by Stacey Thureen | @StaceyThureen
Blogger note: Before I get to this month’s blog post, I’d like to share with you that I’m now a regular contributor to Examiner.com. After going through my thyroid journey last year and this year as I’m pregnant, my writing focus for Examiner is on thyroid health and autoimmune disorders as it relates to the thyroid. It is my hope that readers will be educated and informed about this important part of their health. Please check it out and feel free to subscribe or follow me on Twitter to stay up to date when articles are published. (And please feel free to contact me if you have any article ideas.)
Also this month, I was a guest blogger on Joan Parcewski’s blog “Green Joan Real Estate.” I know Joan through a Toastmasters speaking group I joined earlier this year. Please check out the post and feel free to check out the group.
What a difference a year makes
In a couple of days I will get an ultrasound of my bump. And for all of you out there wondering if we will find out if it’s a boy or a girl, we are going to let baby Thureen be a surprise.
Interestingly, it will also be one year since I went through a thyroid scan of the bump I had on my thyroid. That test last year was what gave my specialist information that I did need to undergo thyroid surgery. What a difference 12 months can make – I’m thankful to be dealing with more positive doctor visits this year versus last, and a much different ‘scan’ of my body.
The thyroid and pregnancy
I can remember in the days leading up to my first OB appointment several weeks ago, I felt very tired and not myself. I started losing weight due to the food aversions, and I was experiencing other symptoms most commonly associated with hypothyroidism. (A lot of the same symptoms of hypothyroidism are experienced during the first trimester of pregnancy for women, regardless of whether they had a thyroid problem prior to pregnancy or not. As a matter of fact, pregnancy is when a lot of women discover they have thyroid problems.)
It was a bit shocking to get a 9.34 TSH test result. But it confirmed that what I was dealing with was directly linked to my thyroid dysfunction, and my body trying to compensate during early pregnancy.
Last month and this month, bi-weekly blood tests have continued. I started feeling an improvement by mid-March when my TSH went from a 4.68 to a 2.1. My TSH then picked back up to a 3.0 by early April. And once again my thyroid medication was adjusted for the third time in over two months. My endocrinologist believes that I should be between a 2.0 and a 2.5. Last October the American Thyroid Association released new guidelines that suggest pregnant women need to have their TSH around this level.
Proactive steps
I’ve been staying as active as I possibly can throughout the pregnancy, which has been good. One, because my doctors have told me to keep doing what I was doing all along prior to pregnancy – walking, running, and swimming – as long as I don’t experience any pain or lower abdominal issues. Secondly, according to this BabyCenter.com article, staying active during pregnancy has some major benefits to the mom and baby pre and postpartum. And third, exercise in general is just really good for the body, especially the thyroid.