Hashimoto/other thyroid problems after pregnancy?

[heidie]

Hi,

Wanted to know if there are other people who suffer from hashimoto, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism or other forms of thyroid illnesses after pregnancy? I suffered from postpartum thyroiditis after giving birth and I am still suffering from symptoms 2 years after (my tsh,t3,t4 are withing normal range though but I do have had elevated antibodies for the past 2 years, not on medication as of this moment). I am without an official diagnosis though and just wanted to hear from other ladies your journey with thyroid problems after having babies.

Thank you

[DoeStewart]

Hi - I developed hyperthyroidism after the birth of my first baby 31 years ago, ended up having 7/8ths thyroid removal when baby was 15 months old,.been hypo ever since.

[heidie in reply to DoeStewart]

Im sorry to hear that :/

[Debimmm]

Hi yes me too, was a case of microchemerism.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

I am prescribed 100 levo 20 liothyronine (t3) in my case they make me feel worse so I take 4 grains NDT daily, 1 at 7am another about 12-13pm

[heidie in reply to Debimmm]

Hi,

Oh that is a new term for me, never heard of microchemerism before.

Thank you for the link by the way

[Ivorheadache]

Hi Heidie, I developed hypothyroidism postpartum. I was referred to an Endocrinologist who tried to tell me it would resolve itself. I disagreed, so a medical student checked my reflexes & there was no knee jerk response.

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos and prescribed thyroxine following blood test results 30 years ago.

The important thing I have learnt from this forum in recent years is never accept your thyroid test results are normal unless you have seen them.

I have been under medicated for years. You are entitled to a print out of your results with ranges (in brackets) if you have them already or when you get them post them on here. Some very knowledgeable people on this site will comment/advise you. They have helped me, and know more from experience than most doctors seem to.

[heidie in reply to Ivorheadache]

This is what the endo told me as well! That it will resolve itself but the symptoms are still there for me! It is beyond frustrating that I have to literally wait until my thyroid destroys itself which can take years and only THEN get a diagnosis and medication. I have had elevated antibodies for the past two years, (current results: T4 16.9, T3 5.0, TSH 1.82, Anti-thyroid peroxidase 205 & anti-thyroglobulin 364, ref range below 60 in both, elevated liver levels and mild neutropenia).

Thank you for your encouraging words

[HughH in reply to heidie]

T3 is the active thyroid hormone which controls the metabolism and therefore the symptoms. I don't have ranges but your Free T3 appears to be in the top part of the normal range, which is good, so you should not have hypothyroid symptoms.

As you are having what appear to be hypothyroid symptoms, one possible cause is a genetic condition commonly known as Thyroid Hormone Resistance. It causes hypothyroid symptoms and requires very high T3 levels (often above the top of the normal range) in the body to overcome the resistance.

As it is genetic if there are other family members with thyroid problems, fibromyalgia, CFS, ME, Coeliac Disease, MS, Heart Disease or depression this would further support this possibility.

[heidie in reply to HughH]

Interesting, I have never heard of thyroid hormone resistance. Atm my t3 is 5.0 and the range is 3.5-6.5. In the past it has been 18.1 and 9.9. My mom has hypothyroidism and some of my cousins also. My dad's side has goiters in the females.

[HughH in reply to heidie]

It is likely that you, your mom and your other relations, including your dad's side, all have thyroid hormone resistance.

Different people are impacted in different ways. Some have high Free T3, as you had, and are often diagnosed as hyperthyroid even though their symptoms are hypo. Goiters are also common in some families with the condition. It seems strange but I find a lot of cases where people with the condition marry others who have the condition.

I will send more information by personal message.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Getting copies of all your blood test results and ranges

Find out exactly what has been tested.....and what hasn't

Come back with new post once you have them

Hair loss - common with Hashimoto's can be low ferritin or low zinc

Testing vitamins first, before supplementing any

Trying strictly gluten free diet often helps too

[Samy3]

Hi Heidie I become hyper (graves disease ) three years ago after had my youngest one different endo s gave different diagnosis I had mild goitre still have with now one cm nodule on top was treated with carbimazole for really short period then stopped completely like you my blood results are normal too but I still struggle everyday my thyroid ultrasounds showed thyroditis which I believe is slowly damaging my thyroid did asked the endo s to do something but they look at blood results not your symptoms hope we get better soon

[heidie in reply to Samy3]

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that Samy3 This sounds very similar to my situation, starting with a hyper stage and was treated with carbimazole until my levels went down and after that stopped all meds. At this moment, I feel like all my symptoms are very classic hypothyroidism symptoms but since I'm withing "normal range" they do NOTHING! I have heard doctors telling me what I am feeling is completely normal since I am a mother and its normal to feel tired etc etc etc. Excuses in my opinion!

