Hypothyroidism/hyperthyroidism...

What causes hypo and hyperthyroidism? What are the treatments if you are pregnant? What is the difference. How serious are these being pregnant or not? My answer would mostly be for hypo because the T levels are lower than normal, and for someone pregnant.

Hypothyroidism is when your thyroid gland isn't releasing enough hormones. HyPER is when it releases too much

People with HyPO tend to gain weight because it effects the metabolism whereas people with hyPER tend to lose it.

I just looked on webmd to find out about the pregnancy part of the question and all it says is that if you had a thyroid problem before, a lot of the time it will get worse when you're pregnant. Or it could also develop during pregnancy

It also said that all babies in the U.S. are tested for hypothyroidism...and babies who have it and dont get it treated can get really sick

I don't know how it would effect you... if you are pregnant you should ask your doctor about the medicines because synthroid might be bad for the baby.

try webmd.com

When you have hypothyroidism that means you are gaining/will gain more weight. And being pregnant will of course make you gain more weight as well. Ask your doctor about it and he will most likely run some blood tests to determine if you need meds or not. Sorry, I don't know the exact cause of hypothyroidism, but I do know that it causes weight gain. Hope this helps! Oh, hypERthyroidism makes you LOSE weight, just clarifying those two.

Here is some information...

Hyperthyroidism means your thyroid makes too much thyroid hormone...
http://health.yahoo.com/topic/hormone/ov...

Hypothyroidism is a lack of thyroid hormone. It develops when the thyroid gland does not produce enough of the hormone, which controls the way the body uses energy...
http://health.yahoo.com/topic/hormone/ov...

Here's what I found on hypothyroidism and pregnancy:

Treatment during pregnancy is especially important because hypothyroidism can harm the developing fetus.

* If you develop hypothyroidism during pregnancy, treatment should be started immediately. If you have hypothyroidism before you become pregnant, your thyroid hormone levels need to be monitored to determine whether the dosage of thyroid medication is correct. During pregnancy, your dose of medication may need to be increased by 25% to 50%.

* You also may need treatment if you develop hypothyroidism after pregnancy (postpartum hypothyroidism). You will be retested for hypothyroidism if you become pregnant again. In some cases, hypothyroidism will go away on its own; in other cases, it is permanent and requires lifelong treatment.

taken from http://health.yahoo.com/topic/hormone/tr...


Best of luck to you,

Rachel

Women may develop hypothyroidism during or after pregnancy. If it developed before pregnancy it may become worse. During pregnancy it needs to be closely monitored to prevent defects or fetal death. Hypothyroidism is treated with thyroid hormone medication. Symptoms usually disappear within a few months after treatment begins. Most people who develop hypothyroidism need treatment for the rest of their lives. Hashimoto's thyroiditis is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the United States. Other common causes include surgical removal of the thyroid gland, radioactive iodine therapy, and thyroiditis after childbirth. Less common causes include: Viral and bacterial infections of the thyroid gland. Problems with the pituitary gland or the hypothalamus (areas of the brain that produce hormones).
Too little or too much iodine in the diet (rarely seen in Western countries).
Some medications, including lithium carbonate and interferon alfa.
Congenital hypothyroidism (present from birth).

Rachel, that's straight out of KB. Are you with Health Dialog???

You should see your doctor about this. I have hypothyroidism and I'm on a pill for it and it works great. My doctor told me to continue using it while I'm pregnant to avoid getting thyroid cancer. definitely see a doctor though.