If You Have Hypothyroidism...

I am hypothroid. You will need to take medication every day for the rest of your life. I thought I would ignore my Dr.'s ruling, and stopped taking it, and believe me, it was horrible. I ended up making myself worse than before. It is a VERY safe medication, and fine with pregnancy & breastfeeding. Having an untreated thyroid disorder can cause miscarriage, and all sorts of other things. My advice is if you are taking Synthroid, only take name brand . It is pretty inexpensive, only 20 a month. The generics did not work at all for me. I have no experience with Armour.

Hi T.:

My Mom and I both have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. (Auto immune disease where anitbodies attack the thyroid leading to hypothyroidism.)

She has been on synthroid for years without a problem. The only complication is adjusting the medication to get the correct dosage. Although, I will tell you that she has been told by several different endocrinologists to make sure that she takes the brand name drug synthroid NOT the generic. (She did not develop it after pregancy. More like 20 years later.)

As far as being on synthroid during pregnancy DO NOT WORRY. (And trust me, I am the kind of person who thinks that I can tough it out through a headache instead of taking the tylenol.) I am in my second trimester with my first child and I have had several endocrinologists recommend that I take synthroid through my pregnancy because the baby depends so much on the mother's thyroid for proper development. My OBG also told me that it is common for women to develop hypothyroidism after giving birth because your thyroid is really beat up during pregnancy because of the demands the growing baby puts on it. I will let you know that some women do become hypothyroid after pregnancy and then go back to normal after taking synthroid for a while.

Lastly, if you need recommendations for endocrinologists I have 1 at Rush who is great another at Northwestern. Just let me know aand I am more than happy to share with you.

Good luck!

A.

I have had hypothyroidism for 20 years. I have been on synthroid for most of that, but 2 years ago switched to the generic levothyroxine and I've had no problems with the generic. I have a friend who swears by the armour though.

Synthroid has been around forever and it basically is replacing something your body is missing. I have blood work done at least once a year to make sure I'm on the right dosage. I had to change my dosage about 3 times while pregnant and once after.

Untreated hypothyroidism can cause lots of problems to your major organs (heart, etc.). Do some research.

No I don't have high cholestorol.

I have a thyroid problem, it happened after my daughter was born, but it also runs in my family. I have been on Synthroid for 5 years now and will have to take it the rest of my life. The dr said it is safe to take while pregnant and breastfeeding. I had my second daughter 16 months ago and breastfed her for 1 year with no problems. You should talk to your dr and a lactation consultant.

There are many different kinds of thyroid problems.

I have hyperthyroid I am taking a drug called Propylthiouracil (PTU). This is my 2nd time on it, both times after the birth of my children. My daughter is 6 months old. The last time I was on meds for 1 year, and the doctor told me not to get pregnant on the medication because it would cause harm to a fetus. In my case they pump my thyroid up with the medication and it regulates its self back to normal. My mom has hypo and has been on synthroid for 13 years.
Check out this website it has good info on thyroid problems:
http://www.medicinenet.com/thyroid/focus.htm