Postpartum thyroiditis: Has anyone else dealt with this?

Postpartum thyroiditis usually plays out in one of two ways: about 20-30% of women go through a phase of hyperthyroidism followed by hypothyroidism, while another 40-50% just experience temporary hypothyroidism. In both scenarios, the low thyroid levels typically last for a few weeks or months. These stats come from lab work; the number of women who actually show physical symptoms is much lower, and most don't even need hormone replacement therapy.

I still have a few more tests to run, so I’m going to do some digging and learn more about this while I wait for the results to come back. From what I can tell, this is pretty common and usually isn't anything to panic about. Has anyone else here dealt with postpartum thyroiditis?
To be honest, I wouldn't have even known anything was wrong if my hair hadn't started falling out in huge clumps about four months after giving birth (it turned out to be hyperthyroidism).

I’m still dealing with hair loss, honestly. It’s not quite as bad as that crazy shedding phase I had about 3 or 4 months after giving birth, but yeah, it’s definitely happening.
...plus, I’m way thinner than I was before I got pregnant.
I didn't actually gain a ton during my pregnancy (only about 28 lbs), so I was already keeping an eye on my thyroid levels beforehand, but I probably should get them checked out again...

Rachel Rogers43, did you actually get blood work done? Who even told you to go in for those tests... how did you figure it might be your thyroid?

loneridge61 said:I’m still losing hair. It’s not as bad as that crazy shedding period about 3 or 4 months after giving birth, but it’s definitely happening.
...plus, I’ve ended up thinner than I was before I got pregnant.
To be fair, I didn't gain much during pregnancy (only about 28 lbs), so I was already monitoring my thyroid hormones beforehand, but I might need to get those checked again...

Karen, did you actually get blood work done? Who sent you for those tests... what made you suspect it was your thyroid?

My hair was falling out pretty badly—I could actually see my hairline receding—so I went to see my primary care doctor just to get a professional opinion. She sent me for hormone blood work and an appointment with an endocrinologist. I gained about 22 pounds during my pregnancy, but now I’m right back at my old weight. The weird part is, I feel like I'm constantly eating, yet the scale won't budge. My metabolism has to be working overtime, because I'm running to the bathroom constantly (😁), sweating like crazy, and dealing with hot flashes and other stuff. Honestly, when I read about these symptoms, they don't seem like anything major; I probably wouldn't have even noticed them if I hadn't gone looking for answers. I had a thyroid ultrasound, and now they're recommending a biopsy because they found several nodules, so we need to figure out exactly what's going on there.

My hair started thinning out about four months after I gave birth, and that lasted for two months... but from what I understand, that’s actually pretty normal 🤔... or maybe it's this thing, but that passed already 🤷 🤔

I’m currently dealing with postpartum thyroiditis—hypothyroidism, specifically. It hasn't cleared up yet. For some people, it passes; for others, it doesn't. I have more tests scheduled for next Tuesday to see where things stand. I’ve lost about 45 pounds worth of hair, I’m dealing with waves of exhaustion, and my mood becomes absolutely wretched if I don't take my Synthroid, which I've been on for four months now. The sweating is intense, too. Honestly, I can barely stand myself lately. Anyway, best of luck to you. I truly hope you don't face even a single complication with your thyroid, because it is much harder than anything they write in the books or tell you during a doctor's visit.

I'm not exactly breaking out in a sweat or anything, mostly because I haven't been hitting the gym lately... so I'm just hoping my thyroid isn't acting up. But honestly? I'll probably head down to the doctor just to be safe and get checked out...

I went through the exact same thing after my first baby. Hair thinning, bone-dry skin, sleeping all day long... eventually, they diagnosed me with hypothyroidism. We all thought it would just pass, but nope. It’s been seven years and I’m still on medication—looks like I'll be on this for life. At least I feel okay now; I actually had my second child while on treatment, so that part was fine. My doctor told me that pregnancy and breastfeeding are the absolute danger zones for your thyroid. That's usually when those genetic issues we're all carrying around finally decide to show up.

It’s like you’re describing me. 😲

For me, it all started when I stopped breastfeeding—about five months postpartum, and the nursing lasted a full six months. My hair fell out in massive clumps, and I lost weight too. I hadn't gained much during pregnancy anyway, only about 28 pounds, and I have a naturally thin build. Honestly, I looked like I had just survived a famine in Bangladesh.

In the meantime, all my lab results came back perfectly normal. I actually went in for a routine physical organized by my employer just a few months after these issues began.

My primary care physician told me these things could last anywhere from six to nine months, though he noted that 90 percent of cases are temporary. As for the dermatologist? I went to her because I was terrified I’d go completely bald. She told me she’d seen extreme cases of postpartum hair loss in her career—cases where women even lost their eyebrows entirely—but fortunately, they always grew back.

The reality is this: one day, the hair loss simply stopped on its own. It’s as simple as that. Before that turning point, nothing worked—not vitamins, not L'Oréal ampoules, not anything else at all.

So, don't lose heart. It will stop eventually. 😬

Karen Green said:In my case, all my test results came back perfectly fine—I actually had my annual physical through my employer just a few months after these issues first started.

Anyway, my primary care physician told me that these symptoms can linger for about 6 to 9 months in some instances, though roughly 90 percent of the time they are just transient...

Did they check your TSH levels? And your thyroid hormones?

If they did, and everything looked normal, then your issues likely weren't related to your thyroid at all.

Now, if you don't know what your TSH was back then, it's hard to say—it could have been the thyroid, or maybe not...

If it *was* the thyroid, you fall into that group (which is thankfully the majority) where the issues eventually resolve without any medication. But you really can't know for sure unless you at least get a TSH test. As mentioned in the opening post, it's possible to experience hyperthyroidism right after childbirth, which then transitions into hypothyroidism after a while. The hyper symptoms disappear, and hypo is much milder—usually easier to tolerate. A woman might feel relieved to finally be done with the hair loss and heart palpitations associated with hyperthyroidism, thinking she's in the clear, when in reality, the hypothyroidism is still present... I believe that hypothyroidism can also resolve on its own sometimes, but for a certain subset of women, lifelong therapy—taking thyroxine—becomes necessary.

Bottom line: for most people, these changes are truly temporary, but you absolutely need to confirm that with some lab work.🙂

briskeagle39 said:Did they check your TSH? Or thyroid hormones?

If they did, and everything came back normal, then your issues weren't thyroid-related.

If you don't know what your TSH level was at the time, then maybe it was the thyroid. Maybe it wasn't.🙂

When the symptoms first started, they checked my thyroid hormones. They were fine. As for TSH, I don't think it was included in those results; they didn't seem to be testing for it. A month later, I had a routine physical where they ran all the tests mentioned above, but by then, I had already been struggling with these issues for six months. About a month after that physical, things finally began to return to normal.

briskeagle39 said:Bottom line: for most people, these changes are temporary, but you really need to get them checked at a lab.🙂

I never claimed it was the thyroid. I simply noted that the symptoms described are identical to what I experienced. Furthermore, my underarm hair even stopped growing for a couple of months. It was concerning.

I am convinced it involved hormonal shifts—though not necessarily thyroid hormones specifically.