TTC or Pregnant with an under-active Thyroid.

[hippychick66]

Hi,

We were talking about this a lot on the charting thread and thought it would be good to start a separate thread.

There's about 3 of us at the moment but please do join us too if you are TTC with this added probem.

My results were 9.07 and then a few weeks later 5.5. I'm due another blood test in 5 weeks and hopefully my GP should be starting me on Thyroxin soon.

Quite worried cos the NHS guidelines say your numbers should be a lot lower when pregnant. still i haven't got that BFP yet so I guess I'll worry then.

ladygonegaga and Bessie26 - hurry up and join me here .

nappy, thanks for the support, I feel like DH is getting sooooo pissed off with DTD every other day, and hearing about Metformin, Clomid, Ovulation, EWCM, temp taking etc!!

Well, not so much pissed with DTD (he's quite getting into it!!!), but all the jargon and whatnot, he is getting whenever I mention it.

I will carry on with th charting, as I find it qiute intersting, and hopefully after a few months I'll get a better idea of my cycle.

Am also on low GI diet, and will see about the caffeine ban for DH, he had his swimmers checked, and they're good quality, quantity and motlity, but if caffeine is bad, that's it, no more coffee or cola for him.

nappy thanks for the reassurance - lovely to hear you had DS in the end. Mmm I know what you mean about reducing stress. Unfortunately my job is often very stressful - not really sure what I can do about that other than resign which financially isn't very attractive . I do seem to be a stressy person, wish I was a bit more laid back.

DH has cut down on caffeine to one cup of coffee a day (from 2) plus tea... so still quite a lot really. I don't know if I'd be able to to persuade him to stop altogether! He doesn't cycle or have saunas or hot baths though, or eat much red meat. But I should really feed him some vitamins I think.

A question about Levothyroxine - has anyone found that 50mcg made any difference to their TSH levels? I've been put on a v low dose to start as my GP was nervous about swinging me too far the other way (my sis and gran have overactive thyroid history) but am worried it won't do anything?

thyroxine affects people differently - it can be a lot for one person, and not a lot for another. It's a good dose to start on to see how it affects you (it is more dangerous to be overactive than underactive) and they can reassess from there. Hth x

thanks popcorn - you're right I know, I am just impatient for things to happen!

Mini - a 50mg dose brought my TSH down from measuring >150 to 35.4 in 4 weeks! Am now on 100mg (my GP has increased it by 25mg each time) As Popcorn said it seems to be a v individual thing (but frustrating when you want it to work asap)

Ah ok, thanks both. I am having another blood test in a couple of weeks so that should show what impact the 50mcg is having, then hopefully will get my referral letter to the specialist soon after that.... Must be patient

nappy, not sure what follicle tracking is? This month is first month ever of Clomid, have been given 3 months of 50mg for days 2 throughh 6 of cycle, then an appt. back at hospital if no BFP.

Not having any checking or bloodtests, do I need them? Should I be having them?

Oh Right, I know what you mean now!! They have said that I have to do these first 3 months on 50mg Clomid, then reassess, and will do ultrasounds and put Clomid up to 100mg, if there is no BFP before then!

Aw, thanks nappy, I've got a backache today, like I usually get pre AF, so don't think I'll get a BFP, although all my other usual signs of AF's imminent arrival are not here, so I've everything crossed!

Hi all, can I join you? I haven't read all the thread. Is a loooong one! I have had an under active thyroid for 15 years and it has been up and down!!! The reassuring news for lots of you is that I had DS 15months ago with no problems (thyroxine was upped and monitored carefully by a consultant throughout). We have just started ttc#2 but for some reason I have a nagging feeling it won't be as easy this time!

I am on 200mcg/day of Thyroxine to get my levels right, so it is VERY individual, and can take a while to get your own levels settled.

Two weeks ago I had a blood test and was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid (TSH: 88 and FreeT4: 0.4) and put on 100mcg/day of Thyroxine.

I felt a bit shocked as my reading was sooo low and out of the normal range so I badgered my GP (who seemed a bit clueless about thyroid conditions) and got to see an endo yesterday.

I was keen to start TTC now but the endo made it clear that I would be infertile with this reading and until I had normal blood levels that we shouldn't even try. He estimated this could take 6-9months to normalise. I have a blood test in 5 weeks to see how the Thyroxine is impacting on the levels.

Could anyone tell me how long it took for there TSH to come down on Thyroxine?

Has anyone else had a TSH / Free T4 reading like this?

In some ways I feel relieved by the diagnosis as I have been feeling pretty crap and not myself for a year: exhausted, low moods, weepy, aching muscles, heavy periods...but no one wants to hear a medic tell them they are infertile even if it is temporary.

It is all very new to me so if anyone can share their experiences I would be really grateful.

Hi everyone - just a quick update, after a month on 50mcg/day thyroxine, my TSH has dropped from over 10 to 2.75!

Not quite at the magic "below 2" level yet but nearly. And I've got an appointment with an endocrinologist in April.

Fingers crossed this does the trick... And very best of luck to everyone trying to get their thyroid under control. As my DH says, why are women so complicated...?

Brix it will depend on how frequently they test you, and how you respond to the thyroxine. That's quite a high TSH but they've started you off on a nice high dose (it's more usual to start on 25-50mcg iirc). I'd give it 6 months and reassess, in your shoes.

It took me 2-3 years to properly control my thyroid but I'm the exception rather than the rule (and after being initially dosed it was never overly high again - I just floated around TSH 5-10 for a good while). Usually it's 6-12 months I believe.

Thank you for that advice. Good to hear Popcorn and minipie that you have got your TSH readings in line again and yes, I think I will just hang tight for next 6months and see how I respond to Thyroxine.

I am really keen to have a second baby and I suppose I felt bringing my TSH down from 88 to under 2 was a bit daunting and I was keen to hear from others about timescales.

Many thanks and any other thoughts or ideas appreciated

In my experience, "getting it down" to a manageable level is the easy part and relatively quick too - it's stabilising it at an optimum level that takes the time (it's a bit like goldilocks -- you can't have too much or too little thyroxine, you have to get it juuuuust right!) :)