Can someone please help?

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-15-2003
Can someone please help?
1
Wed, 07-07-2004 - 3:30pm
I am currently 11 weeks pregnant. This was not planned, but happened because my periods have been way out of wack. Now I saw my midwife before the pregnancy about anxiety problems and she mentioned a thyroid test because of my anxiety and mixed up periods, but we got to talking and we both forgot about it. Well a few weeks ago, I noticed I had a swollen gland in my neck, one you would get with a sore throat, but no sore throat. I called her and asked for the tyroid test, which we did. It came back that my T3 is a little high. I am seeing a specialist at the end of the month. What does that mean, T3 being high? Is having a swollen gland part of it or could it be major. It's not huge or anything, I just notice it when I touch it. I hate having things wrong with me and I am going to be so nervous about this until I know for sure what's going on and how dangerous this is to me and the baby. Will it go away or do I have to take meds for the rest of my life? I am so nervous. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much.

Jennifer

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2001
Wed, 07-07-2004 - 5:44pm
Hi and welcome! It's natural to be nervous about anything that can effect your heatlh, especially while you're pregnant. Having a high T3 level means that it's possible that you might be hyperthyroid, which means having an overactive thyroid. The swelling could indicate a goiter. Is this your first pregnancy? I'm asking because I'm wondering if you've had any thyroid issues with your pregancies in the past. It's good that you'll be seeing a specialist at the end of the month. You might want to call to let him or her know that you're pregnant, if you haven't done that already, to see if there is anything special you need to be aware of in the meantime. There's no reason why you can't have a safe pregnancy while you're hyperthyroid - you're very fortunate that you've discovered it early on so that you can be treated for it. Treatment usually involves taking medication for about 6 months to see if it lowers your thyroid hormone level. If it doesn't, you're considered "cured" and will be monitored after that on a regular basis. If not, there's other treatment that will work toward slowing your thyroid. The thing is, this may have just been brought on by your pregnancy, it's very common to develop a thyroid condition during or after pregnancy. Is there anyone else in your family with a thyroid condition - or perhaps diabetes, or any other autoimmune condition? I hope this helps you to feel a little better!! If you need more info, let me know! Cathy :)