Hypothyroidism During Pregnancy and How I Got Better

I developed subclinical hypothyroidism during pregnancy and found a way to get better… Read on.

First of all, I would like to state that I’m not an expert or anything, just a mum sharing my experience.

When I was pregnant for the first time I was pretty healthy. Anemic, but that’s the problem I had since I was a child. At around 9 or 10 weeks pregnant I started to get weird symptoms.

Every evening when I would calm down, and lay in front of the TV I started to get this terrible choking feeling in my chest. It would be painful with every breath like someone was sitting on my lounges.

After a couple of days, evenings started to freak me out. Every evening the same, later I could hardly fall asleep from the chest pain. In the morning everything would be back to normal.

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AM I GOING MAD??

After a week or so I went for my regular checkup. My gynecologist said it was probably like an anxiety issue, because of all the trouble to get pregnant in the first place. I thought I was going mad. It was hard to get pregnant, but I really wasn’t that emotional, I was just fine in my mind.

Then I went to my GP. She said let’s do a heart EKG… And, my heart was fine. We did all the bloodwork but also for thyroid hormones. It turned out my TSH was higher than it should. It was 5.5. Here in Croatia, they say it shouldn’t exceed 5, but my research said it should be below 2,5 to get pregnant.

The ATA guidelines recommend that women with primary hypothyroidism who are planning pregnancy should have their levothyroxine dose adjusted to maintain a thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration <2.5 mu/L at the time of conception.

National Library of Medicine

They gave me Eutyrox 0,25 mg. After 3 days my symptoms subsided.

Oh, I felt great.

By the end, I was on a dosage from 0.50 to 0.75. I was getting a lot of weight, altogether 50 pounds during pregnancy.

But honestly, I wasn`t eating that much. I was on my bike every day for at least 30-45 minutes while watching Fools and Horses in the morning… Yeah, haha, Del and Rodney kept me spinning… I went for fast walking… but the weight just kept going up…

I gave birth 3 weeks earlier. My daughter, now a 5-year-old is like me, always anemic, iron on the bottom scale. I read somewhere that babies got the most iron from mom last month. I didn`t have much of my own to give her and she was premature, so it was predetermined for her.

CAN PREGNANCY-CAUSED HYPOTHYROIDISM BE CURED?

There are some cases where pregnancy-caused hypothyroidism is cured.

Transient hypothyroidism is treated with T4, which may be continued till six months and then tapered to determine if the hypothyroidism is permanent. 

quote from National Library of Medicine

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HYPOTHYROIDISM AND IRON DEFICIENCY

Hypothyroidism and iron deficiency are very closely related. I discovered it during my second pregnancy.

 Iron deficiency is related to thyroid function and could lead to hypothyroidism during early pregnancy, which could be explained by thyroid autoimmunity.

quote from National Library of Medicine

I started taking Thorne ferrochel ferrous bisglycinate iron. I read that form of iron works best, especially for pregnancy.

For the first time in my life took some good iron. Everything that was subscribed to me didn’t last long. So I somehow gave up on taking it. This time feeling bad because my other daughter could end up anemic I did the proper steps.

Took this iron for 2 months. Postpartum lab reports were great, My iron was in the mid-range,

WoooW! Couldn’t believe it.

My research then started with iron deficiency and hypothyroidism.

Here are some of the articles you might find interesting too:

• Iron Deficiency, a Risk Factor of Thyroid Disorders in Reproductive-Age and Pregnant Women
• Thyroid and Iron Relationship

Also taking a mineral supplement can assist the absorption, as can B12.  One important B vitamin is Folate (not Folic acid), which promotes red blood cell formation. Adding it to your iron supplementation can be key, some patients have reported. But if you have MTHFR, be careful going too high – it helps increase the breakdown and release of toxins or metals, and you have symptoms of that or excess fatigue.

Stopthethyroidmadness.com is one of the great resources for you to read and follow.

AND MY THYROID GOT BETTER!

During my postpartum period, my hypothyroidism improved. I consistently monitor my iron levels and take supplements as necessary.

Although my hypothyroidism has not completely disappeared, I feel great and my Eutyrox dosage is lower than it was during pregnancy. I encourage you to educate yourself so that you can also improve your situation.

I hope sharing my experience has been helpful to you.

More for you to read for the postpartum phase

• What can help with postpartum depression?
• How does motherhood change us?
• The first year of the baby’s life