Health Issues

Sheehan’s Syndrome; an obstetric problem  

 

Sheehan’s Syndrome is a condition that affects women who lose a life-threatening amount of blood in childbirth or who have severe low blood pressure during or after childbirth, which can deprive the body of oxygen. In Sheehan’s syndrome, the lack of oxygen can damage your pituitary gland.
Sheehan’s syndrome causes the pituitary gland to not produce enough pituitary hormones (hypopituitarism). Also called postpartum hypopituitarism, Sheehan’s syndrome is rare in industrialized nations, largely due to improved obstetrical care. But it’s a major threat to women in developing countries.
Treatment of Sheehan’s syndrome involves lifelong hormone replacement therapy.
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of Sheehan’s syndrome typically appear slowly, after a period of months or even years. But sometimes problems appear right away, such as the inability to breast-feed.
Signs and symptoms of Sheehan’s syndrome occur because of having too little of the hormones the pituitary gland controls: thyroid, adrenal, breast milk production and menstrual function hormones. These include: Difficulty breast-feeding or an inability to breast-feed, no menstrual periods (amenorrhea) or infrequent menstruation (oligomenorrhea), inability to regrow shaved pubic hair, slowed mental function, weight gain and difficulty staying warm as a result of an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)m, low blood pressure (hypotension), low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), fatigue, irregular heartbeat and breast shrinkage.
For many women, Sheehan’s syndrome symptoms are nonspecific and often thought to be caused by other things. Fatigue, for instance, goes hand in hand with being a new mother. You might not realize you have Sheehan’s syndrome until you need treatment for thyroid or adrenal insufficiency.
It’s also possible to remain relatively symptom-free with Sheehan’s syndrome, depending on the extent of damage to the pituitary gland. Some women live for years not knowing their pituitary isn’t working properly. Then an extreme physical stressor, such as severe infection or surgery, triggers an adrenal crisis.

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