Hypothyroidism During Pregnancy
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 4:00AM I live with hypothyroidism every day as some of you might know from my previous blog I Still Get Angry At Night. I am 39 weeks pregnant and wanted to cover some of the restrictions and routines I have had to follow while on medication for it.
Medication - Levothyroxine
- Must be taken in the morning at least 2 hours after you eat: Not a bad thing since when I wake up it's been quite a few hours since I have eaten but wait until you see the next few requirements...
- Take with plenty of water: They say this because they use a pill that starts expanding as soon as it comes in contact with liquid so it needs to be washed down appropriately.
- Have to wait an hour after taking medication to eat: Ah ha! This is where it gets hard. During pregnancy I wake up hungry and it can make me feel sick so waiting is really hard to do.
- Cannot take antacids within 4 hours of taking medicaiton: Thank goodness I mainly get heartburn at night!
- Cannot have anything with Iron or Calcium within 4 hours of taking medication: Most breakfast cereals are iron and/or calcium fortified. Not to mention dairy would be completely out of the question so finding something to eat once I can eat isn't always the easiest. It turns out that it's not just a mild reaction to iron and calcium, they can actually undo anything the pill has done plus make more damage.
To sweeten the pot on this last requirement, I also have a warm antibody in my blood that attacks healthy red blood cells which results in anemia. So not only can I not eat iron fortified foods in the morning to try and help my iron levels, I also can't take my prenatal vitamins until later in the day as well. In addition, calcium blocks absorption of iron so when I do eat iron I have to make sure I don't eat it with a dairy product or with my prenatal vitamin. It is all quite a juggling act and a lifetime accommodation.
During pregnancy your doctor or midwife will have regular blood draws to make sure your levels are staying in a healthy range. The baby really leaches off the hormones so it's very important to stay on top of your medication and testing. Thankfully I have not had any issues with my levels this pregnancy and have not had an increase or decrease in my dose of levothyroxine.
Breakfast, Meals, Medical, Pregnancy, Second Pregnancy in Real Life Experience
Reader Comments (1)
I found this post and the other one really enlightening. I bet this condition is massively underdiagnosed and I am really impressed at how onto it your doctor was in this situation. Thanks for writing about this.