Re: Pregnant and hypothyroid - have a look at my results please

[Guest guest]

I think your ferritin is very low. It is possible if you have a full iron panel done to have very good hemoglobin and all the other stuff and rubbish ferritin. I think that this means that iron is circulating in your blood but not going to where it is needed. When I had my iron checked I had very low ferritin and everything else was very good. I could hardly walk up the stairs in one go I was so tired. As an experiment I took two iron tablets at lunch time and two more before bed. I woke up a new woman! I knew I needed to supplement with iron.

I believe ferritin is a protein made by iron passing through the gut wall. (May be to be absolutely sure you should look this up on wiki or something. It is a long time since I have had to deal with all this) If you gut is in bad shape, as if often the case in hypos, you should may be think about going gluten free and seeing if you have candida. This might also explain why you have such low ferritin. Mine was 36 and I felt terrible. Goodness knows what you must feel like with only 25 and being pregnant.

You might also like to consider taking copper and zinc with your iron, because iron is taken up better when these two are present in the body. Iron, copper and zinc also mutually deplete each other. If you have been taking iron for a long time and your ferritin is not going up, it may be that you need to take copper and zinc to hold onto it. I strongly suggest you have a look at the copper, iron and zinc pages on www.ithyroid.com. I do not know if taking copper and zinc is contra-indicated in pregnant women, so may be check up on that as well.

One of the doctors I saw for my hypothyroidism said that his profession in general underestimated the amount of iron a woman needs when she has a baby. He thought it would take two years of supplementing to rebuild iron stores after pregnancy and breastfeeding. I am inclined to believe him because he is the only doctor that has helped me.

I hope this helps,

MacGilchrist

[Guest guest]

Whatever your midwife says about your ferritin levels being fine

for pregnancy, this is wrong. Your ferritin levels is your stored iron and

although it is expected iron levels will fall during pregnancy, your ferritin

level should not be allowed to fall. It is also very important to check your

level of vitamin B12 and folate and if these have not been checked, ask for

these as a matter of urgency. You really do need to speak to a good doctor

about getting the correct minerals and vitamins to stop becoming anaemic and

the most suitable iron supplement so complications don't set in later in your

pregnancy. Iron levels do go lower in pregnancy because your baby is sharing

what you have. Your midwife should know that once your iron stores (ferritin)

has been used up then the body starts to rely on the iron it is making and that

is how you become anaemic.

You should go on a strict diet of iron enriched foods such as dark green

veggies and red meats then go back to your GP in 2 weeks and have your blood

drawn to check your level of ferritin to see if your level has improved. Here

is a link to iron rich foods that should help you. http://www.healthcastle.com/iron.shtml.

If your doctor does decide you need iron supplements, take vitamin C also which

will help stop constipation, but you may not need to take iron if you can build

up your level with the right foods. Read also http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/anaemiapregnancy.htm

Have you had your dose of levothyroxine increased since you

became pregnant? Your TSH is rising because it is recognising there is

insufficient levels of thyroxine in your blood - and your baby is relying on

the thyroid hormone you are making so this must be kept topped up.

Luv - Sheila

I posted a message 89868 but I have seen the midwife since then and managed to

get my hands on some of my results. She said that my ferritin levels are fine

for pregnancy and that they will be a bit low because of the baby and blood

dilution but to me they are under the range and that can't be good.

Serum ferritin (lab. range 25-350). 17ng/ml

My doctor says I am a little anaemiic and surely by that result I am but the

midwives said I'm not anaemic because my haemoglobin level is okay:

HGB: 11.4L

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