I also 100% believe my thyroid is slowly destroying itself and I am worried it might take YEARS until I get the proper diagnosis and medication..I feel like my head is barely above water at this point. I just don't feel like myself anymore, more like a shadow of myself. I hope we will feel better soon but it might be a long journey for us Hugs xx

[Sveistre]

Hi! I developed postartum hypothyroidism (Hashi’s) which didn’t go away and got just worse, after 1.5y I’m still not on the right dose of medication - taking 125/150mg Levo but I’m not converting properly. The NHS refused to prescribe T3 along with T4 so now I’m waiting to get my T3 from Germany. BTW 5 months ago I went on Keto diet (high fat, low carb - gluten, grain, sugar, soy..free) and feeling much better - improved mood, energy, easy weight loss. Hope that helps

[heidie in reply to Sveistre]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. How many months postpartum were you when you developed hashi? It seems to be a bit of a struggle to get the medication on the right track, this is what I have been noticing reading different threads here on this site.

Thank you for the keto tip! Might have to try it out! XX

[Sveistre in reply to heidie]

I started to feel unwell 6 months after giving birth but since I was breastfeeding I didn’t want to take any medication (for postpartum depression) and so I came back to the doctor after 6 more months but this time I couldn’t hold my tears, I thought I was going crazy..my TSH was 64 when the blood tests were done..So probably Hashi’s started to show up 6months after birth and then it got much worse.

You can give Keto a go, nothing to loose

[heidie in reply to Sveistre]

64?! Woah, you must have felt absolutely horrible! Do you remember how were your antibodies? I can relate to feeling crazy, I was a walking mess ..but somehow I convinced myself that these feelings/symptoms were just normal after becoming a mom and put it all down to just hormones going a bit crazy after giving birth.

I will look into keto, I have heard a lot about it lately on news and on the internet, but have not properly educated myself about it

[Sveistre in reply to heidie]

Yes 64! Just checked the pic of my results..believe me I was going crazy, I didn’t understand what is happening with me cause this was my second pregnancy so besides this matter I had 2 boys messing around🤭🙈 honestly I couldn’t cope with that anymore, all I was doing just sitting and crying all the time..the very first time the antibodies were not tested and after couple months of starting Levo is said “positive” but no number🤨

I learned about Keto from Dr Eric Berg on youtube, he has a lot of videos thyroid related too, you cam check it out😉

[heidie in reply to Sveistre]

I feel for you. It that must have been so stressful for you to go through all of that on top of having kids to be taken care of as well! Thankfully atleast you have a diagnosis and you dont have to feel like youre just going crazy..you actually have a condition that makes you feel the way you do! I remember my partner calling me crazy and he said I was not normal and I remember just yelling at him and calling him crazy and telling him that maybe he should see a doctor himself..I was so offended when he told me the way I was acting was not normal Thyroid problems can make us feel so off! :/

Ill have a look at Eric Berg thank you

[dtate2016]

Yes - a common occurance. Occurred for me over 30 years ago - suffered getting gradually worse over 10 years before finally finding an endo and functional medicine Dr. (2 doctors working together) that decided my “borderline” thyroid disfunction was Hashimotos. Synthroid / T-4 only made things worse. Finally received Armour Thyroid and now NatureThroid - which allows me to lead a 90% symptom free life. Have found further knowledge of vitamins, enzymes, etc - here. Its a wonderful place to empower one to take charge of their own health. For the most part - you will have to educate yourself and heal yourself, I am so sorry to say. Depending upon where you are geographically - you may or may not find much help from the mainstream medical industry. Stay tuned! Prepare to defend, wrestle, and acquire a return to health.

[heidie in reply to dtate2016]

You suffered for 10 years?! Oh my, poor you! That sounds horrible. I will look google and read about those medications that you mentioned, NatureThroid especially sounds like a great medication if it gives you an almost symptom-less life! I live in Australia and to me, the doctors have a wait-and-see approach and will only act when my thyroid levels are out of whack and disregard elevated antibodies and the symptoms it brings.

Thank you for your encouraging words xx