To be very honest, this is not something I ever ‘googled’ personally. I have entitled this article “How to Heal your Thyroid Naturally” because I can now honestly say it CAN BE DONE. How do I know this? Because I did it.
My Lifelong Struggle with an Extremely Underfunctioning (Hypothyroidism) Thyroid Gland
Teenage Hypothyroidism
When did I find out my Thyroid wasn’t functioning properly?
It started around 15. I was constantly tired and napping constantly. I had frequent headaches. I had severe mood swings & depression.
Nonetheless, I was very active in school sports. I ran cross country and track. The day we knew there was something very wrong was when I was 16 and had just finished a 2-mile cross-country competition. Everything was seemingly normal until I crossed the finish line. I felt my entire body go numb and I passed out.
My mom took me to my general practitioner. He ran a full panel of blood work and soon thereafter, I started seeing an Endocrinologist. My levels weren’t just low, they were life-threateningly low. I was put on Synthroid supplements at a .125 mg level. For a while, I visited my Endocrinologist every 6-8 weeks to test my levels.
Adulthood Hypothyroidism
How did Hypothyroidism change as an adult?
Hypothyroidism & Pregnancy
I stayed at .125 until I turned 29. This was around the time I was pregnant with my first child. My levels started to dip again so I was put on a .150 Synthroid supplement. This seemed to level me out again but I still visited my Endo every 6 weeks during my pregnancy so he could monitor my levels.
How does Hypothyroidism change during pregnancy?
Hypothyroidism & Pregnancy – How does it affect the mother?
“Pregnancy can cause changes in thyroid hormone levels. These changes can cause thyroid problems to start or worsen during pregnancy. Hypothyroidism is common during pregnancy.
Pregnancy-related hormones, such as human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and estrogen, cause increased thyroid hormone levels in the blood. hCG is similar to TSH and stimulates the thyroid to produce more thyroid hormone.”
Hypothyroidism & Pregnancy – How does it affect the fetus?
“Untreated maternal hypothyroidism can lead to preterm birth, low birth weight, and respiratory distress in the neonate. Enough evidence has accumulated over the years about the role of thyroxine in the normal development of the fetal brain. The presence of specific nuclear receptors and thyroid hormone found in the fetal brain at 8 weeks of gestation, free T4 found in the coelomic and amniotic fluids and demonstration of the transfer of maternal thyroid hormones across the placenta, underline the role of thyroid hormones in fetal brain development. Complex interactions between the D2 and D3 iodothyronine deiodinases during gestation help to fine-tune the supply of adequate amounts of T3 required for normal brain development.” Read more at the National Library of Medicine.