Pregnancy After Thyroid Cancer
My Quest For Information
I
agonized over whether it was a good idea to have a 2nd child after
having thyroid cancer. It seemed that each doctor I talked to
had
a different opinion and the people on my online support groups had
more. I was told by some that the hormones from the pregnancy
could make the cancer grow. I was told by others that they
were
just fine and so were their children. There is very little
scientific research to back up any of these assertions. I did
find that there was some concern over the quality of the eggs due to
the RAI being eliminated from the bladder and the ovaries being in
close proximity to it. Since I had been treated with RAI two
times this was of concern to me (100 mCi's and 150 mCi's).
I was
told that once my Tg got to below 5 and 9 mos had passed since my last
RAI treatment it was OK to consider getting pregnant. I was
told
that I may not ever get pregnant or that it may take a long time.
I
had my 2nd RAI on 1/19/01 and on 9/06/01 my Tg was 4.9 so my doctor
said it was OK for me to try to get pregnant. I got pregnant
the
following weekend. We were shocked!
Things I Learned That You Should Do Before Pregnancy If I
had it to do it again I would do things very differently. In
the
2 1/2 years between pregnancies I would have focused on detoxing,
adrenal support, balancing my hormones and increasing nutritional
levels.
DETOXING
- Detoxing what you might say? There are many things to be
concerned with that will affect our children's health that they are
exposed to in the womb. The first thing to consider is
fluoride. Fluoride
is a toxic halide that is in most city drinking water systems.
It
is a thyroid inhibitor - being a component used in drugs to control
hyperthyroidism (Graves) disease. I would put a full house
water
filtration system in (with reverse osmosis) to protect from all the
chemicals in the water. Chlorine
is
also another issue because it is absorbed through the skin and breathed
in through the steam. I put this system in my home in 2007
from Water
Resources International and I have been very pleased.
MERCURY - The
next thing you should be concerned with is mercury. Where do
you
get that? There is much talk about a pregnant mother not
eating
fish that may be poisoned with it but what about your mouth?
Do
you have mercury amalgam fillings in your teeth? If you do
then
you are constantly being bombarded with mercury. When you
drink
hot liquids, brush your teeth or chew. It is released into
your
system. This crosses the placenta and is a known neurotoxin.
I had 11 fillings removed from my mouth - unfortunately not until after my 3rd failed RAI. After
removal
many, like me, use chelators to get the mercury out of the tissues.
Please make sure that if you decide to do this that you read
Hal
Huggins books on the proper / safe removal protocol and / or find a knowledgeable biological dentist.
BROMIDE
- Thirdly,
Bromide is a very toxic halide. It is found in our breads,
sports
drinks, cars, computers, cell phones, and more. It is used
as
a
flame retardant in clothing, mattresses and carpeting. It is
a
thyroid inhibitor. It sits on the iodine receptors blocking
absorption until it
is
knocked off and moved out of the body. You need to supply
enough
iodine to do this. I am constantly asked how much is needed.
There is not one magic formula unfortunately as each person
is
biochemically different. Bromide does cross the placenta and
is
very toxic. So beginning to remove all this before you get
pregnant will help the baby. Bromide also passes through to
the
breast milk. The reason I would detox this is that iodine
is needed by the baby for proper neurological development.
Supplementing with iodine in pregnancy
is
a good thing to do. However, if you have not worked on
detoxing
prior to your pregnancy it would be very dangerous to take in the
larger amounts of iodine because bromide would be released.
A dose of 12.5
mgs and below of Lugol's formula has been considered to be safe to take
during pregnancy. You
can
have your doctor check bromide serum levels to determine your toxic
load or do the Iodine Loading test available through Hakala
Labs with the Bromide toxicity level test.
ADRENAL FATIGUE
- If you have had your thyroid removed, are being treated with
synthetic thyroid hormones, had RAI or any combination of them you will
need to check your adrenals. The adrenal glands are located on
top of each kidney. They supply not only adrenaline and cortisol
but sex hormones. When the body has undergone enormous stress or
has been under treated as occurs with T4 only synthetic medications
they become fatigued. Morning sickness has been tied to adrenal
fatigue. With my second child the nausea was so bad that my
doctor had to place me on medication to keep me from vomitting day and
night. Support for the adrenal glands include, Vitamin C,
B-Complex vitamins and unrefined salt plus magnesium. Try to
supplement or include a diet rich in these nutrients. You can
test adrenal sufficiency by doing a 4x Cortisol test. These tests
can be ordered by the individual without a doctor at Canary Club.
If you are struggling to get pregnant after thyroid cancer
treatment then this test may also help you to identify the issue.
You Are Pregnant - Now What?I found this time of my life the most difficult. While worrying about possible issues with my own health I also had to worry about the potential health of my unborn child. Thyroid Medication Most
doctors don't really understand how to properly dose the thyroidless
patient during pregnancy. Most thyroid cancer patients are on
synthetic T4 only medication which just doesn't work well. Many
hypothyroid symptoms still remain that could be eliminated with
desiccated thyroid (such as Nature-thyroid or Armour Thyroid). I
would recommend investigating a change to this medication before
becoming pregnant to allow for the proper level of dosing to be
obtained. The fetus has one of two places to obtain thyroid
hormones. The first being from the mother. But if the
mother isn't getting what she needs then the baby will be left
deficient. The fetus is able to synthesize its own thyroid
hormones at approximately 10-12 weeks gestation. Therefore it is
very important that the doctor check your thyroid hormones during
pregnancy. These tests should include not only TSH but Free T3
and Free T4 which are the unbound proteins that are available for
usage. There is substantial transfer of thyroid hormones through
the placenta. The placenta contains deiodinases that convert T4
to T3. Low thyroid levels can contribute to mental retardation
and under developed thyroids.
IODINE Sufficient iodine is important for both mother and child. A fetus that does not get enough iodine while in the womb can result in a child with creatinism, mental retardation and deaf-mutism. The fetus will take what it needs so if not enough iodine is supplied for both mother and child, the mother will suffer first. This is what I believe happened to me. After delivery my neck was swollen with a goiter which is a key indicator of iodine deficiency. I was told to avoid iodine due to a shell fish allergy. This I believe was the final nail in the coffin which ensured that I would get thyroid cancer. My deficiency continued until I began to supplement with Iodoral 4 years after the birth of my last child. Both of my children are hypothyroid and I attribute this in part to the lack of iodine in my diet. Scientific References:
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Watch Your Children
As the mom of two
hypothyroid children I know how important it is to make sure that your
children are cared for. Hypothyroid
mothers have children that are at higher risk for hypothyroidism. If
your child is always cold on warm days, wants to lay down all the time,
intolerant to change, seems less active than other children or is
hyper-active have them checked. If your child has issues with
staying dry at night. Check for hypothyroidism. If
they develop issues with eating or complain of a stomach ache. It
could be constipation due to low thyroid. If your child cannot
concentrate and the school suggests ADD/ADHD medication. Please
consider checking the thyroid. We have had great success with
Nature-throid, Omega 3 Fish oils, selenium, iodine, iron, zinc,
magnesium and probiotics to help our children heal.