Wednesday, February 18, 2009

An Update

Wow! I think this has been the longest time between posts that I've ever had. I've been just so tired lately. It makes it harder to think, type, etc.

So, how about a quick update while I'm sitting here waiting to leave?

I'm 19 weeks pregnant today. So far, everything appears to be going ok with that. The last two days have brought more nausea and fatigue than normal though.

Last week, I had my appointment with my midwife. It was an interesting appointment because she asked to check my pulse, lungs, heart, and thyroid. She noted that my thyroid was enlarged but did not comment further so I didn't really think much of it. We talked about the normal stuff, heard the baby's heart rate, which has been consistently between 150-160bpm. Then we headed off to the Children's Museum since we were in the area.

Six days later, I was at my Monday night meeting when a friend looked at me and out of the blue told me I had a goiter (enlarged thyroid). I hadn't mentioned the midwife's discovery at all. I was shocked that she could see it. But she confirmed, "Oh yeah! You have a little tire around your neck." I headed to the bathroom and could see what she was talking about. My neck didn't use to look like that.

So, I came home and looked up thyroid stuff online only to find my life laid out before me as symptoms of hypothyroid (too little hormone being produced): depression, fatigue, weakness, weight gain or difficulty losing weight, cold intolerance, muscle aches, irritability, memory issues, and abnormal menstrual cycles. I also read that an overactive thyroid can turn into an under active thyroid. Pregnancy can also enlarge thyroid but not enough to feel or see. Any noticeable enlargement is often a sign of thyroid dysfunction beyond normal pregnancy enlargement. I also remembered that I had been monitored for overactive thyroid when I was 20 for a while.

So, I made an appointment to see an endocrinologist in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, I've read some scary things about untreated thyroid problems during pregnancy. I'm going to try not to think about those things.

Another exciting thing is that my ultrasound is schedule for the 27th. Hopefully, we'll know the baby's gender that day.

As far as school...things are moving right along. Nothing very exciting to report. I've been too tired to be exciting with school.

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3 Comments:

Anonymous said...

It is not uncommon for thyroid to enlarge during the pregnancy;
If your blood tests are normal, you can request blood test for thyroid antibodies.

The Four Week Vegan said...

I am sure if your midwife was concerned she would have talked to you further. Good to be safe and see the endocrinologist though.

Suswan said...

I'm glad you're following up JoAnn. Good job!