Has anyone successfully conceived with Graves Disease?

[LockThatFridge]

I’ve recently been diagnosed with Graves Disease and my endocrinologist has told me to delay ttc for a couple of years. He was pretty negative overall about my chances given my age and the thyroid issues. I think this has been one of the hardest things to deal with since diagnosis so I’m looking for some positive/honest stories. Thank you!

I was diagnosed with graves disease in 2002 and had block/replacement treatment for 18 months. I conceived naturally in 2009 and had help with second child in 2012 (artificial insemination). Prior to this i had two miscarriages in 2006 and 2007. Graves disease was never mentioned as being a cause but I remember the doctor saying the meds used in the 'block' were quite strong so maybe it's not a good idea to TTC when you're on them?

The meds are so strong that you can't give blood for two years after being on them. I've been in remission for over two years but I've also had two miscarriages and have found it hard to conceive (but realistically it's probably more down to my age -39)

I have early stage Graves Disease. My fertility clinic put me on a protocol with thyroxine and steroids to make the baby stick. While getting advice from an endo is good - they don’t know about fertility. You need to go to a clinic that specialises (or buys in expertise) in infertility due to endocrine disorders. Suggest you go with a reputed clinic in an Indo-Pakistani-Arab area (Birmingham / Leicester / London) as Hashimotos / GD etc are very common in these communities.

I was diagnosed with Graves' disease in 2011 and successfully conceived in 2015 after a couple of months of trying, first and only pregnancy, I was 29. My levels were always quite stable though post diagnosis once medication started. When I told the endocrinologist I wanted to start ttc, he prescribed me a different medication to carbimazole and there was a small amount of evidence it could affect the foetus.

Was very well looked after during pregnancy and there was no cause for concern.

I had quite a relapse about 5 months after the birth, it's common I think, and had my thyroid removed when DS was 13 months old. I've had more issues getting my levels right since I've had it removed and am on full replacement dose of thyroxine.

Hope it all works out for you.

I had Graves and now have hashimotos several years later, treatment with carbimazole and now thyroxine. I have high anti-thyroid antibodies. I conceived easily before my diagnosis and have been infertile since. Fertility clinic say 'unexplained' but I'm pretty sure it's my thyroid problems even though I've had stable levels for years. My sister has the same issues and has just conceived after lots of rounds of ivf. We have a strong family history of thyroid problems but are both otherwise fit and well.

I'm not sure if this is relevant but ...

I had Graves disease when I was 21, was on Carbimazole, then partial thyroidectomy. Haven't need any meds since.

I had 2 DC when I was 35 & 38. First one was preceded by a miscarriage.

My DC are now adults.

No-one ever said my fertility would be affected -and clearly it wasn't.

I have! I was diagnosed just after getting married. I was advised by GP not to get pregnant which was a huge blow as we were so keen to start a family and I was 37 at the time. I quite quickly got down to a maintenance dose of 5mg a day of carbimazole. My endo consultant explained the risks but said he had treated many patients successfully through pregnancy over the years and given the low dose, if it happened, it happened. Anyway...I got pregnant quite quickly...stayed in maintenance dose of 5mg for first two trimesters and came off medication altogether in 3rd trimester. He explained that typically people tend towards hypothyroid in pregnancy so it kind of cancelled my hyper out in the end (my interpretation of what he said!) Baby was born fine and healthy....no thyroid issues and my TSH returned to normal for 4 years...I had second child no problem then about 18 months after her birth, Graves returned. Back on carbimazole now but I think was very fortunate to have had 2 successful pregnancies after diagnosis.

Thank you everyone for replying. I have name changed but am the OP. I’ve been a bit scared to reply and jinx it but shortly after I posted I found out I was pregnant. It was a bit of a shock as I didn’t think it would happen and also terrifying because although I was taking medication, my thyroid levels were definitely not under control. First thing I did was go to my gp and get a blood test which showed that my thyroid had gone under active and I stopped taking my medication imm. I saw an endocrinologist a few days later who tested my bloods again and my levels were normal. He was quite positive and said that changes to my immune system in pregnancy had likely made the graves go into remission. I had more bloods a couple of days ago so interested to see if my levels have remained stable or if I’ll need to go back on medication. I’m 10 weeks now and although I’m constantly waiting for something to go wrong, I’m feeling much more positive about it now. @PsuedoSatisfactionBaby it’s interesting how different endos view things. First one I saw it was a definite no to getting pregnant. The one I’m seeing now thinks it can be managed fine so hopefully I’ll be successful like you were!

Congratulations OP! I’m really happy for you. Very important to keep regular appointments with your endo through your pregnancy but please be assured it is possible. I tend to find GPs much more cautious than endos...second time around I was diagnosed through a GP blood test and he called me immediately to make sure I had contraception in place because “it would be terrible if I got pregnant”. Both my endos have been significantly more relaxed about it however...said not ideal but not the end of the world with good monitoring.
Best wishes for an easy and uneventful pregnancy OP!