High Thyroid Pregnancy Symptoms
The thyroid is a very small gland in front of the neck that converts iodine into the hormone needed to regulate the body s metabolism.
High thyroid pregnancy symptoms. Hypothyroidism is one of several thyroid diseases in which the thyroid gland doesn t make enough thyroid hormone so levels of the hormone levels become low. Estrogen increases the amount of thyroid hormone binding proteins and this increases the total thyroid hormone levels but the free hormone the amount that is not bound and can be active for use usually. When thyroid hormone levels are too low it causes symptoms like tremors weight loss and frequent bowel movements. Pregnant women at high risk of thyroid problems see box on page one should have a thyroid function test even if they do not have symptoms of an under active thyroid.
Some symptoms of hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism are easier to spot and may prompt your doctor to test you for these thyroid diseases. Because hcg can weakly stimulate the thyroid the high circulating hcg levels in the first trimester may result in a low tsh that returns to normal throughout the duration of pregnancy. During pregnancy your need for thyroid hormone increases so you may need to be prescribed a higher dose of medication than usual. Having high thyroid levels means that at the time the levels were assessed through a blood test the thyroid was producing too much thyroxine t4 and or triiodothyronine t3 the two hormones that constitute the thyroid hormone.
Those with high levels of thyroid hormone feel nervous and jittery. In one study 138 adults with hypothyroidism experienced. In contrast people with low thyroid feel exhausted and sluggish. Severe untreated hypothyroidism during pregnancy may cause complications that affect the baby and lead to delayed development.
Thyroid problems can be hard to diagnose in pregnancy due to higher levels of thyroid hormones and other symptoms that occur in both pregnancy and thyroid disorders. Ideally this screening blood test should take place by the ninth week of pregnancy or at the first prenatal visit.