Re: Pregnancy problems and thyroid

March 19, 2006

Hi Chuck,

That is terrible what happened to your wife ( and son)!

I don't remember such an exposure but for sure it could have happened -

there is so much use of poisons that we just don't know about!

L has pulmonary hypertension (part of the Fallot's Tetralogy which was

dx'd at three months after birth) which is now her biggest problem as

she has shortness of breath on moderate exertion. All else has been

fixed with surgery.

I guess the reason I suspect thyroid is the way I reacted during and

after the pregnancy - I got a bunch of symptoms that I now know are

thyroid/ adrenal symptoms - I think she bled my body dry of iodine and

selenium. After the birth I was still young and healthy enough and my

diet was good enough for me to recover in a few months - but I then

became really underweight - again something that I had not experienced.

Here is some info on Pre-eclampsia that I found - it does not seem to

relate to me except for the fluid - but I only had that a few months

after the birth. Plus I had very good antenatal care - I am RH negative

so they were watching me closely. I always had low blood pressure.

" High blood pressure, protein in the urine and in some cases severe

swelling (oedema) in the mother and, sometimes, poor growth in the baby

- all of which should be detected by routine ante-natal checks. "

May I ask why you think it might not have been thyroid related?

Kerry

Re: Pisceans

Hi Kerry,

You wrote:

> My youngest daughter was born with severe congenital heart disease - I

> knew it was a strange pregnancy as it was so different from my first -

I

> gained weight with no change in my very healthy diet and the birth

was

> long and difficult - after the birth I puffed up like a jellyfish with

> fluid - ...

That sounds more like pre-eclampsia, which mainly affects the end stage

of pregnancy, although these symptoms could also be side effects of the

congenital condition. Most of the fetal heart develops in the first few

weeks of the pregnancy. A simple illness of the mother or exposure to an

environmental toxin at this stage can cause problems. These are easily

missed, which is why the cause for a congenital heart defect is usually

a mystery. About 20% are thought to be genetic.

When she was about 10 weeks pregnant, my wife was accidentally sprayed

by an aircraft dumping defoliants on a cotton field. He over shot the

end of the field and sprayed a housing unit. My wife looked up at the

planed and got a face full of defoliant. She was quite ill for a week

and nearly miscarried.

In addition to his Asperger's syndrome, my son also had several cardiac

problems, including pulmonary valvular stenosis, atrial septal defect,

and shunting. All were eventually repaired, although he still has

noticeable regurgitation from mitral prolapse.

Chuck

March 19, 2006

Kerry,

You wrote:

>

> ... May I ask why you think it might not have been thyroid related?

>

That's still a possibility. What I was suggesting was that the problem

that caused a congenital heart problem was most likely something present

at the beginning of the pregnancy, not the end. Whether it was

preeclampsia or hypoT/adrenal, the condition developed with the

pregnancy, right? It is unlikely that you were hypoT before the

pregnancy, because it would have made conception less likely.

BTW, my daughter had the HELLP syndrome for her last pregnancy. This

goes beyond preeclampsia to include Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzyme

levels, and a Low Platelet count. It is preeclampsia on steroids,

although there is evidence it is a distinct sort of syndrome. It led to

a premature delivery to save her life. We very nearly lost them both.

The condition gradually subsides, but it reached a maximum about a day

after the delivery. The doctor that made the decision really cut it close.

Chuck

March 19, 2006

I see what you mean...yes of course it would have developed early in the

pregnancy.

I wasn't noticeably ill before that pregnancy but I was probably

borderline hypothyroid and maybe deficient in iodine and or selenium -

the pregnancy just tipped me over the edge. Whether it was the cause of

her heart problems we'll never know. But the fact that my older daughter

has a dx'd thyroid deficiency at 27 makes me very suspicious that if I

had been tested at the time I would have shown hypoT as well.