[Anonymous]

#1027698

Ann:

Thanks for responding so quickly — unfortunately I can’t do milk (I’m extremely lactose intolerant), but at least I know that there’s nothing else to do. I’ll just push the ginger tea.

A few more questions now that I have your ear! How much PTU did you take during your pregnancies and did you decrease your dosage over the course of them? Also, how often did you have your levels checked. I tend towards the anxious end of the scale anyway and the fact that I am old for this pregnancy (41) is only adding to my anxieties! My endocrinologist has been seeing me every 2 months, but I get myself worked up in between worrying that I’m getting too much PTU and wonder if I should be checking the levels more often. The endo, my OB and the high-risk consultant OB, all of whom are great, say that neither the Graves nor the PTU is a problem and their advice — I still get really worried. Of course, reading Bobbi’s response to someone about PTU in pregnancy (it being a class 4 drug, crossing the placents, etc.) just made me worse. Any words of wisdom are most appreciated!

Thanks, Miriam

[Anonymous]

#1097819

Miriam,

I had 2 pregnancies while taking PTU. The doses ranged from 300 mg to 100 mg a day. I was on a higher dose at the beginning of my first pregnancy because I had come out of “remission”. The dose went down when my levels came down. For the most part I took 100 to 150 mg per day. I saw the endo every 6 to 8 weeks throughout both pregnancies. I too am HIGH on the anxious scale and understand the anxiety that comes with being pregnant but all the stress in the world DOES NOT HELP anything and isn’t good for the baby.

Yes, PTU is a class D drug for pregnancy. HOWEVER, being hyperthyroid is a much bigger risk than PTU. The endo I had when I learned I was pregnant the first time was a JERK! He suggested I “get rid” of this baby because of my Grave’s disease. I called the OB in tears and changed endochronologist. My WONDERFUL OB set me up with an appointment with a genetic counselor. She knew all about drugs and pregnancy and side effects, etc. She told me that under 300 mg of PTU per day was NO problem. She also said that if I had to be on a higher dose then there was a small chance that the baby could be born hypothyroid or too little thyroid hormone. They check all babies at birth for this anyway. My OB said that if the baby was born hypothyroid then the baby would regulate iteself withing days or they could treat the hypothryoid baby and the baby would be fine. 2 different pregnancies, different doses of PTU and BOTH babies were born perfect and with normal thryoid levels. The important thing is to get and keep your thyroid levels within normal range.

The best advice I can give you is to find doctors (OB and endochrologist) that you trust and can work with. If you already have that then TRUST THEM. Let them do the worrying for you. If they are not worried then don’t worry. I worried about everything during my first pregnancy and once I knew what it was all about I didn’t stress anything during the second pregnancy. It hasn’t been that long since I was where you are now. My daughter is 21 months and my son is 6 months old. If I can answer anything else for you or you need to ramble or anything let me know. Please feel free to email me if you need anything. Good luck and God bless.

Ann

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