TTC or Pregnant with an under-active Thyroid.

Yes he said there was no evidence it worked and that the steroids cross the placenta etc
However I know st mary's were very anti progesterone a few years ago and they have changed their stance on that seemingly.

I am a bit concerned about going onto Thyroxene (sp) for borderline results as I understand you then have to take it forever. It is interesting that he brought it up before I mentioned it though. hmmmmm.
I am assuming he will do more tests on the thyroid i,e, t3, t4, antibodies.
Is there anything else I should be looking out for?

So sorry to hear about your still birth :(

Hi farfalla that's great news, sounds like there is a lot they can do to help you get a sticky bean. Some interesting theories there, it seems fitting that with a low progesterone level that progesterone supplements may help. Also interesting about the unfussy uterus, I have fell pregnant fairly quickly 3 times now but then again I have friends who have fell quickly and not had any trouble.
The Nk cell one is tough, I know a lot of people have had sucess with treatment but I think sometimes steroids are used a bit too much and all other possibilities should be ruled out first. I went to see a consultant about NK cells and he advised me not to get tested for them. He said they might be high but he would be uncomfortable prescribing steroid treatment after 1mc and 1 stillbirth that he feels were totally unrelated. He said that treatment is not without risk and he just thinks I need a bit of luck.
Lot's of luck with things and I hope you get your results back quickly x

Just back from the consultant, he was very helpful.

He has ordered all sorts of blood tests for Dh and I and an ultra sound.
He said he does not need to test DH's sperm as they are clearly getting to the egg but he wants to check us for chromosonal abnormalities.

He thinks the problem could be my thyroid as my TSH is at 3.9 which he said is within the normal range but in his experience needs to be at 2.5 for conception purposes. He thinks I would be a good candidate to take progesterone from 2 days past ovulation but that he wants to rule everything else out first.
I asked about progesterone extending a doomed pregnancy and he said he would by a week or 2 but not much more than that.

He was totally dimissive of the NK theory and the use of steroids. I think the jury is out on that though as so many women seem to have had success on that front.

One thing I wanted to pass on was that he mentioned 'hyper fertility' as I am getting pregnant reasonably quickly. There is a theory that in some women the uterus is 'unfussy' and allows embryos to implant outside the usual window and that this can lead to miscarriage/chemical pregnancies. He said despite the fact that many women get preggers quickly he said the normal range is 6-9 months.

I really hope so iggi I lost my 1st at 24 weeks so I have another couple of months to go till I feel a bit safer, trying to be positive though and keep telling myself that this is a different pregnancy and I am getting better care etc. Feeling movement so that is lovely and I am trying to concentrate on that. Can't believe you have had 4 miscarriages, it's so tough, we both more than deserve our fair share of luck this time x

Oh that's great news, 15 weeks is really far along, isn't it?
I have a 4 year old ds, had him first before all the mcs started.
Let's hope we both get some good luck this time.

Hi iggi congratulations on your pregnancy, I really hope this is a sticky one. Are you getting seen by the epu? I am currently 15+4 with my 3rd pregnancy, it's horrible thinking that I am on pregnancy number 3 and have no surviving babies, do you have any dc's? My thyroid is currently behaving on 100mcg and they don't want it checked again until I am 24 weeks which is a relief because getting bloods done round here means waiting in a queue for an hour and a half! Stay hopeful and positive, it's a good thing

Hello thyroid-guys, not been on for ages but spotted the thread again.
I am pg again, 5 weeks, and saw my tsh shoot up from 0.09 to 2.9 - I know that's not very high, but it is over 2 and I certainly feel the effects! Will be tested again soon. This is pg #6, I'm always hopeful though I do try not to be! Hope everyone else is ok

Thank you ciwi

ooh I forgot to mention that I emailed the british thyroid foundation and asked them about thyroid issues, ttc and pregnancy and they said tsh below 2 ideally before ttc (that might only be if you have antibodies though)You could try them, it says on the website that you need to join to get medical advice but I didnt and they replied anyway, they were really helpful x

This is great thank you, I should really shop googling shouldn't I?

far, the Dr cited in that article has his own website, www.coulditbemythyroid.com/

If you're concerned, I'd recommend emailing his office and asking for more information as the article is very vague and leaps between fertility issues for both hypo, hyper and thyroid disease, and TSH, T4, etc. It doesn't really specify what would cause a short luteal phase or how it would be dealt with. As these American companies are more sales-oriented, they are often happy to give you information by email (presumably hoping you'll make an appointment with them)

Xx

ciwi yes we are TTC, I seem to able to GET pregnant but not stay that way for very long! Hence my googling and obsessing.

I found this article and it includes a link with low progesterone as well.
www.thyroid-info.com/articles/fertilitythy.htm

I will keep an eye on it, thanks for your help all!

(x post!)

