I'm pregnant!! Advice please!

[lhall817]

Hi, yesterday I found out that I'm pregnant. I did 3 tests and they all came back positive. I'm hypothyroid after having radioactive iodine treatment for hyperthyroidism. I currently take 175mcg of levothyroxine daily crushed up.

I know that been pregnant with a thyroid condition isn't as straightforward as a regular pregnancy and I'm currently feeling very nervous and a little worried maybe that things might go wrong because of the thyroid condition.

I've got an appointment tomorrow with my GP to try and get some advice on what steps I need to be taking.

I was wondering whether anyone could give me advice on absolutely anything from what to eat, how your medication changes, whether people have managed to carry full term? Just anything really Thanks in advance!! xx

[donna]

Congratulations!!, what great news ! You must be so excited...enjoy your news ,read what you can and listen to your body ..sleep when you need to and for the first couple of months take things more easy...and keep us updated on how your doing xxx

[nobodysdriving]

you need blood tests asap as many women (though not all) need to increase their meds slightly at the beginning, also get referred to an obstetrician and an endocrinologist too, if you have been seeing an endo make an appointment with them for review.

[ReallyFedUp]

My daughter is recently pregnant and was referred to Obstectrics and Endocrinolgy to manage her pregancy. She will be attending a regular clinic for Pregant Diabetics as the Consultant also managed her thyroid issues when not pregant. Good luck.

[ejh1]

Hi, and congrats!

I understand that it is normal to have an increase in thyroxine as soon as you find out about the pregancy (ie within a couple of weeks), and around 25mcg increase is normal. Other than that, it is unlikely that you will need more adjustments, unless you feel unwell. Some GPs are not aware of the need for this increase, but an endocrinologist should be able to advise them.

Also, you could grow big babies. This doesn't cause problems for either of you, but is something to be aware of if you seem to have a big bump - it could be a ten pounder!

Good luck with the pregnancy, don't worry about it and try to enjoy it!

[PinkNinja in reply to ejh1]

You should also get a thyroid function test every trimester because some people do need an increase later on. I did with both my children in the third trimester.

[sazzles6 in reply to ejh1]

Ohh Congratulations.... I love baby news.

This post just made something click in my head! LOL. Jus recently diagnosed (7weeks ago) but have had symptoms since my teens. I have two babies (aged 8 + 3) my first was a huge 9lb 3oz and they guestimated my second would be well over 10lbs. Thankfully she was a smidge smaller at 8lbs 3.5oz. I would say, remember that the bigger the baby the more gravity helps delivery!!! (both very quick deliveries too< probably because they where so big!! ) GOOD LUCK. & best wishes. xxxx

[ejh1 in reply to sazzles6]

Yup, mine were 9lb8oz and 10lb 5oz. The second was the one that came out the right way... ouch! I'm only 9stone myself. I only found out about the big baby thing afterwards, but the more I mention it, the more I hear - 'oh yes, that clicks, mine were big too...'!!

[sazzles6 in reply to ejh1]

well, when I had my 1st I was size 10 and I said to the midwife, i'm not gonna av a big baby am I??? she said ohhh no, you'll only have as big as your body can manage WELL, a few weeks after having baby I was having to buy size 18 and have stayed that way since, well except for a short stint at w/w were I managed to get to a size 14.... more symptoms of being hypo hey+ struggling with weight!! lol. If we don't laugh we'd cry! I'm gonna put on the news feed!! hahaha

[Hidden]

Don't worry too much as you won't enjoy your pregnancy - and it really is something to be cherished - but just take sensible precautions to get the right medical advice from the professionals. Your GP should refer you to the hospital who should keep an eye on your condition so you can enjoy the nine months. My daughter has a baby of 18 months now and she was worried with her condition too but after the initial first month of getting used to the idea everything went tickety boo and all were happy and healthy. Congratulations and enjoy x

[lhall817]

Thankyou so much for all your responses! They've really helped I went to the doctors today and they've told me I'll get all the close monitoring I need to make sure my pregnancy runs as well as possible I'm back to see the endo next Tuesday and he'll have my blood results from most recently so hopefully they're not anything to worry over and he'll adjust my dose accordingly ..

Should also be getting an appointment through for my first scan soon so they can tell how far on I am and work out my due date! Now all I've got to do is relax a little more about it all and enjoy this exciting time

Thanks again for all your responses and I'll keep you all updated xx

[ejh1 in reply to lhall817]

Great news. The best advice is really to relax and enjoy (and don't eat too many cakes)!!

[Zabby]

I'm hypothyroid and my friend had radioactive iodine treatment for Graves. We were both monitored at our local hospital during our pregnancies. I just had to go every couple of months to have an appointment with an endocrinologist at the clinic for pregnant women (and pop in for a blood test a few days before) because my condition was stable. My friend was still on a small amount of anti-thyroid medication because the RAI hadn't been completely successful, but she quickly swung to hypothyroid and had to take thyroxine. I think they saw her every 2 weeks throughout the pregnancy and were constantly adjusting her dose based on her results. If your thyroid has been destroyed by the RAI and you're on a steady dose then I imagine you will be fine. If you still have antibodies (I think that people with Graves - which I'm guessing you had? - can continue to have antibodies even once their thyroid has gone) then the antibodies will probably drop dramatically because pregnancy has that effect (that's why my friend stopped being hyper and swung to hypo). We both produced healthy babies and I'm confident that you will too! I went to my GP when I found out I was pregnant, and they filled out a form and sent it to the hospital, so I had my first appointment with a midwife at 11 weeks and they made an appointment for me with the endo at 14 weeks. That was fine in my case because I'd had a couple of tests done privately already by then and knew my hormone levels were good, but the most critical time for a pregnant woman's levels to be right are in the first trimester because the baby's thyroid doesn't develop until the second trimester and obviously the first trimester is a critical time for the baby's development. I would advise you to work out which hospital you would like to give birth at and ring them to see if you can self-refer (you could at mine but I went through the GP); go to your doctor immediately and get them to do a blood test asap and to refer you to the hospital if you can't self-refer; and get your booking-in appointment with the midwife as early as you can so they can get you to see the endo as soon as possible. Meanwhile your GP will be able to see if your blood results are alarming, but doctors are notorious for saying everything's fine when actually you're at the wrong end of the 'normal' range, so do get a copy of your results and post them here. The endos I saw wanted TSH at the lower end of the range (mine tended to be about 1.5 and they were happy with that) and Free T4 at the higher end. But please don't worry, as you will be closely monitored and as long as your hormone levels are good then you have every chance of a completely normal pregnancy. In fact, probably a better chance than all the women who get pregnant without knowing that their thyroid is a bit underactive and for some reason they don't test women for that as soon as they find out they're pregnant, even though it would make a big difference to the baby and to the pregnancy. Good luck!

[Zabby]

Sorry, I've just read your follow-up post, and it sounds like you're on top of everything!