Hypothyroidism & low progesterone - anyone else?

[babybabybabybaby]

Hello all. I've been TTC for 8 mths and have recently been diagnosed as having an underactive thyroid (so it wasn't just too many cakes - honest). Also have low progesterone (21 - urrgghh).

I'm hoping that, once my thyroxin dose is sorted, things will sort themselves out. Does anyone have any experience of this, or a lovely success story?

Hello
I have underactive thyroid, it's treated. My DS is 7 mths. Once your dose is sorted it shouldn't affect your ability to conceive. You will need to have your levels checked frequently during pregnancy though
Good luck!

I had really low progesterone (12 I think??) when I was first tested. I started acupuncture, and 3 months later my progesterone level was tested again and came out as normal.

Both my Dh and I had fertility problems which meant we were told we were unlikely ever to conceive naturally.

After 2.5 years of trying, and one month before we were due to start IVF, I found out I was pregnant naturally. The result is an amazing dd, now aged 10 months.

We followed a book called "Natural Solutions to Infertility" by Dr Marilyn Glenville. Put her name into Google and I think she's got a website.

Good luck - never give up.

Also, a good friend of mine had an underactive thyroid for years. She had a dd just after mine!

hello babybabybabybaby (love the name!)

I've had an underactive thyroid since I was 14. (now aged 33 going on 17). As long as you are on the right dose, you should have no more problems getting pregnant than anyone else. But make sure they test it every so often, as it does take a while to get the dose right. if you feel tired, and feel that your hair and skin are getting a bit 'bla', or if you have a bit of a goitre (that horrible lump in your neck) that's an indication you should ahve a blood test to check the levels again.

Also, they say that your dose might change when you're pregnant so the mw will probably take blood tests for that every now and again, and you may be referred to a consultant just as a precaution - this is nothing to worry about! mine was fine all the way through my pregnancy, but when DD was about 9 months old, I had to have my dose increased and I'm back to normal again now (DD now 22 months).

the only horror story I heard was that it might make constipation worse when you're pregnant, but a) I can't see how it could be worse, and b) if the dose is right, you shouldn't be any different from anyone else, so I think that tale is a load of baloney!

if you HAVE to have something, this condition isn't too bad, as long as you keep taking the tablets!

don't know much about low progesterone but hopefully you feel better about the thyroid issue now! you'd be surprised how many people have it!

Good luck!

Guys, thanks so much! It's really nice to hear that other people have the same thing and have started families. I'll try and be patient (hmmm....) and wait for my thyroxin to be sorted out. Had second blood test today (still feeling pretty wiped out so think they may increase my dose) so hopefully will be sorted soon. I have really short cycles so at least we have lots of stabs at it (so to speak...ahem).

Will certainly check out that book (thanks Littlefish) and have thought about acupuncture (and reflexology...oh, and of course robitussin, no caffiene, grapefruit juice, kissing the blarney stone, looking under cabbages etc).

Seriously though, thank you so much for your replies. It's really appreciated. Now...patience...hmmmm....

Hiya bbbb, another one here with low progesterone (2.0). Currently awaiting 1st appointment with fertility consultant as I have just been referred after ttc no. 2 for nearly a year. Had no problems with dd who was conceived 4 yrs ago on 1st cycle, but hormones must have changed since then. I also have short cycles.....one of the indicators of low progesterone

Good luck with the treatment & at least with your diagnosis it's the first step towards success in ttc!

It drives you mad doesn't it. I've spent the last 15 years trying soooo hard not to get preggers and now....well....nothing....zip!!

Sod's law eh? Who needs it!

Good luck with your referral. Hope it goes well.
xx

Hi BBBB. There has been quite a lot of research done about the effects of acupuncture on hormone levels. You should be able to do a search on Google. There have also been a few articles written recently in the national newspapers.

Has your dh been checked too? Not to wish you any further bad luck, but it's worth doing, just so you have the full picture. I'm sure everything will be fine for you, but when my dh was checked, his problems were far worse than mine!!! BUT we overcame all of them!!!

Interestingly, my cycles were always very regular and about 28 - 31 days so there was no indication that my progesterone was low before the results came back.

Sorry dont knwo anything about low pregesterone but have a success story about thyroid problems and conception!

I developed post partum thyroiditis after my last baby. Wasn't diagnosed til baby was 3 montsh old , which is very fast.Was started on thyroxine straight away - as you know it takes a while to get the balance, they tend to up the dose gardually and test your blood every 6 weeks ( my TSH was over 150 and I think it needs to be about 3 to conceive!!) . The consultant said it might take about 6-9 montsh to get my blood levels normal and 9 montsh to a year to feel back to normal IYSWIM. All I cared about was feeling better as i was exhaused and had a small baby to care for ( wasnt TTC) and was breast feeding.

My levels were back to normal after 6 months and the next month I fell pregnant( not planned but we are very happy!!!). It was a bit of a surprise due to the breast feeding and the thyroid problesm. Also I'm in my 40s. And we were using contraception ( obviously not very effectively)!!!!

Baby due in a month and I've had no problems in my pregnancy. I just had to up the dose and they have taken blood frequently. No big deal.

Hope this encourages you!

KristiinaM
that was a very quick diagnosis- good for you

Just to add my story; I got postpartum hypothyroidism after ds1 and didn't know I had it, conceived ds2 when ds1 was 19 months old two months after I stopped BF ds1. Finally got diagnosed when ds2 was 10 months old. So what I mean to say is that I conceived with no problem, but then I didn't know I had a problem with my 'roid.

Suzy - I was lucky - had a very good GP. Also I went from over active to very underactive in the space of a few months and i think the symptoms of hyperactive are easier to spot????

If you dont mind my asking, how did you know you had it in your first preg if you werent diagnosed til 3 years later??

Hi i was diagnosed with an over active thyroid gland when i was 17. Had radioactive iodine and a few years later it went the other way. I had no problems conceiving my DD who is 5 in a couple of weeks. I am TTC again at the moment but had Breast Cancer about 4.5 years ago. So have a whole new set of worries. Have just had my thyroid checked to make sure that is not having a negative affect.
I wish you lots of luck & hope that you get your BFP soon.

I didn't have in in my first pregnancy but after ds1 was born, and I knew I had it from that point as that was when I firts began to feel like the walking dead and all the rest of it.

Oh Suzy that must have been so frustrating, to feel so ill but not know why

babybaby - are you feeling a bit encouraged? It must be hard to be patient, esp when you have been TTc for a while. I knwo its easy for others to say " Oh well your levels will probably be Ok in a year" when that seems like an eternity to you!

Feeling much better. Thanks guys. I suppose I feel like 'it'll all be fine in the end' but am getting pretty impatient. I'm nearly 32 and would probably like to have 3 so want to get started!

My DH has his sperm count date for the 28 December but it's only about £50 to get it checked quickly on BUPA so we'll probably do that. My GP's pretty much ready to refer me to infertility but won't until he knows DH's sperm count. Does that sound terrible? I'm just so impatient!!

Although, to add insult to injury, AF arrived today which means another 19 day annovulatory cycle.

I need to get me some big, fat eggs!

BBBBI am more than 10 years older than you , I have a 5 yo, a 16 month old and I'm 8 months pregnant. Honestly, you have plenty time to have 3 kids!!!!!!

i have underactive thyroid and it can def hamper your chances of conceiving, however, once you have been taking the thyroxine a while and your tsh is normal, you should hopefully not have any probs