Heard this before?

[sraplayas]

My doctor is completely convinced that I need to wean my daughter (16m) because she thinks that it is stressing my body too much. She says she is overall very supportive of women nursing as long as they wish but says there are exceptions. I am dealing with hypothyroidism and she says that my body is putting all of its energy into making the milk and that is why I have all of these hypothyroid symptoms (hair loss, etc)! I am certainly getting another opinion, but just wondering: has anyone heard this before?

[Sijae]

My sister had thyroid problems after her first child. She went on thyroid for a time and then switched to a natural supplement. Then after her last child they tested again and her thyroid is back online. She nursed all her kids for over 2 years excepting the last one which is only a few months old yet :-)

Anyway, I would not personally wean for that reason, I would find a nutritional strategy that would support my body while nursing.

HTH,
Laura

[dachshundqueen]

Hrm.

I would vote for A) a second opinion and B) trying to find a happy medium.

If they can't find a BF'ing compatible medication level for you, you might have to consider weaning as the long term possible consequences of failure to treat hypothyroidism are pretty bad.

BUT everything my OB told me while pregnant and what I have read leans in the other direction, that it is totally treatable even with conventional medicine and that there are plenty of studies showing that the medicine doesn't affect the baby in a negative way. Maybe you just need a higher dosage and bloodwork would tell the doctor one way or the other.

Fight for it girl if you don't want to wean! I personally wouldn't wean over it, just find a new doc.

GL

Liz

[lauraess]

Originally Posted by Sijae

Anyway, I would not personally wean for that reason, I would find a nutritional strategy that would support my body while nursing.

HTH,
Laura

yep, there are other options and remember a lot of dr.s usually always try to find reasons for women to wean it seems. To them it's not that important. Did you ask what else you could do?
i'd definately seek out a different route to take..... One thing i know that activates the thyroid to be more normal is 'Bridge pose'-- i am a yoga instructor and highly recommend it. of course that's just one thing... here:
http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/472_1.cfm

[jassyp101]

Chinese herbal medicine would be really helpful for you in this situation for you. It would enable you to continue breastfeeding. I've treated cases similar to yours and it's allowed mothers to continue breastfeeding.

To find a licensed practitioner in your area, go to www.nccaom.org and click on find a practitioner.

[mommyto3girls]

Hi, I have Hypothyroidism and Crohn's disease and am nursing my 14 month old. My doctor is a well respected Thyroid specialist (he is also my family practice doctor, but he speaks at Dr. conferences across the country on thyroid disease) He only recommends Armour thyroid it is natural thyroid (from pigs) that peaks when you take it in the morning and declines as the day goes on just like your thyroid should. He says that Syntheroid is bad because it causes your thyroid levels to be high 24/7 and that is not natural. Some other recommendations he gave were no flouride (it does something bad for thyroid) and to take iodine supplements daily. Also he has said that, not only is it safe to nurse while taking Armour thyroid but, if you nurse for at least 6 months while on it it should prevent baby from ever having thyroid problems. Here is the website http://www.armourthyroid.com/ Also, it can take a long time to get the right level of medication, I started at 30 mg and am now up to 120mg. Are they having you take basal body temperature readings?

[alegna]

I wouldn't wean for that reason. I'd figure out meds that worked.

-Angela

[boheime]

Hypothyroidism is NOT a reason to wean. Generally, it is accepted that thyroid meds are safe to take while nursing because they are just getting hormone levels back to where they should be. Breastfeeding does not cause hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism can cause low milk supply. Figure out what meds and diet changes you need to make to take care of yourself and keep breastfeeding.

I have hypothyroidism and take meds for it. I'm a low supply mom (because of a different reason that I can't fix). I am still nursing my 22 month old with the help of a Lact-Aid when we need to supplement. We are hoping to conceive baby 3 this Fall. So I will be pregnant and nursing while on thyroid meds and then tandem nursing.

Find a doctor who will support you and help you take care of yourself.

mandy

[loraxc]

Huh?? What you need is more medication/better medical care, not to wean. I have hypothyroidism and see a very well-respected endocrinologist, and she never gave a hoot about my BFing. I have had my dose upped since pregnancy and birth, but I don't see any connection to nursing.

If I were to make a somewhat uncharitable guess about your doc--I think she thinks you look tired, perhaps doesn't want to increase your meds and is trying to find another thing that she *thinks* will help.