Dear Lisa and everyone,
It sounds as if this mother has not been treated with antithyroid drugs.
We'd put money on her problems disappearing promptly if she were! We've seen
a number of mothers with thyroid disorders over the years, and if they are
pregnant or breastfeeding there are two battles to win -
* getting it diagnosed and
* getting it treated.

Professor Peter Hartmann advised us years ago that noone knows what the
normal ranges are for women in either condition (ie either pregnant or
lactating). We are not aware of any change to this situation.

Evidence from case histories is that thyroid funtion fluctuates greatly in
pregnancy and lactation. If current normal ranges for the nonpregnant and
nonlactating population are used to decide if these women have normal
function, they can easily miss out on a diagnosis. It makes more sense in
the light of this to treat them by observing how their symptoms resolve in
response to treatment.

The problem with using the relevant drug treatment is deciding what is an
appropriate dosage to use. The best evidence we have had on just how widely
the needs can vary have been with women who had been diagnosed prior to
pregnancy - so already had an established problem and knew how they should
feel physically and mentally if they were being well managed by the drug
treatment. Some of the women also were keenly aware of how much their needs
fluctuated even from one day to the next, for instance, if they suddenly had
a stressful family situation to deal with, that medication would need to be
substantially increased or decreased to keep them feeling well.

Let us know how this case goes, please, Lisa. Good luck!

Anne Bovey and Robyn Noble, Brisbane, Australia