Overactive thyroid can you get pregnant

Cooper, David S et al. American Family Physician. Thyroid Disease in Pregnancy. Krassas, K. Poppe, D. Join now to personalize. Photo credit: iStock. What is hyperthyroidism? What are the symptoms of hyperthyroidism in pregnancy? What causes hyperthyroidism in pregnancy? Can hyperthyroidism develop for the first time during pregnancy?

Hyperthyroidism and pregnancy: Are there any complications? Will I be tested for hyperthyroidism in pregnancy? What's the treatment for hyperthyroidism in pregnancy? Will having hyperthyroidism affect my ability to get pregnant? Your thyroid and pregnancy: How to have a healthy pregnancy Will having hyperthyroidism in pregnancy affect my baby?

Hyperthyroidism and breastfeeding: Is it safe? Sources BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. Elizabeth Millard. Featured video. Hypothyroidism in pregnancy. I have a thyroid problem. Do I need to know anything special before getting pregnant? Is it safe to take thyroid medication while I'm pregnant? Is it safe to get vaccines for travel while I'm pregnant?

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New to BabyCenter? Join now. Password Forgot your password? Keep me logged in. Log in. Get the BabyCenter app. Your doctor will most likely test your thyroid hormone levels every 4 to 6 weeks for the first half of your pregnancy, and at least once after 30 weeks.

Postpartum thyroiditis is an inflammation of the thyroid that affects about 1 in 20 women during the first year after giving birth 1 and is more common in women with type 1 diabetes. The inflammation causes stored thyroid hormone to leak out of your thyroid gland. At first, the leakage raises the hormone levels in your blood, leading to hyperthyroidism. The hyperthyroidism may last up to 3 months. After that, some damage to your thyroid may cause it to become underactive.

Your hypothyroidism may last up to a year after your baby is born. Not all women who have postpartum thyroiditis go through both phases. Some only go through the hyperthyroid phase, and some only the hypothyroid phase. The hyperthyroid phase often has no symptoms—or only mild ones. Symptoms may include irritability, trouble dealing with heat, tiredness, trouble sleeping, and fast heartbeat.

Symptoms of hypothyroidism may also include trouble dealing with cold; dry skin; trouble concentrating; and tingling in your hands, arms, feet, or legs. If these symptoms occur in the first few months after your baby is born or you develop postpartum depression , talk with your doctor as soon as possible. If you have postpartum thyroiditis, you may have already had a mild form of autoimmune thyroiditis that flares up after you give birth.

If you have symptoms of postpartum thyroiditis, your doctor will order blood tests to check your thyroid hormone levels. The hyperthyroid stage of postpartum thyroiditis rarely needs treatment. If your symptoms are bothering you, your doctor may prescribe a beta-blocker, a medicine that slows your heart rate. Your doctor may prescribe thyroid hormone medicine to help with your symptoms.

The lowest possible dose to relieve your symptoms is best. However, in the case of antithyroid drugs, your doctor will most likely limit your dose to no more than 20 milligrams mg of methimazole or, less commonly, mg of PTU. During pregnancy, your baby gets iodine from your diet. However, too much iodine from supplements such as seaweed can cause thyroid problems. Learn more about a healthy diet and nutrition during pregnancy. Clinical trials are part of clinical research and at the heart of all medical advances.

Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease. Different types of thyroid conditions have different issues when it comes to managing them in pregnancy. When your thyroid can't keep up during pregnancy, your TSH level will go up in underactive thryoid conditions, indicating a hypothyroid underactive state.

If it's left untreated or insufficiently treated, your hypothyroidism can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm labor, and developmental and motor problems in your child.

The ATA recommendation is that, before you get pregnant, your healthcare provider should adjust your dosage of thyroid hormone replacement medication so that your TSH is below 2. Using Synthroid levothyroxine during pregnancy is safe for your baby since the drug mimics your thyroid's natural thyroxine T4 hormone.

According to the ATA guidelines, thyroid hormone replacement increases should start at home as soon as you think you're pregnant ask your healthcare provider for instructions on this and continue through to around weeks 16 to 20, after which your thyroid hormone levels will typically plateau until delivery. You'll need thyroid tests every four weeks during the first half of pregnancy and then again between weeks 26 and 32 to make sure your TSH is at a good level.

Following delivery, your medication doses will need to be reduced to pre-pregnancy levels with follow-up monitoring six weeks after the delivery date. Hashimoto's disease, also known as Hashimoto's thyroiditis, is an autoimmune disease that attacks and gradually destroys your thyroid. Hypothyroidism is a common outcome of Hashimoto's, so if you're hypothyroid, you'll need the same treatment plan mentioned above.

That said, additional attention should be made to keeping your TSH level under 2. The higher your TSH level is, the more your risk of miscarriage increases.

When you also have thyroid antibodies, research published in shows that the risk of miscarriage increases even more significantly if your TSH level gets above 2. If you have lower-than-normal TSH levels while you're pregnant, this shows that your thyroid is overactive, so your healthcare provider should test you to determine the cause of your hyperthyroidism.

