Hypothyroidism after Child Birth

My son was born July 29, 2004 and it was a normal pregnancy.  After some time my body seems to never go back to normal. My hair started falling out more than normal, receeding(sp?) hair line started.  My legs couldn't run up 4 steps without feeling like they were going to give out. By December 2004 we discovered that my thyroid no longer functioned properly.  I'm on Eltroxin for the rest of my life.  Apparently my thyroid over produced and my body fought it like a foreign substance thus damaging it. Has anyone else had their thyroid function change after having a baby?  Has this or will it affect any future chance of conceiving?

[mommaprops]

A very good friend of mine had surgery on her thyroid & is on medications. This all took place about 2 years before she had her little baby girl. Her problems were before pregnancy & she was able to conceive & have a healthy child. I would think it would be the same in your case. Her ob/gyn watched her closer. Talk to your doctor & good luck to you. :)

[Adevotee]

ALOT of women's thyroids go wacky (for lack of a better word) once they give birth. Your hormones freak out and among them so does the thyroid. Most women will not have to take medication as their thyroid level will return to normal very quickly. Others will have to be on medicine, but only for a short time, then their thyroid regulates itself and then their are women whos thyroid levels never return to normal without the use of medication.

Thyroid problems among women who have just given birth often times go undiagnosed, because the symptoms are usually the same as normal post-partum symtpoms.

You might want to do some reading on this sight:

http://www.allthyroid.org/

Take Care

[mom@homenow]

It happened to me, although I suspect my thyroid was not working right for a few years before my pregnancy even though the tests were in the normal range before I was pregnant. It runs in my family and I had many classic symptoms during those years, and my PCM told me later that it is possible to have hypothyroidism and still test within normal range. (Gee thanks for not believing me at the time!)  Anyway, in the first ten months post partum I gained a lot of weight, despite a healthy diet and breastfeeding, and I was fatigued more easily than I felt I should be. Finally I was diagnosed with the hypothyroid, I was put on synthroid and it's been 4 years and I still need it, so I think I'll need it permanently. What was really strange to me was that while I was pregnant I had a great metabolism and lots of energy, I felt better than I had in a long time, and until the last two months I actually lost weight while eating normally (I started out overweight). But then about 8 weeks post partum my body just started going whacko.