Hypothyriodism

I love Linz’s suggestion of sharing our varying knowledge. I am learning so much from you guys. When I thought about what I might be somewhat an expertise at I immediately thought of my major and favorite thing to still study, Marriage, family, and Human Development, but quickly I remembered a wise professors advice, “Don’t give unsolicited advice on parenting and marriage, it will most likely cause more problems then it could ever solve." So after thinking for a couple more days I realized that due to my being diagnosed with Hypothyroidism I have somewhat become an expert of this interesting disease. Hypothyroidism is when your thyroid gland doesn’t produce the needed hormones for your body to function properly.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hypothyroidism/DS00353


First of all I will tell my story that ended with me finding out about this problem. During the last three months of my first pregnancy, my blood pressure increased dramatically. The doctor was worried that I was developing preeclampsia so I was immediately put on bed rest. Once I was on bed rest my weight starting soaring. After my daughter was born I became extremely depressed, but blamed it on being over stressed with having a baby during Thanksgiving vacation and returning to school 5 days later to get ready for finals. The weight kept increasing, but I didn’t have the energy or time to dedicate to it. That summer I decided to go to a nutritionist and start an exercise program. Sadly I didn’t see any results. A little later I became pregnant with my son. I was 60 lbs overweight and determined to not make it worse. Luckily I only gained the 15 lbs my doctor recommended, and he decided to treat my high blood pressure with medication, but ultimately I was put on bed rest. After my son was born I was put on medication for postpartum depression. Six months later my daughter came to me and told me she wanted a big tummy like mommy. I realized how much of an effect my weight was having on my family and I felt that I was going to need to try harder losing weight this time. My husband and I signed up at a local gym that had day care. I started going to the gym five days a week and stuck to a strict diet. After 4 months I had gained 5 lbs of muscle. Something had to be wrong. I went to my wonderful OBGYN and explained my frustration. He sent me to doctor who specializes in weight loss. After many, many tests we discovered what was wrong, I had hypothyroidism. They believe that I developed it during my first pregnancy.


“Some women develop hypothyroidism during or after pregnancy (postpartum hypothyroidism), often because they produce antibodies to their own thyroid gland. Left untreated, hypothyroidism increases the risk of miscarriage, premature delivery and preeclampsia — a condition that causes a significant rise in a woman's blood pressure during the last three months of pregnancy. It can also seriously affect the developing fetus. “


After learning more about it I knew that my problems with pregnancy and weight gain were mainly cause by hypothyroidism. Immediately my doctor prescribed Armour Thyroid, a medication that is made from a pig’s thyroid gland. It has been a year and I love the difference I feel. I have more energy, since fatigue is a symptom, and have been able to lose 45 lbs to date. I hope this information helps others with diagnosing this problem. I wish that I had been diagnosed during my first pregnancy. It took over three years to figure out what was wrong with me, and I think it took so long because so many of my symptoms could be blamed on other pregnancy symptoms. But it is easily treated with a daily pill that is less than $10 a month for the name brand without insurance.