I was told that they don't always give medication right away if the thyroid levels are low after giving birth. Sometimes it's just post-pregnancy thyroidism and apparently it can go away on it's own for about 75% of women who experience that type of thyroid problem. I'm by no means a Doctor or an expert though and would suggest reading some of the links provided in other threads and as you said have a visit with your Doctor. I hope you feel better soon.

Hi Angie,

Good for you looking further into this.
Unfortunately doctors tend to dismiss very real symptoms until they reach a crisis level. This saves the insurance company much money, but creates a much lower quality of life than we deserve. Also by waiting until things get bad enough...your ability to heal is compromised, and certainly will take MUCH longer, if ever.

Postpartum thyroiditis is not that uncommon, but with your baby three years old, this is not postpartum. Though that may have been one of your triggers.

You mentioned being hospitalized. Any number of medications or tests could have added to your bodies stress , thus been another trigger. It generally takes several things gone wrong...which then culminate in an autoimmune thyroid disorder.

The first thing you need is a paper copy of the lab report they told you about.
You need to see what they tested, the results, and the normal range for that lab.

Depending on which test they said was low ??? You could be either hyper or hypO thyroid. Your symptoms fit both.
Do not be misled by the short list of symptoms commonly available. Those only fit most people and are also symptoms of a severe condition.
Best example is weight. Most have heard hyper causes weight loss. Truth is 30% of hyper patients gain weight.
Same discrepancy with hypo. Most do gain, but lots loose weight. This is all mostly dependent on how soon the diagnosis is made.

When we are not sick enough to get anybodies attention yet... we are the only ones that suffer, not the insurance company. Unfortunately thyroid problems also affect all those close to us, our income, and completely dominate our mental outlook. This happens because incorrect thyroid levels strongly affect our brain. It feels real...but it's not. Once we come back to normal levels... suddenly everything looks so much different. It's our perception that changes.

Average length of time women are ill with a thyroid disease before diagnosis is seven years. Don't let that happen to you.

Yes... I do have a bit of an attitude. I have been through severe Graves' disease, have been misdiagnosed until hospitalized, then sent into medically induced hypOthyroid due to care that could have been much better. I have many thyroid friends, and our stories are all so much the same.
And there is no excuse. This stuff is not rocket science, but we are set aside and told we have a mental problem.
Sadly many of the gals I know have been placed on some scary mind altering drugs, because they complained they didn't feel right.

So... We survivors of all this... the ones that went through it and came out on the other side, perfectly normal !!! get attitudes.
We don't want any of the new patients to go through the emotional and financial devastation so many of us did.

There are lots of us out here. Though not here at Tribe. If you choose to get your lab results, I am happy to help you understand them, and perhaps guide you to a group of winners...
There is a lot of very bad medical advice on the Internet, so PLEASE proceed carefully.
If someone has a theory and wants to "help" you. Insist on medical studies to back up their ideas. That type of information should be part of any good support group.

Also be aware, some folks with poorly treated thyroid disease, may not be of much assistance in finding correct resources to share with you. Their hearts are in the right place, but they need our help too.
I just haven't located all of them yet. *lol*
And some of them are still not ready to move forward. They have become the disease.
Key word... when you see the word "suffering" used regularly...that is not the place you want to hang out, or look for current information. ;)

Boy.. I'm in a mood tonight. I hope you can see though that part of my message, and notice the important parts.
This is my first serious post at Tribe. I have too many obligations elsewhere concerning thyroid to spend as much time as I would like to here. Up until now, coming to Tribe has been a little fun, play time..used as a needed break from much more serious issues.
I am more that happy to be of any assistance in my power.
I'm just a patient, but a darn smart one, and learned from my mistakes.
Maybe you...or someone else reading here, can skip some of those mistakes.
Life is too precious and amazing to get stuck feeling badly.

Oh... Most important !
Please do NOT take any special vitamins, minerals, supplements, magic potions..until you learn exactly what you condition is. Such things have backfired horribly on more than a few occasions.
No herbs to stimulate the immune system either. Our immune system in TOO stimulated already. Many of us choose to avoid flu shots for the same reason.

Slow and sure wins the race every time. And always stay safe.
Just think ... this may be the key to living your life with much more joy and pleasure.