My Pesky Thyroid

My Thyroid has been a little temperamental since I was a teenager. I have taken Synthroid since then in varying amounts. Apparently, the Thyroid can really go haywire during and right after pregnancy, so the doctors like to keep a close eye on it. Thyroid levels that are out of range can cause problems for the baby including stillbirth, fast heartbeat, and developmental delay.

The Thyroid is a gland in the neck that produces hormones. These hormones effect nearly all of the tissues in the body, where they increase cellular activity. In type 1 diabetics, hypothyroidism, or under active thyroid, is common because the immune system attacks and destroys the gland in much the same way that the immune system attacked and destroyed the islet cells that produced insulin. Symptoms of an under active thyroid include fatigue, weakness, weight gain, muscle cramps, cold intolerance, constipation, and depression.

Last week I got the results of my blood work from the last time I went to the Endo, and it turns out that my Thyroid is indeed low. I am not completely surprised because I have been feeling incredibly cold lately and also incredibly tired. Of course, both could be attributed to other factors (cold winter weather and pregnancy), but the cold has been especially unbearable. It just did not seem to matter what I did, I just could not get warm. I was so cold that my insides felt like they wanted to turn inside out. And not just when I was outside in the cold, but also in the evenings when I was sitting on the couch next to the fireplace. My husband was sweating, but I was shivering.

The doctor increased my dosage of Synthroid and I started the new pills on Saturday morning. The new level should take 7-14 days to get all the way into my system, but I think the higher dosage might already working. The cold seems more bearable and my energy level seems to have increased slightly.

Resources

• Thyroid Disease and Pregnancy, http://www.thyroid.org/patients/brochures/Thyroid_Dis_Pregnancy_broch.pdf
• Hypothyroidism FAQ, http://www.thyroid.org/patients/faqs/hypothyroidism.html
• How Your Thyroid Works, http://www.endocrineweb.com/thyfunction.html