How To Deal With Thyroid Disease During Pregnancy? - Part II

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Treatment Continuation:
Overactive thyroid: Treatment may continue for about 12-18 months, if not controlled then radioactive iodine treatment is preferred. Surgery is hardly opted for after the advancement of medical science.

Under-active thyroid: While you are on treatment with thyroid hormone, it is not possible to tell how much of the thyroid hormone in blood is coming from the tablet and how much from the gland because the thyroid hormone we give now is exactly the same in chemical structure as that of the body's own thyroid hormone. The only way is to stop your tablet for six weeks and repeat the blood test. If you are genuinely under-active, your symptoms will come back and you should understand that your own thyroid gland is unable to give you normal amount of thyroid hormone and you need to supplement from outside. This type of trial of stopping and watching is usually recommended only once 12 to 18 months after starting treatment in adults and after 2 years in children.

Thyroid Cancer: Patients with thyroid cancer should be followed life-long without failure.

DIET and Thyroid
There is no need to take extra iodine. If you have goiter, it is advisable to avoid spinach and broccoli as sometime they can make the goiter bigger.

Thyroid Disorders and Pregnancy
Thyroid disease is present in 2-5 percent of all women and 1-2 percent of women in the reproductive age group.

Women with under-active thyroid usually do not produce regular eggs and may present with infertility. Thyroid function test is required to investigate infertility. If diagnosed to have under-active thyroid, treatment should be started immediately. Mother's under-active thyroid may affect the baby in the tummy in different ways.

Hypothyroidism. The diagnosis and treatment of hypothyroidism is straightforward. It is advised that the adequacy of thyroid hormone replacement therapy be assessed by thyroid function tests, including the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level, before proceeding with the pregnancy, so as to minimize any possible risk to the mother or her baby that might occur due to hypothyroidism during pregnancy.

Hyperthyroidism or Grave's disease, accounts for the majority of hyperthyroidism in pregnancy. Grave's disease is an autoimmune disorder that is characterized by a large thyroid gland (Goiter), tachycardia, heat intolerance, hypertension, anxiety, exophthalmia, and laboratory evidence of excess thyroid hormone. Grave's disease may have significant maternal and fetal complications if left untreated, and presents a 1% risk of congenital malformation. Radio active iodine thyroid scanning, used for the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism, as well as radio iodine treatment of hyperthyroidism, should never be used until the physician conducting these tests is certain that the patients is not pregnant. With regard to treatment, physicians may recommend either anti-thyroid medications or radioactive iodine in women of reproductive age.

Commonly, pregnant ladies stop treatment because of the fear but stopping can be very harmful and can end up with termination of the pregnancy. The dose requirement of thyroid tablet in pregnancy goes up simply because demand increases. Hence it is recommended to have thyroid tests done at least three-times during pregnancy. Also a fine-tuning of the dose is required in pregnancy for normal growth of the baby.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.