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Writer's pictureMeg Pustelnikas

Postpartum Thyroiditis: An Unexpected Journey


I can confidently say that I thought I had recovered very well postpartum. I took a mile long walk with Mike the day after we got home, and started doing light workouts again around 4 weeks post-birth. The baby weight flew off thanks to breast-feeding, and I was the happiest I had been in a long time.


Well, when Peyton turned three months old I began having episodes of chest pain. The pain was a tightening feeling, followed by palpitations. It usually caused sudden shortness of breath that forced me to sit down. These episodes were very few and far between, but eventually my husband worried and told me to make a doctor's appointment.


When Peyton turned 7 months old I agreed to go to the doctor. I was now nauseous, felt sluggish, and found it extremely hard to concentrate at work and at home. I went through periods of the day with a lot of energy, then I would suddenly become so fatigued and exhausted that all I wanted to do was sleep. At first I panicked and thought I was pregnant again. My period was late, extremely light, and only lasted 2 days. Maybe it was implantation bleeding? What was I going to do with a 7 month old and another one on the way? I took three tests and finally convinced myself that this was not the culprit.


My doctor seemed to shrug off my chest pain with ease. My EKG was normal, my heart sounded wonderful, and I had just visited the cardiologist when I was pregnant (I have a valve that doesn't close properly that they're keeping an eye on). "Maybe its stress? Or heartburn? Or maybe your anxiety is back?" Well, sure. I have a 7 month old child at home, my husband works 10-12 hours a day AND goes to school, I'm back at work, we're STILL in a pandemic...how could I not be stressed? Also, not sure about anyone else, but ever since depression and anxiety got marked on my medical chart, I am CONSTANTLY being asked if I'm having any suicidal thoughts or if my anxiety is the culprit for any medical symptoms I am being seen for.


Flashback to three years ago when they found a nodule on my thyroid. Every year since then I've had an US and bloodwork to monitor the growth of said nodule. Since I was pregnant last year I did not schedule my ultrasound or bloodwork to check my thyroid levels. SO I asked my doctor if we should check that again soon since I missed last year's check. So she ordered labwork for my thyroid and something called a D-Dimer test just to make sure I did not have a blood clot that was causing the chest pain.


Well, when the labwork results came in I was shocked to hear that my D-Dimer test was, in fact, elevated. "You need to go to the hospital for an CT scan just to be sure" my doctor said at 7PM on a Friday evening. She was almost sure it was a false positive, but she wanted to be safe. "Oh, and you're extremely hyperthyroid, and you have low blood sugar" she added in.


But I felt fine. I didn't recall feeling overly hungry lately or losing a lot of hair. My heart rate felt pretty steady, though I did find it increasingly hard to go upstairs without losing my breath...but I am definitely not exercising as much as I used to.


Then that weekend came and things got worse pretty rapidly. I slept most of the weekend away while my husband took care of our daughter. I found it hard to get off the couch, but all I wanted to do was eat. I would stare into blank space for minutes before realizing my husband was talking to me. I felt like I was asleep, but stuck awake at the same time. I was weak, my hand were trembling, and I felt incredibly anxious.


It took a lot longer than I expected to get an appointment with an edocrinologist. I was told I would get in to see her that Monday, but unfortunately that did not happen. I called my doctor probably a dozen times before an appointment was finally made for that Friday afternoon. I had more labwork done during the week and an ultrasound to hopefully be able to get a solid diagnosis at my appointment.


There are several things that could have been the culprit. I googled endlessly, though I know I shouldn't have, reading symptoms of so many different thyroid disorders. Then I came across several articles written by women who had been diagnosed with postpartum thyroiditis. Some complained about an extreme depressive episode, while others noticed an incredible weight gain. More google searching led me to piece together just what postpartum thyroiditis is. Usually it starts with a stage of hyperthyroidism that then leads to hypothyroidism before eventually leveling back out. Some women only experience the hyperthyroid stage, while others experience only the hypothyroid stage, and others experience both. Some STAY hyperthroid or hypothyroid forever, while others eventually level back out to normal levels.


My endocrinologist ran tests to check for inflammatory levels that have been linked to post partum thyroiditis. My test came back negative for high levels of inflammation. She also ran bloodwork to check for an underlying autoimmune thyroid condition, but both my graves tests and hoshimoto test were also negative. The nodule on my thyroid turned out to be a cyst that had not grown in size since my last ultrasound.


We were left with no diagnosis, but a very probable postpartum thyroiditis. I'm now going in for bloodwork every 2 weeks to make sure my thyroid levels are trending back to normal. My last round of bloodwork showed slight improvement, but also a set back. If you know anything about thyroid level testing then here's what I mean: Though my TSH improved and raised slightly, my T3 and T4 levels both went up. However, I have felt a lot better than I had been feeling. I have more energy and an ability to focus. My tremors also seem to be improving, so I have hope that the labwork will get even better next time.


My Endocrinologist is still unsure where the low blood sugar is coming in to play. It could be caused by hyperthyroidism, since I am burning through calories at a higher than normal rate, or it could be its own separate issue.


There's a possibility that I could go into a hypothyroid stage, and a possibility that I could stay hyperthyroid forever. No matter what the case may be, this means I will need bloodwork again before TTC and about every 6 weeks while pregnant. I had hopes that my husband would one day jump on the baby train again and we'd conceive right then and there, but I've come to terms with the fact that that plan is not going to be part of my journey.


In my recent research I have learned that postpartum thyroid problems are often undiagnosed. A lot of women struggle with weight loss, depression, and energy and finally get a diagnosis of a thyroid problem. If you are struggling, get your levels check. Its just fast bloodwork that will hopefully provide some peace of mind. Hell, I was certainly not expecting anything to come from that blood test, but here we are.


I'll try to remember to post updates when I have any new news.

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