Well I think I have made mention on here before that I thought I may have been anemic, because I was so tired, lethargic, freezing cold all the time, and generally out of it.

Last night I measured my hair circumference to see how it was doing (one of my hobbies is growing my hair down to my knees and learning elaborate updos, so I check the length and thickness from time to time) and I went from 4.5 inches of hair last year and over 4 inches in circumference in December, to just under 3.5 last night. I lost over half an inch in hair volume, after consistently measuring closer to 4.5 and even close to 5 most of my life. I have always had very thick, healthy hair and I noticed it seemed like my buns were a bit smaller, but I am horrified at just how much hair I have lost. That is NOT normal shedding at all, and given my battery of other symptoms I knew anemia was not the culprit.

I called my OB, alarmed by this new symptom, especially when hair retention is normal for pregnancy and certainly NOT hair loss, and they found my prenatal blood panels were perfect, no anemia or common deficiencies. The nurse also agreed with me on my tentative personal diagnosis - that all the symptoms are classic indicators of hypothyroidism.

It can be brought on during pregnancy and cause developmental issues in the baby if left untreated and severe enough, so I am having my blood tested specifically for a thyroid panel and an additional reactive test to see how much T4 is in my system at this time. A slightly low thyroid function isn't unusual for pregnancy, but to be this symptomatic I would probably be significantly deficient enough to require medication until it resolves on its' own (if it does).

Honestly, I am it glad to know I am not crazy and that these symptoms really ARE worse than in previous pregnancies, and not normal. I am really upset about my hair loss, it's about the only feature of my body I absolutely love and I already am dealing with shedding and crazy regrowth from Lilah's pregnancy... So I hope this IS hypothyroidism, if only because it is an ANSWER to what is wrong with me and easily treatable (and upon treatment my hairloss should stop, thank goodness).

If it is NOT hypothyroidism then I am stumped and will probably request a deeper metabolic panel - it is becoming debilitating, how sluggish and out of it I am, and the constant freezing body is interrupting my quality of life. I was so cold last night, in fact, it kept me from falling asleep for five hours. I am sitting in a 70 degree house in jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and still so cold I am almost shivering. Cold intolerance is a huge indicator for lagging metabolic function, which is essentially what hypothyroidism is, so it would be fabulous if that was indeed my issue and all my worst, most disruptive symptoms would be fixed.

Given these developments, I am under a bit of stress. The good news is that the baby looked fabulous upon analysis of the 1st trimester screening and NT test - healthy, normal, and at incredibly low risk for the most common genetic conditions. The OB also assured me that even a severely underactove thyroid would not affect the baby's development adversely in the beginning of pregnancy, which is why they removed a thyroid panel from their prenatal blood tests to begin with. Getting medicated would alleviate my symptoms, but it wouldn't benefit the baby much before the third trimester. The baby's thyroid should still develop normally even if mine is funky. The risks come toward the end of pregnancy, with blood pressure issues and preterm labor being the most common risks associated with hypothyroidism.

The lab happened to still have my blood from the prenatal panel last week, so they are running tests now and I should have a diagnosis by Wednesdau, before I leave town for two weeks. That way, if I am very deficient they should be able to get me a prescription for synthetic thyroid hormones before I leave (if need be).

At this point, it's just nice to know I am not being a hypochondriac and that hair loss like this indicates SOMETHING more is wrong with me than just normal pregnancy issues. This would be the easy answer - so I am praying I don't have to look for some other cause and that we pinpoint it in the first go-around.

In unrelated weight loss updates, my weight this morning was 212.4, but I am retaining dinner from last night, so I went with yesterday's weight that more accurately reflected my week's trend, which was 211.8. Not bad, not bad. I have had a resurgence of nausea and food aversions these past two days, so eating is becoming challenging again, but I am just doing the best I can. Exhaustion and lethargy have prevented me from moving ad much as I'd like (nice to know this may be chemical, not just a lack of will) but I will still set out to do my walking DVDs every day and evaluate how I feel as I go along.

My eating has been healthy and within the 1900-2000 calorie range most days, with some higher days on Ladies Craft Night (think knitting and junk food!) and a date night with my husband (which was sorely needed), but I am still happy to be maintaining in fairly the same weight range this week. As long as I am being mindful of the quality of my nutrients and what my body is telling me regarding hunger, I am doing just fine. Food journaling is still necessary accountability, and gain or lose I know I am doing what I need to be doing and the weight will take care of itself.

If I find out about the thyroid panel before we fly out I'll post an update, otherwise I'll get to it when I next have Internet. We have a lot to do before we go (including the housesitting arrangements for the guinea pig and plant watering, mail gathering, etc) so wish me luck in getting it all done without too much physical drag!