Test results..

So I had my yearly visit with my OB gyn office on Wednesday this week. I kinda wanted to kill two birds with one stone at my 6 week check up in May cause technically I think my yearly was due in June but they wouldn't let me....said I needed to come back for my yearly in August? Not sure why, but anyway who cares I guess. So Abbie and I headed off to the office that morning (I try to schedule appts around naps so she is in a good mood), however no can do this morning....she is in an ok mood, but not ok enough to want to sit in a stroller while her mommy gets her below the belt exam. Crying baby + someone in your crotch...not so cool, but I must say my new found momness didn't bother me really at all. She was in the stroller next to me and I held her hand and talked to her while my nurse practitioner got my pap smear etc....Abbie just had to wait for a few minutes and then I could hold her. Ooo and major bonus...I didn't have to get a breast exam cause I am nursing. I suppose that is good and bad cause I am horrible about remember to do my own, but on this particular day I had worn a sundress...so I had like no undressing to do at all. Awesome!
Anyway, I had some questions about weight loss cause for the past month I had just plateaued. Now believe me...I have had my fair share of cake, pie, allthebestsugarygoodnessknowntoman for the last month at cookouts etc, but I still felt like I should have had some weightloss. Especially since after I started counting calories I lost like 10-12 lbs in 8 weeks. At that time I wondered a bit about if my thyroid was working correctly. I felt like that was a fast weightloss, but I had talked to a lactation consultant somewhere in there and she said 1-2#s a week is pretty normal. I guess I feel like the higher side of that is probably more normal if you were fairly overweight though and I was at a good weight before pregnancy so to lose it that quickly kind of worried me but at the same time I was excited I lost that much so quickly! I talked with the NP about my new found frustrating plateau and she suggested we check my thyroid just to be sure. I had been checked right before I got pregnant, and after I found out I was pregnant and it was normal. My dad does have hypothyroidism though so my chances are higher. I went ahead and got the bloodwork done and much to my surprise received a phone call the next day telling me I was pretty much very hypothyroid. What? Seriously? I have like no symptoms except my weightloss plateau and from what I understand your hormones are so crazy after pregnancy that your body can have postpartum thyroid issues...that in my mind meant temporary. I asked a lot of questions and kind of had a hard time with the answers....the nurse said most likely I would always be hypothyroid. I thought maybe I would have to take pills for a few months until my post partum body started to become more normal or at least after breastfeeding since there are still extra hormones from that but she said most women who get it don't just grow out of it, they have it for life.
I think what bothers me most is the lack of control I had over the outcome of it. Of course you can get things like diabetes at a young age because of genetics but in my head I can control it....watch my diet, don't eat a lot of sweets, exercise etc. Or to prevent high cholesterol- don't eat fatty steak for all meals everyday, but this....there wasn't anything I could do. I watch my diet. I exercise 5 days a week, and still I am hypothyroid. My thyroid decided to just not work as well as it should....and I couldn't have done a thing to prevent. I asked the nurse if I could take supplements, or modify with diet. Nope. Nothing. I am what I am. I'm 27...really? On the bright side I am hoping this helps with my weightloss. We can get my thyroid working properly (or I guess at least replacing what the thyroid would be doing with meds) and then with diet and exercise hopefully these last 10-11#s will come off now.
For those of you who don't know what thyroid disease is, there are two different disease states. One is hypothyroid meaning your thyroid is releasing low amounts of hormone. The thyroid regulates your metabolism. In my case my thyroid wasn't releasing enough of this hormone which of course causes things within my body to not metabolize properly or as quickly as they should normally. Therefore these people could see weight gain or in my case I had a # or 2 weight gain but despite all of my efforts to eat less calories and workout was actually losing nothing. The other disease state is the opposite...hyperthyroid meaning your thyroid is overworking itself. So it metabolizes things quickly. These people typically end up losing weight even though they are eating constantly and feel like they are starving all the time.
I'm praying that it is just the post partum issues that caused it and that it will indeed resolve itself and maybe I won't have to be on meds for the rest of my life. Even though I am hopeful, I must say I have my doubts. From what I've read even if you do go back to normal post partum, becoming hypothyroid in the first place is a precursor to the fact that you probably at some point in your life will get it again and it will at that point be there to stay. There are things that are so much worse. Long term...there are really no side effects. Although annoying I consider myself so blessed that it is something so easily treated. I have friends/relatives who have had or have cancer and to know what they go through makes me feel so blessed that all I have to do is take one pill. I can handle that. Having a baby has challenged me in so many ways...most of it has been about my own body. I knew it would happen but I had no idea that it could be so hard. Praying that I trust God with his magnificent plan for my life....a few extra pounds and all, because there is so much more to this life than obsessing over something that brought me a gift that is so incredibly beautiful....my Abigail :)