Re: Thyroid problems due to Mirena IUD?

I know nothing about the mirena. I suspect you need iodine:


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uid...


Pregnancy, therefore, represents one of the environmental factors that may help explain the higher prevalence of goiter and thyroid disorders in women compared with men. An iodine-deficient status in the mother also leads to goiter formation in the progeny and neuropsycho-intellectual impairment in the offspring. When adequate Iodine supplementation is given early during pregnancy, it allows for the correction and almost complete prevention of maternal and neonatal goitrogenesis.


http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/86/6/2360


During lactation, the mother must obtain enough Iodine for her own thyroid plus that of her growing infant. Calculations from the EAR for nonpregnant adult women (95 µg/day) and from an average loss in human breast milk (about 114 µg/day) lead to an EAR during lactation of 209 µg iodine/day and a RDA of 290 µg/day. The IOM report also includes "adequate intake" (AI) estimates (used when an EAR cannot be calculated) and RDAs for other population groups (8). The AI is less exact and, therefore, reaches higher levels than those derived by the EAR/RDA methodology, which is based largely on balance studies. The IOM sets the AI at 110 µg iodine/day for infants 0–6 months old and at 130 µg/day for those 7–12 months old; the RDA is 90 µg/day for children 1–8 yr old, 120 µg/day for those 9–13 yr, and 150 µg/day for older ages. These values correspond fairly closely to those recommended by WHO, ICCIDD, and other groups and provide a reasonable target in considering Iodine nutrition for mother and child. Positive iodine balance for the neonate and young infant, which is required to accommodate the increasing stores of the thyroid, is achieved only when the iodine intake is at least 15 µg/kg·day in full term and 30 µg/kg·day in preterm infants (10). This corresponds to an iodine intake of approximately 90 µg/day and is the present recommendation by WHO/UNICEF/ICCIDD for infants and children aged 0–59 months (9).

Effects of iodine deficiency on the mother

Hypothyroxinemia, elevated serum TSH, enlargement of the thyroid (by 10–50%), and goiter are the most obvious consequences for the pregnant woman. They can be prevented by adequate iodine supplementation (14, 15). Because the increased demands for iodine continue during lactation, an iodine-deficient woman may face several years of exaggerated iodine loss and consequent goiter. Even after she stops lactation and the iodine demand decreases, her thyroid may not return to its previous size and she risks multinodular goiter and hyperthyroidism later. In iodine-sufficient countries like the United States, goiter is rarely found in pregnancy and unlikely to be related to iodine.

Iodine deficiency poses additional reproductive risks, including overt hypothyroidism, infertility, and increased abortions. Hypothyroidism causes anovulation, infertility, gestational hypertension, increased first trimester abortions, and stillbirths; all are common in iodine deficiency. Lack of iodine also has cultural and socioeconomic consequences for the mother. Infertility and fetal wastage may compromise her quality of life and her role in the family and community. If she produces a defective child, she will most likely be responsible for its long-term care, diverting her time and resources from other needs.


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