Rapid Wieght
Jun/080
Rapid Wieght
Rapid weight loss after having a child.?
After i had my son who is now i have had a rapid weight loss from about 135 to 113 and can't seem to get past the 115 line. for most women they would be happy about this but im conserned i havent weighted that much is so many years. i am not comfortable with my wieght being so low. is there any kind of drink/ supplements i could be taking to help me gain about 15 lbs? really would like to stay in the 130-135 range. or has this ever happened to you or somene you know and what did you do about it?
This happened to me. It's called post-partum thyroiditis. You will have to have a blood test to confirm this. In my case, my o.b. suspected it at my 2 month follow up check-up after the baby came. She thought my thyroid looked slightly enlarged and ordered a blood test for me. Make an appointment with your doctor about this. You may not need to get any treatment.
Basically, in a small percentage of women, after delivery, the thyroid becomes overactive (symptoms are weight loss, irritability, intolerance to heat, sometimes trembling, nervousness). I was losing weight and was irritable, etc. but just attributed it to being overworked after the baby came. However, in most cases you do not need medication - after several months, the levels go back to normal (You can not take medication for an overactive thyroid if you are breastfeeding. If the symptoms are really bad and your levels are not going back to normal, the doctor may prescribe medication and you would have to stop breast-feeding). In some cases, the thyroid hormone levels continue to drop so that you have an underactive thyroid. You would have to check for symptoms and continue to be monitored to see if your levels are dropping after they return to normal. If levels drop below normal, and you are diagnosed with an underactive thyroid, then you will be prescribed a medication to keep your levels up. In most cases, the levels will come back up to normal (the doctor will be able to tell you - basically, you get a blood test done every 3 to 6 months to see if you still need to continue the medicine or if the dose needs to be adjusted). In a small percentage of women, it becomes a permanent condition - where you continue taking thyroid medication.
This is my situation. My thyroid levels were high for about 3-4 months after delivery (no medicine needed). They came down to normal, but continued to drop. I had all the symptoms, but I didn't realize that it was my thyroid until I finally got a blood test (the levels were very low - I had to start medication right away. It has been 2.5 years now. I had a second baby since then. It's perfectly safe to take medication for an underactive thyroid during pregnancy and in fact important for the baby's development. During the pregnancy, thyroid levels may fall even more in which case, the dose has to be adjusted (increased) and your levels monitored regularly. After the delivery, the increased dose was too much - my levels went up and I was losing weight. I am now back on my original dose.
Medication for an underactive thyroid is not an issue if you are breastfeeding. Having a permanent underactive thyroid means you would continue to take medication for the rest of your life. There are no other complications or issues. You just have to remember to take the medication consistently and have routine blood tests done (6 months to a year).
Hope this has not been too confusing. See the below website for basic information. There are lots of internet sites you can get information about this condition. First thing is to see your doctor, tell them all of your symptoms and ask for a blood test.
Good Luck and don't worry - this is very common and not a major health issue.
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