Saturday, October 13, 2007

Thyroid issues and a Silly Face


In the last couple of months, I (Chris) have been under the supervision of my doctor for hypertension, which came back as soon as I gave birth to Peter. We got that under control with medication. I do think that a healthy diet and weight loss will contribute to my improvement, but that takes time to achieve, so it was important to get treatment as my bp was 190/109 and sometimes higher :( Now it is holding steady at 120/70 :)

So now onto the thyroid issue. My doctor also did some blood tests and found that I had hyperthyroid. That meant that my thyroid was overactive and producing too much hormone. That would explain the palpitations I was having soon after Peter's birth. I was also experiencing irregular cycles which I attributed to breast-feeding. My doctor ordered a more extensive test for thyroid levels, and based on those results ordered an ultrasound scan of my thyroid. All this was between August and September. Meanwhile I read some stuff online and I was guessing that I have post-partum thyroiditis. My reason for thinking that was that I didn't have any family history of thyroid disfunction, and the information online made sense to me. I didn't have that many, or severe symptoms.

I was then referred to an endocrinologist based on my enlarged thyroid and disfunction. The endocrinologist examined me and looked over my records. My symptoms of palpitations had abated, yet my cycles were still irregular which even the doctor said that it could be due to breastfeeding(bf).

She left the room and came back with a diagnosis of Grave's Disease. I was shocked. I had read extensively on Grave's and didn't think that was what I had because I didn't exhibit many of the symptoms associated with Grave's except for enlarged thyroid, some palpitions and irregular cycles. I truly was shocked. I asked her couldn't it be postpartum thyroiditis, but she said no based on my enlarged thyroid. So she prescribed some anti-thyroid drugs and said to come back for blood tests. She also had me do a blood test that very day to see if anything had changed since August and Sept.

I went immediately and got my blood drawn, got the prescription filled and took the meds. By the second dose (the next morning) I was feeling ill and so down. I wondered why this was happening and wished it wan't me. I asked God to protect my liver from the drug, as it can tax it, and to protect Peter from it getting into his body through the milk. The doctor had asured me that very little leaked into the milk and should not affect him, but that I should let his doctor know I was on the drug and bf.

The next day, after my appointment with my endocrinologist, we had a light school day and we got ready to go to play ball with other homeschoolers at a local park. It was a hard day for me as I had Grave's Disease on my mind alot and I was trying to figure out what I could do diet wise to improve my health. I was all ready drinking carrot-apple juice and green juices. Plus had added lots of fiber, fruit and veggies to my diet. I read online that too much iodine in the diet can worsen hyperthyroid. So I made a list of foods to avoid and posted them on the fridge.

The children got their sneakers on and we prepared to leave. The phone rang and I saw that it was my doctor. I knew immediately that she was calling about my bloodwork. Instinctively I prayed that it was better not worse. She told me that the thyroid levels were no longer hyper. That I should stop the medication immediately. In fact I currently am the opposite hypothyroid and not producing enough hormone. That sounded just like postpartum thyroiditis to me! She still thinks I have Grave's but that it is going into "remission". She will be re-checking my blood in mid-November as originally planned. Then we shall see how it is. Chances are that I will still be hyothyroid and may need to be given meds to up the levels. At least that is what happens in post partum thyroiditis. So we shall see.
I am relieved that my body is trying to repair itself and Lord willing it will get better. Please say a little prayer to St.Blaise to intercede for the healing of my thyroid as it is located in the throat.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like he got a taste of somethng sour- LOL~!!!

Christine said...

He is actually getting ready to close his eyes to the flash.

Anonymous said...

great job I really love your updates, seems to help with our distance. I will continue to pray for Tom's dad and for you. I think you are right with the diagnosis. Love you all so much, Lynn