Who knew?

You would think I would know most everything about pregnancy since I'm a nurse and a seasoned veteran. I must have overlooked this or learned it once and forgotten it but hyperthyroidism is common during the first trimester. And yes I have an extreme case. The pregnancy hormone HCG that runs rampant the first trimester can cause the thyroid to over produce hormones. That means when they do a routine blood test they will sometimes see a TSH level that is on the low side. Mine was very low so they tested my T3 and T4 which were high. Higher than they usually see in pregnancy. My HCG levels are usually on the high side but are off the charts high with these twins. I went to see an Endocrinologist who told me I look healthy other than my thyroid levels and enlarged thyroid. Luckily I don't have to start any medication but they will watch my levels every two weeks and make sure the babies are growing. We are all hoping this is related only to the HCG and not an auto immune disease. If that is the case my thyroid levels should start going down as the pregnancy progresses. Anyway I thought this symptom was funny but oh so true. Problems thinking! Oh yes have I had this and have it bad. My brain is a foggy mess right now. Since many of the symptoms coincide with pregnancy it's hard to differentiate between the two. A few I have noticed are rapid heart rate, shakiness, fatigue and insomnia. Being pregnant with twins these thing are pretty easy to write off but make sense now that I know my thyroid is overactive. We are all hoping my body corrects this on it's own without needing drug therapy. The babies will be closely monitored as well to make sure my thyroid is not affecting them.