure your levels are optimal before trying (optimal and ‘normal’ are different). My doctor just told me to take meds for the rest of my life and no other info given but there is more to this condition especially if your symptoms become more noticeable.

magma32 · 26/03/2023 17:03

Also my milk supply shot down but at the time they kept telling me there was no such thing as low milk supply! If thyroid is low it can affect that so watch out if you are breastfeeding but I only made the link from Google once I was diagnosed months later. Milk supply been fine for subsequent pregnancies as I’ve made sure I’m on the right dose for me.

AlltheFs · 26/03/2023 21:54

I had the antibodies test at a year postpartum and that was fine. Hope things progress well @Concernedkay

Post partum thyroidism
IneedcoffeeinanIV · 26/03/2023 21:56

My thyroid levels were out of whack after my first DD was born. They levelled out and then went abnormal again. In the end they had to remove my thyroid so I'm on levothyroxine for ever but I'm glad it got sorted in some way

AlltheFs · 26/03/2023 22:02

It was just before lockdown when I had my first test (routine FBC due to my gestational diabetes), then I had to wait ages for retesting due to Covid and the hospital weren’t accepting referrals that weren’t high priority. But the consultant did call
me and said he was 99% sure it would resolve and that it almost always does. I have annual tests though for GD and Thyroid though.

I do think it might have impacted my milk supply slightly as DD was an extreme cluster feeder. I fed her for 26 months but for the first 6 she did feed a lot and was quite slight (although she did always gain and was an easy baby otherwise). But I think she did work quite hard at it! She once fed pretty much continuously for 11hrs, that was quite a night.

Original poster
Concernedkay · 28/03/2023 11:32

@AlltheFs

I did notice I was never engorged and never had an oversupply and only had one day of leaking. My milk has always been just enough for my baby but he's always been a thriving weight x

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