Jenny Allen tells her story of having Postpartum Thyroiditis. In spite of affecting up to one in ten postpartum women, this condition can be misdiagnosed. Following her own extremely difficult experience, Jenny wants to raise awareness so that others can get help sooner. You can read more about her story at her blog Life Loves and Learning. Find her on twitter @jeneall.
Three months following the birth of my daughter I became ill with Postpartum Thyroiditis. This is a condition where your thyroid becomes overactive and then under-active in the space of a few months and if youâre lucky returns to normal by twelve months postpartum (or so the textbook says.) As my thyroid roller-coastered towards what felt like a doomed end there was no one in the medical profession to manage my condition. My doctor summed it up when he said âyou diagnosed yourself really.â
Because nobody seems to know much about Postpartum Thyroiditis, I’m trying to raise awareness in both postpartum women and professionals. Had I been correctly diagnosed sooner, it would have made a huge difference to my emotional and physical health in my first year of motherhood, any beyond. Instead, I was consistently misdiagnosed.Â
When it happened to me, the change in my health was drastic and sudden. I went from amazingly well and happy to quite the opposite in a very short period of time. I experienced sleeplessness and began to repeatedly check my own thoughts, like I was watching myself think. At my daughterâs injection appointment I cried and without any checks or much discussion I was prescribed anti-depressants.
Things got gradually worse, I lost over a stone in two weeks, had a period of four days and nights awake, I was shaking and pacing and continued to incessantly watch my own thoughts. This was excruciating, I felt like my life was over. Days were defined by erratic mood swings, anger and trying to hurt myself. I attended the doctors, the health visitor came, a CBT session and the doctors again, they all seemed to be in agreement â postnatal mental health.
There were no physical checks carried out and as the symptoms got worse, I ran into the road wanting to be hit, I was prescribed anti-psychotics and a plethora of drugs for âmy depression and anxiety.â My daughter went from breast to bottle in five days flat.
I repeatedly expressed the feeling that the cause of this drastic change could not be postnatal depression, but once this diagnosis had been given it could not be moved, like a boulder it hung around my neck.
In order to proceed with the course of drugs prescribed a psychiatrist ordered a blood test â these results showed that I had an overactive thyroid.
I began to read and found out about postpartum thyroiditis, an illness which affects up to 10% of women. At around three months post birth the thyroid becomes overactive, this can then return to normal or in some cases can become under-active.
I visited an endocrinologist, he quickly diagnosed me with Graveâs disease expressing that my neurological symptoms were for the psychiatrist to deal with and that having a baby was irrelevant to my diagnosis. I was continually ignored.
As with postpartum thyroiditis my thyroid function returned to normal briefly and then became under-active, the symptoms of which were equally as disturbing. I became incredibly tired and my days were infiltrated by depression and thoughts of dying.
I was placed on thyroxine but due to ânormalâ blood results a few weeks later I was told to cease taking it and began to feel immediately unwell.
This is when I sought help from an endocrinologist specialising in postpartum thyroiditis. I was promptly returned to thyroxine and told that emotional disturbances are a well-known sequel of postpartum thyroiditis.
At 15 months postpartum I ceased taking the thyroxine and was signed off with normal thyroid function. I had been seeing a councillor, she was helping me to manage my anger, frustration and âgriefâ for the loss of such precious time, but she also suggested I no longer required her support.
A lovely work opportunity presented itself at just the right time and I enjoyed bouncing into teaching again with a settled body and mind.
Just lately I have had a return of symptoms, symptoms I know so well. I have been back to the doctors and still my voice is not heard, still the immediate response is, âAre you seeing a councillor? You have, after all been through a hard time.â The stressful journey created by others has now become my doubt and downfall. The fight should not be as hard as the illness. But for many women it is.
This experience has lead me to campaign and share my story and through this I have met countless women with their own experiences of postpartum thyroiditis.
Two key things that I feel are important and remain unacknowledged are that mental health presentations are symptomatic of postpartum thyroiditis and that treatment should be given in the context of postpartum thyroiditis not in the context of an over or underactive thyroid.
This isnât just about postpartum thyroiditis it is about the care women receive post birth. These âwomenâs thingsâ are significant and impact the lives of not just women but their partners and families.
What is Postpartum Thyroiditis?
Postpartum thyroiditis is more common in women with type 1 diabetes, positive thyroid antibodies and a previous history of postpartum thyroiditis.
In postpartum thyroiditis, the immune system attacks the thyroid within around six months of giving birth, causing a temporary rise in thyroid hormone levels (thyrotoxicosis) and symptoms of an overactive thyroid gland.
These symptoms can include:
- nervousness, anxiety and irritability
- hyperactivity â you may find it hard to stay still and have a lot of nervous energy
- mood swings
- difficulty sleeping
- feeling tired all the time
- sensitivity to heat
- muscle weakness
- diarrhoea
- needing to pee more often than usual
- persistent thirst
- itchiness
- loss of interest in sex
Then, after a few weeks, the gland becomes depleted of thyroid hormone, leading to low thyroid hormone levels and symptoms of an underactive thyroid gland.
These symptoms can include:
- tiredness
- being sensitive to cold
- weight gain
- constipation
- depression
- slow movements and thoughts
- muscle aches and weakness
- muscle cramps
- dry and scaly skin
- brittle hair and nails
- loss of libido (sex drive)
- pain, numbness and a tingling sensation in the hand and fingers (carpal tunnel syndrome)
- irregular periods or heavy periods
However, not every woman with postpartum thyroiditis will go through both these phases.Â
If low thyroid hormone levels are causing severe symptoms, thyroid hormone replacement medication may be needed until the condition gets better.
If high thyroid hormones are causing symptoms, beta-blockers may provide relief.
In most women, thyroid function returns to normal within 12 months of the birth, although low thyroid hormone levels can sometimes be permanent.
If you think you might be suffering from Postpartum Thyroiditis, or have been misdiagnosed like Jenny, please visit your health care professional and, if you don’t get answers that feel helpful, please seek a second opinion.Â