Q: I am a 29 years old married woman. I have a 3 years old daughter. My problem started with leg spasms. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Since then I am having Thyronorm and my doctor has suggested taking this medicine lifelong. Is this problem curable? What should be the right dose? My weight is 55 kgs. What all problems can I have in future? We plan to have another baby. What are the risks to my other baby? Is there any possibility of abnormality? I know a case where the mother had hypothyroidism and the newborn too got it. What is the possibility of this?

A:There can be many reasons for hypothyroidism. Therefore, one can not give a blanket answer. However, in most instances the problem is not curable. In other words, there can not be one time therapy which rids you of the problem for ever. On the other hand,it is a relatively easy condition to manage. One does need to assess the hormone status from time to time and just fine tune the dose requirement. A fixed dose can not be prescribed. As long as the right dose is maintained,one need not worry about long term problems due to hypothyroidism. There can at times be associated conditions which your clinician will be on the look out for. You can definitely plan a baby. It will be necessary, however to appreciate that dose requirements will vary during pregnancy and close monitoring and fine tuning of the dose requirement will be needed.