Did anyone else have a history of thyroid problems before they got pregnant? Do you think there is a link to your child's condition?
When I was a teen, I had HYPER thyroid. In my last trimester, I told my obgyn that I felt like I did when I had thyroid problems. He refused to give me a test, because he said it would be impossible to get pregnant with a thyroid imbalance. But what if it started during the pregnancy?
After I delivered, I had the typical Hyper than Hypo thyroid that many women get, which eventually regulates and returns back to normal. But I can't help thinking that perhaps my thyroid might have had something to do with my son's problems now.
I remember thinking when I was pregnant that I was really an emotional wreck. I remember saying to myself, "Well, how bad can all this anxiety be for the baby anyway?" And I literally slept the entire last 2 months of my pregnancy, day and night.
Just curious if anyone else wondered the same thing? I know I have a cousin overseas who had a thyroid problem. I also have a cousin overseas who has 2 autistic children. I'll have to ask my mom if they are one in the same.
Auto-immune disorders ( such as Hashimoto's ) has been discussed here before & quite a few of us have them. I didn't have any noticable thyroid issues until after my son was born...I have Hashimoto's.My thyroid is fine but my husband has Grave's disease. I suppose anything is a possible link until they figure out the causes.
Laurie
Hypothroidism can also increase the chance of a miscarriage and cause problems early in pregnancy.
That's nice way to look at it, foxl. That makes sense to me.
My hypothyroidism made it very hard for me to conceive.Hi Sallyf,
I ask myself this question all the time. I used to be hyper many years ago but the prescriptions over the years slowed my thyroid down and I weaned myself of the meds and felt fine for a few years. When I got pregnant with my dx son I was fine or so I though. I figured that the palpitations, shortness of breath, nervousness etc was due to me being very anemic. It wasn't until shortly after I delivered that I noticed my neck was large, I felt sluggish and awful and had difficulty swallowing. I went to my PCP and he noticed my enlarged thyroid immediately. I had a Nuclear scan which revealed I had both hot and cold nodules consistent with Graves Disease but my bloodwork came back with Hashimoto's. When I was pregnant I did give my ob/gyn my medical history about being Hyperthyroid for many years but not once did they run a thyroid panel on me.
I had an appt with this same ob/gyn this week and I asked to look in my file to see if they ever ran a thyroid panel while I was pregnant and he said no, and that they don't because pregancy alters hormone levels and often gives false positives. I told him that I did not realize that pregnancy hormones affected TSH's (Thyroid Stimulating Hormones) but he said it does. I told him my son was recently dx with Autism and I think that my thyroid condition may have had something to do with that. He looked at me and told me that was rubbish. I told him that there are a few published papers about this and he said they are grasping at straws. I am not so sure. I now take .50 mgs of Synthoid which is a low dose and don't have any weight issues. My endo told me that in a few years I will probably develop Graves Disease. I read that once you have thyroid anitbodies you have them for LIFE and that you are either hyper or hypo. So why is it that my ob/gyn and the peri-natolgists (was 34 when I was expecting my son and a deemed high risk pregnancy). Neither specialist were ever concerned about my thyroid.
Something has to be done about this. I think my pregancy with my daughter triggered my Hyperthyroidism when I was in my 20's. When I visit my Endo I will ask him of pregnancy horomones do indeed affect TSH's and that could my Hashimoto's have been detected and treated while pregnant.
My cousins on my mom's side with thyroid problems and all their kids are normal.Let's examine the odds.
1 in 10 women become hypothyroid in their lifetime. (Including me). Mostly due to Hashimoto's.
1 in 150 kids are autistic. (including mine, but she is adopted).
So -- what is the probability of having both events, without causation in either direction? Fairly high I should think.
Hypothyroidism in pregnancy does lead to what used to be called cretinism -- dwarfism and MR.