It could be a temporary case that's associated with hyperemesis gravidarum a condition of pregnancy that causes severe morning sickness , Graves' disease an autoimmune thyroid disorder that's the most common cause of hyperthyroidism , or a thyroid nodule. During pregnancy, hyperthyroidism is most often caused by either Graves' disease or temporary gestational hyperthyroidism, so your healthcare provider will need to differentiate between these two.

This can be a bit tricky since you can't have a radioactive iodine uptake scan of your thyroid while you're pregnant because of the risk it poses to your baby.

Your practitioner will need to rely on your medical history, a physical exam, clinical signs and symptoms, and blood tests to determine the cause of your hyperthyroidism. If you've been vomiting, have no prior history of thyroid disease, your hyperthyroid symptoms are generally mild, and there's no evidence of swelling in your thyroid or the bulging eyes that can accompany Graves' disease, your healthcare provider will probably chalk your hyperthyroidism up to temporary gestational hyperthyroidism.

A blood test to check for elevated levels of the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin hCG may also confirm this diagnosis since extremely high hCG levels are often found with hyperemesis gravidarum and can cause temporary hyperthyroidism. These blood tests can usually narrow down the cause of your hyperthyroidism so that your healthcare provider can treat it appropriately.

Leaving hyperthyroidism untreated can result in high blood pressure, thyroid storm , congestive heart failure, miscarriage, premature birth, low birth weight, or even stillbirth. For pregnant and non-pregnant patients, treatment typically begins with taking antithyroid medications. In cases where you're already being treated with a low dose of antithyroid medication and your thyroid function is normal, your healthcare provider may take you off your medication, at least during your first trimester when your baby is most susceptible.

You'll need to be monitored closely, having your TSH and FT4 or TT4 checked every one to two weeks during the first trimester and every two to four weeks during the second and third trimesters, as long as your thyroid function remains normal. Otherwise, if you've been newly diagnosed, you haven't been taking antithyroid medication for very long, or you're at a high risk of developing thyrotoxicosis a condition that occurs from having too much thyroid hormone in your system , your dosage will likely be adjusted so that you're on the lowest possible dose of antithyroid medication while still keeping your free T4 at the top end of the normal range or just above it.

This protects your baby from overexposure since these medications are more potent for him or her than they are for you. The antithyroid drug of choice during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy is propylthiouracil PTU because methimazole MMI has a higher though small risk of causing birth defects in your baby.

It's unclear which one is better after 16 weeks, so your practitioner will likely make a judgment call if you still need antithyroid medication at this point.

In cases where you have an allergic or serious reaction to both types of antithyroid drugs, you require very high doses to control your hyperthyroidism, or your hyperthyroidism is uncontrolled despite treatment, a thyroidectomy thyroid surgery may be recommended. The best time for a thyroidectomy is during your second trimester when it's least likely to endanger your baby.

You should never have radioactive iodine RAI treatment if you are or might be pregnant because of the risks to your baby. And if you've had RAI, you should put pregnancy off for a minimum of six months after treatment. Whether you have active Graves' disease or you had it in the past, your baby has a higher risk of developing hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, either in utero fetal or after birth neonatal. The factors that can affect these risks include:.

A TRAb value that's more than three times above the upper limit of normal is considered a marker for follow-up of your baby, ideally involving a practitioner who specializes in maternal-fetal medicine. During your first trimester, if your TRAb levels are elevated, your healthcare provider will need to keep a close eye on them throughout your pregnancy so that your treatment can be tailored to best minimize risk to both you and your baby.

These should look for evidence of thyroid dysfunction in your developing baby, like slow growth, fast heart rate, symptoms of congestive heart failure, and an enlarged thyroid. In fact, the ATA recommends that all newborns be screened for thyroid dysfunction two to five days after birth.

Thankfully, the vast majority of thyroid nodules aren't cancerous. The ATA advises pregnant women with thyroid nodules to have their TSH level measured and to get an ultrasound to determine the features of the nodule and monitor any growth. If you have a family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or multiple endocrine neoplasia MEN 2, your healthcare provider may also look at your calcitonin level, though the jury is still out as far as how helpful this measurement really is.

You may also have a fine-needle aspiration FNA biopsy of the nodule s , especially if your TSH level isn't lower than normal. In cases where you have a nodule and your TSH is below normal, your practitioner may put the FNA off until after you have your baby, but since it's considered safe during pregnancy, you can have an FNA done anytime.

Radioactive iodine damages the overactive thyroid cells. But this treatment is not safe in pregnancy. If you have Graves disease, you can take steps to have a healthy pregnancy. Get early prenatal care and work with your healthcare provider to manage the disease. Graves disease usually gets worse in the first half of pregnancy. It gets better in the second half, and then gets worse again after delivery. It is important to keep your thyroid levels normal.

Hyperthyroidism that is out of control may lead to preterm birth. This is birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy. It can also lead to low birth weight of the baby.