Wow, my GP tried to rip my meds from my cold dead hands reduce my meds when I got to that sort of level (I didn't let him :o ) - that's pretty good going ;)

PS - Just to clarify, I don't mean my last para in a discouraging way at all - quite the opposite. What I mean is, I'm just a little bit sceptical at how realistic it is for all the pregnant women on the planet have thyroid functions between .6 and 1.9, as it's hard enough achieving those exactitudes even when monitored closely, never mind if you're oblivious to thyroid testing - so I'm not entirely convinced (but could be wrong) that it would need to be so very low as that to result in a successful pg. In my humble opinion, 3.7 seems pretty reasonable to me. In your shoes, I'd watch it doesn't go higher, but wouldn't be worried.

(and sorry, I can't help re the progesterone!)

farfalla I hope you get some answers soon or if not a lovely sticky bean, are you ttc at the moment?

popcorn totally agree with the free prescriptions! I will just add that I had a TSH of 2.6 when I fell pg and my consultant doubled my dose to get it down to 0.69 which he is very happy with and he said 'that's great that we got that number down' implying that 2.6 was too high for pregnancy so it may be the case for ttc too.

Thanks for this, very helpful indeed. I am not on anything at the moment and I don't have any symptoms (well I am knackered all the time but that is just life I think!!) I would rather not take tablets of course.

Will ask to be re-tested and also ask for the antibodies test.

Part of me is just searching for answers :(

3.7 is at the high end of normal - so they would tweak your dosage if you were already on thyroxine, but wouldn't start medication if you weren't iyswim. I would be surprised if you'd "feel" hypo at that level; I can't usually tell till I hit 10-15.

As ciwi said, Drs don't like medicating for it if they don't have to, as taking thyroxine when your thyroid is functioning with relative normality will actually supress your thyroid function (the meds fool it into thinking it doesn't think it needs to produce as much thyroxine itself, as there is so much floating around your system) so it's difficult to come off of once you start taking it. That, and imho, they don't like that you are then entitled to free prescriptions for life. Cynical, moi?

I've not heard of under 2.0 being optimum for conception, but then I've not researched it in that respect, I must admit. Getting it below 2 (and above the hyper threashold of .5 - so between 0.6 & 1.9) would be quite an art, though - I'm only at 2.2 after over 3 years of tweaking. And being hyper can be as damaging as being hypo.

I would go back in 6-8 weeks and have it re-tested, just to see if it's on the slide, but I wouldn't worry too much in the meantime.

Hi Farfalla I am no expert as I was only diagnosed in March myself my GP was reluctant to start thyroxine on me with a TSH of 11! I think from reading around that thyroid function is a very individual thing, I felt awful and very depressed with a TSH of 6 where other people would have no symptoms whatsoever. I have also read that some people struggle to concieve unless their TSH is around 2 where others can concieve with much higher results. Did you get tested for antibodies? If they are positive it is much more likely that you have a thyroid problem that may get worse if not treated and that may swing the GP in the direction of trying you on a low dose of thyroxine. I think GP's are often reluctant to treat as once you are on thyroxine you have to take it for life. My GP said this to me and I said that I would rather take a tablet for the rest of my life than suffer another loss, she then said fair enough and started me on thyroxine. Hope this helps but I am sure one of the pro's will be along with better advice soon x
Hi bebe and sunnyday how are you both getting on?

Hello everyone, just wanted to bump this thread and introduce myself.
I am 31 TTC since March actively and had 2 early miscarriages since then at 5 weeks and 4+4 (so a chemical really)
My TSH has come back as 3.7 so in the normal range, no other thyroid tests were done. My progesterone was 20 which is low and I have since been reading a lot about underactive thyroids and short luteal phases and early miscarriages connections.

I think in the US anything over 3 is considered a problem and it does look like for TTC it should be below 2.

Has anyone had low progesterone as well? Just wondering what the best way to get this looked at might be.

Hi everyone,
Got my levels back today and they look great (even if I do say so myself) TSH is 0.69 and T4 is 138. I see the consultant on Wednesday but I think he will probably just keep me on 100mcg. Got 12 week scan on Wednesday too (a bit early at 11+2), so nervous, just praying that everything is ok x
bebe how are you doing?
Hi sunnyday hope you and the little one are well x

Great news on your scan bebe and your tsh levels! Thanks for the info on supplements, I think the brazil nuts will sort my selenium out and pregnacare has 100% rda iodine in so i think i am covered.
I have had my bloods done today, should get the results around friday so will see how the numbers look on 100mcg x

Hi Ciwi glad you are feeling good :)

A little update for you Selenium tablet 200mg per day interestingly i spoke to my friend who has had cancer due to a autoimmune problem and she was told by her dr that she should take selenium as well, apparently her dr told her there was a big study in a london hospital showing the benefits of selenium in autoimmune conditions.

Also my specialist told me because I have an underactive thyroid I also need a pregnancy vitamin with Iodine as it is important for the baby to get iodine as women with thyroid problems are lacking this vitamin, my dr prescribed me Femibion, I checked it is also available in the uk. It is expensive though.

Went for the scan yesterday everything looks ok so far so we will have to wait and see. I feel i should have had more vits in my system before ttc, i only had folic and iron. I am taking so many tablets now thyroxine, selenium, multivit with iodine, iron I am rattling! Good news though TSH down from 3.46 to 2.40 in one week, that 100mg a day is kicking in!

How is everyone doing? :)