Early return of AF despite EBF - hypothyroid connection?

[AutumnAir]

I suspect that I might be hypothyroid - I have all the symptoms, though when I had a blood test the doctor insisted that I was within the 'normal' (old) range.  One of the symptoms is very long heavy periods, which I have had since I started menstruating at 12 - before I went on the BCP I was menstruating 10 days out of every 21, at least 5 days of which were super-heavy.

Needless to say, AF has always been a curse in my life, so I was extremely disappointed to get it back at only 6 weeks PP with DD1, literally less than a week after the lochia had finished.  At the time DD1 was completely EBF, bar 2 forced bottles of formula in the hospital and she was nursing 20 out of 24 hours, round the clock, never going longer than an hour between feedings.

With DD2, AF came back at 8 weeks PP - I guess I should be glad for the extra 2 weeks, right? - again, same story.  Totally EBF, not STTN or anywhere close! No pacifiers for either DD.

I have oversupply and OALD in the early weeks, and lose quite a bit of weight very quickly in the immediate PP period, but then the milk supply dips and the weight actually goes back on again :(  Has anyone else encountered this? Or is it just a tenuous link that I'm making up?

[RoseRedHoofbeats]

Your experience actually sounds a lot like mine- I got my first PPP seven weeks after the birth, after my lochia had been stopped for two weeks and then suddenly I had bad cramps and a bright red flow for another five days, and then another one 28 days later on the dot. I had oversupply and lost a lot of weight, and my daughter was exclusively breastfed, we coslept, we did skin to skin all the time... I was pissed.

There's a theory that women who have oversupply get their periods back sooner because the hormonal kick that occurs when your breast is emptied all the way is possibly has an effect on when your fertility returns. If your breast isn't hardly ever emptied all the way (often the case with oversupply/OAL, I don't think my breasts were soft until well after three months!) then your body is getting the signal to start ovulating again. Who knows?

I don't think it has anything to do with hypothyroid- your symptoms of weight loss and oversupply are actually the opposite of what most women with hypothyroid experience.

~Rose

[treeoflife3]

I had postpartum bleeding for around three months and then my period came... I was down to pp weight within a month (just by giving birth/bfing) but then put on 30 pounds.  I'm hypothyroid and I never had an oversupply issue that I know of.

[AutumnAir]

Originally Posted by RoseRedHoofbeats 

I don't think it has anything to do with hypothyroid- your symptoms of weight loss and oversupply are actually the opposite of what most women with hypothyroid experience.

~Rose

Yeah, no I know, but was wondering whether I might have had a hyperthyroid 'episode', followed by a big swing back the other direction.  I was back to pre-preg weight by 3 weeks PP (about 40lb lighter) but then, without doing/eating anything differently put back on up to 20 lb over the next few weeks.

My milk supply also dropped dramatically after the first few weeks, and I'm now on More Milk Plus to try to keep my supply up, despite DD2 nursing every 2 hours or so.  It also might explain why DD1 nursed constantly round the clock - I might not have had a decent enough supply to satisfy her only feeding every 3-4 hours like normal babies...
 

[homemademom]

Originally Posted by RoseRedHoofbeats 

There's a theory that women who have oversupply get their periods back sooner because the hormonal kick that occurs when your breast is emptied all the way is possibly has an effect on when your fertility returns. If your breast isn't hardly ever emptied all the way (often the case with oversupply/OAL, I don't think my breasts were soft until well after three months!) then your body is getting the signal to start ovulating again. Who knows?

This is so interesting! I had oversupply with my first baby and af returned at 4 mths. I didn't have the oversupply problem with my other babies and af stayed away for 15, 18 and 21 mths respectively.
 

[treeoflife3]

Originally Posted by AutumnAir 

Originally Posted by RoseRedHoofbeats 

I don't think it has anything to do with hypothyroid- your symptoms of weight loss and oversupply are actually the opposite of what most women with hypothyroid experience.

~Rose

Yeah, no I know, but was wondering whether I might have had a hyperthyroid 'episode', followed by a big swing back the other direction.  I was back to pre-preg weight by 3 weeks PP (about 40lb lighter) but then, without doing/eating anything differently put back on up to 20 lb over the next few weeks.

My milk supply also dropped dramatically after the first few weeks, and I'm now on More Milk Plus to try to keep my supply up, despite DD2 nursing every 2 hours or so.  It also might explain why DD1 nursed constantly round the clock - I might not have had a decent enough supply to satisfy her only feeding every 3-4 hours like normal babies...
 

going between hyper and hypothyroid is generally hashimotos.  its an autoimmune  disorder or something and you can get testing for that, but you have to specify that you want to be tested since it requires testing antibodies.  your body attacks your thyroid with hashi's.