Hi Christa,
Some of what you have gone/are going through sounds familiar.
I went to my GP for a physical in Jan/04 as we were having trouble getting pregnant & so my dr. ordered standard blood tests, including TSH. I went back in a month to review the results with him – at the time, he didn’t mention anything & I really didn’t notice anything unusual. Looking back, I had some symptoms – sensitivity to the lights in the office, irritability (mostly though b/c there were other women in the office getting pregnant & I wanted to be), increased hr – I was really sucking wind while playing a hockey game, just thought I was out of shape as I hadn’t been going to the gym as frequently). So, I went back to get the results, & my dr. said I was hyperthyroid & was going to refer me to a specialist (endo). Surprisingly I got into the endo’s office within a week (my #s were really out of whack – T4 was 49 – Cdn numbers). In the meantime, I thought all would be OK seeing as how between getting the blood test results & seeing/talking to the endo I found out I was pregnant.
I went to the endo anyhow – as they said I NEEDED to, took my husband too. The endo told me I really HAD to go on PTU – knowing I was pregnant – as there is an increased risk in miscarriage if you are hyper, along with other things. So, I ended up being on PTU for aprx. 4 mths of my pregnancy. I had weekly blood tests to monitor & was on the lowest dose possible to maintain normal thyroid levels. He started at 50mg, the highest I was at was 50 mg 3x/day (or 150). I think I was only on the 150 mg’s for aprx. 1 mth, then as the pregnancy went along, the dose was lowered until I was able to be off the medicine completely. I was VERY reluctant to take the medicine (in general, I’m not really one to take tylenol if I have a headache, I usually just work through it), but did in the end take it.
The OB I went to was surprised that I was still on PTU when I saw him at around 22 wks, but he knew the endo & told me my endo is a walking encyclopedia so I felt a little better and shortly after that, I was off of the meds anyhow.
As far as my child’s health – all went well throughout pregnancy & delivery (born 10 days early). My endo had said that as long as I was in a normal range, then there was little chance my baby would be hyper/hypo at birth – the hospital did a routine thyroid check at birth & it was ok. My endo did suggest though to avoid iodine (for epidural, they used some other disinfectant) as it could cause a flare-up of graves due to excess iodine I may absorb – it was just precautionary & didn’t seem to be a big deal. I remember the anethetist preferred iodine but that’s mostly because you can ‘see’ it going on rather than trying to make sure my back was painted with the cleaning agent.
After pregnancy, I became hyper aprx. 4 mths after delivery (had bi-weekly blood tests for first 3 mths, then monthly). I went on PTU again as I wanted to continue nursing. I was on PTU for aprx. 5 mths until I stopped it due to excruciating joint pain, turns out I am allergic to PTU. My endo didn’t agree the joing pain was caused by PTU, however, I had blood tests along with x-rays of all my sore joints (essentially all joints as everything – wrists, ankles, shoulders, knees, hips were affected & bi-laterally too) & they came back showing no osteo or rhumeutoid arthritis. When I stopped the PTU & it was out of my system, the pain went away, so on I went. I remained hyper, my levels were slightly higher, but no-where near where they had been prior to diagnosis.
Now, my child is a healthy 5 year old! As for my child’s health, the only thing is he seems to have some allergies to animals (cats?) and is also allergic to peanuts, however, these allergies also run in my family. So far, nothing thyroid related & I keep my fingers crossed all the time there won’t be any problems. I can tell you there have been many instances (before/during/after pregnancy) when I’ve worried/wondered if the PTU did anything, but so far I can’t seen any evidance in it.
My endo pushed to do RAI when I became hyper post-partum, but I continued to say no as I was nursing & then too because I wanted my kids to be close in age. I didn’t want to wait for 1 yr before trying to get pregnant post RAI (or even with surgery b/c I knew you still needed to achieve stable levels through replacement). So, I continued on being hyper & got pregnant rather easitly. For pregnancy #2, again, I started out hyper (this time around, no meds though), had frequent blood tests (bi-weekly) & my body regulated itself around the 4th-5th month. I was ‘normal’ until 4 mths post-partum (Feb 2007). Again, I was nursing, so chose to do nothing. I kept putting off making any kind of decision as I was ‘nursing’ & ended up nursing for much longer than I had ever planned.
Was there a difference in the pregnancies as the first I was on PTU & the 2nd I was not? I can’t say there was. Were there any concerns with either pregnancy? Not really, only my OB thought my 2nd child was on the small side & sent me for a 3rd ultrasound around the 30 week mark. In the end, my 2nd child was born 4 days late & was BIGGER (8lbs 10 oz in comparison to my first 7lbs 2oz) – so go figure that he thought my 2nd child (now 3) was maybe on the small side.
In the end, I continued to do nothign for my thyroid – let the numbers stay where they were. Then, I seemed to become more symptomatic – anxious & irritable, so I tried accupuncture & some homeopathic stuff (not a true believer in ‘home remedies’ but I didn’t want surgery or RAI so thought I would give it a try, at least it’s reversible) and it seemed to work for a couple of months in that I was less anxious – maybe it was b/c I had someone to talk to??? Finally, in October 2009, I ended up doing RAI after agonizing over my decision for a long time. And now, I am just starting replacement & will see how that goes.
Christa, I totally understand your desire to have your kids close in age – that’s exactly what I wanted (and they are, 2 years & 1 week apart). It can be hard to convince your dr. that at times, but it sounds as though he is supportive. I sympathize with you over your concern about harming an unborn child (through medication that you need to take) as it was a decision I had to make once without really understanding what Graves was or why I needed to take the medicine since the only reason why I got the initial blood test was b/c I was having trouble getting pregnant & since I was pregnant, it didn’t seem as though it would be a problem. Whatever you decide is ultimately YOUR choice – best wishes to you. I hope your switch to PTU goes smoothly (if that’s what you choose) & that you are successful in getting pregnant. Make sure that you are monitored closely – weekly or bi-weekly blood tests – and are put on the lowest dose possible and that it’s tapered off too so that you are not on the PTU any longer than needed (at least, that was the approach my endo took).
All the best,
hockey
). I was able to stop taking it. Apparently I was probably headed to remission and the pregnancy may have sealed the deal. My ‘baby’ is now a happy and healthy 3 year old and I have remained in remission. I didn’t really expect the remission to stick post-partum since I was diagnosed 8 months after our first child was born. In hindsight I am sure the onset was really at about 4 month post-partum. I just assumed all the symptoms were ‘normal’ post pregnancy stuff.
