Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

Say that 5 times fast!! Today was, to say the least, an experience...and a busy one at that. Earlier today Amber got good news over the phone from her primary physician that her bloodwork came back and her thyroid medication was definately doing it's job. WOOHOO!


Jarrod came to pick up Amber at work thursday to bring her to the marathon of appointments. These were originally planned separate, but because of Amber's trip (and very needed vacation) to see family, we needed to switch one of the appointments to the 20th. Picking up Amber at school (and getting to see brofer...we missed him very much), we were then off to our first appointment with the OB. Since our OB is with a group we are seeing all of them and this was our second doctor. We promptly arrived at 1:40 (our scheduled time) and proceeded to wait in the waiting room till 2. Normally we wouldn't have thought twice about it, but we knew we had very limited time between appointments...our next one was at 3 and quite a ways away. She came in and after a short question and answer session she put the goop on Amber's belly and the doppler picked up the sweetest 150 bpm heart rate we've ever heard! Yep, we finally (after 16 weeks) got to hear the baby's heartbeat...YAAAAAYYY!! It really brought things into perspective. Things got a little less sureal and a whole lot more, "Oh crap, we're gonna be parents!!" :) Having decided that we were going to do all the screenings (and already being between 16 & 18 weeks) they gave us paperwork to get that done. You guessed it, another appointment stacked on top of our day.

After a quick appointment scheduling we were quickly off to our next appointment with the endocrinologist and arrived with only a minute to spare. The doctor was an older gentleman with a salt n pepper, old fashioned, handlebar moustache. He was very distinguished looking and all that was missing was his top had and monacle. He sat down and thumbed through our chart and repeated what he had read. We were then, finally, informed what was happening with Amber and her thyroid. The condition is knows as Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. It is an immune system problem where the body produces antibodies that recognize your thyroid cells as foreign and attack them. This is similar to hypothyroidism in the way it causes a low level of thyroid hormone in the body. The difference comes from how it's caused to produce a low level. Amber may have had this for years and never known and, without having a pregnancy blood test, would still have probably not known. Back to the doctor's office...he informed us that eventhough Amber's blood work showed her levels back to normal, she was actually more on the HYPERthyroid side of things. He then informed us that she was taking more medication than she needed (understandable to us considering how far off her levels were) and proceeded to say, "You're this weight, you take this much. This isn't rocket science." Gee, thanks Doc. Next time I'm going to fly in a rocket, I'll tell them, "This isn't medical science". Last time I checked, we were supposed to follow the experts advice. He then proceded to check for goiters on Amb's neck. If the doctor tells you to swallow and you can't because of the doctor's GI Joe grip, is that bad? Don't think Amber liked this very much. He said he might have felt a little something but said was probably nothing and ordered an echo (soundwave picture type test) of Amb's neck. She'll have that done after she gets back from AK.

Now off to the 5th trip to the blood lab for Amber in this 16 week jouney (so far). Luckily this visit only rendered 1 tube of blood. Amber is getting used to being stuck with needles and her fear is lessening. We are getting to know the phlebotomists really well and they are thinking naming a future facility after Amber. :) What's the holiday etiquitte for this situation? Gift? Card? Hmmmmm...

Well, no photos this time, but the ultrasound answer to the most common question so far ("boy or girl?") will be arriving within the next few weeks. Trust me, with as anxious as we are to find out, it won't be long after we know, that you'll know. Hope all is well with everyone. Keep checking back.

J, Amb & "The Bump"

1st Prego Blog

Welcome to our wonderland!! With all of our family and friends so far away we decided to start a blog to fill everyone in on our happenings.

As of today we are 14 weeks and 2 days along in our pregnancy. Things have been progressing well. There was never any morning sickness and little fatigue.

To catch everyone up on previous events...We weren't sure if it was all the practice, the borrowed fertility doll (thanks Christina and Danny), or a combination of the two, but at the end of August we confirmed (by pee stick committee) that we were indeed with child. Although a little sureal, both of us were very excited to begin this next chapter in our lives. Being approximately 4 weeks along meant we had to wait a few weeks till our first appointment with the OB. This appointment was just a routine check up and confirmation of what the pee stick already told us...on the prego train and next stop, parental city!

At about 11 weeks along we had our first little bump in the pregnancy road. Having a little spotting and cramping the doctor had us come in to make sure everything was ok and set our minds at ease. This is, of course, very difficult when the OB says "UH OH" while checking the results of our first set of blood work. The results showed a thyroid level of 141...normal range being 0.5-5. This prompted a double check of the blood work to make sure it wasn't a mistake. After the 2nd results came back the same, Amber was placed on thyroid medication and referred to a perinatologist and an endocrinologist.

The appointment with the perinatologist was a big relief for the both of us. He put our minds at ease about the baby and how things are going in regards to the thyroid levels. This was also our 1st trimester screening, which meant another ultra sound (aka. more baby pictures)! I guess the good part of everything that's happening is we get an ultrasound every month, so be prepared for lots of baby pictures during this train ride.

Next week we go in for more blood work to see if the synthroid is doing it's job. On the 20th we have a regular check-up with the OB and then an appointment with the endocrinologist to check hormone levels. We are crossing our fingers that the levels are okay and that the baby is progressing normally.

We are anxious to find out the sex of the baby, so we can start buying things!! We should be able to find out anywhere between 16 and 20 weeks. Check back often for updates.

cheers,

Jarrod and Amber