TSH Levels when trying to conceive

[LondonBerry]

Am 38 yrs old
TTC for 8 months
2 chemical early miscarriages

Had lots of tests done at fertility clinic.

My TSH level = 3.64 mIU/L

Doctor said ideally it should be under 3.5 when trying to conceive.

They may prescribe Thyroxine to reduce my TSH levels.

Has anyone else got high TSH levels?

Do you have thyroxine? Or Levothyroxine?

How did it may you feel?

Hi,
I have an underactive thyroid, which was picked up during a routine blood test (I got the impression it was a borderline result though as I was initially told it could be diet controlled). I found out I was pregnant a couple of days after the blood test was done, so I was lucky in that it didn't seem to affect my ability to conceive, however once I told my doctor I was pregnant she put me on levothyroxine, and my pregnancy was consultant led.

Back to your original question though, I didn't have any noticeable side effects from the levothyroxine, however as I was in the first trimester of a fairly difficult pregnancy, I'm not sure if I did have them and put them down to pregnancy related issues. I'm sorry I'm not much help, but I can say that I've been on the levothyroxine since then (my sone is 18 months now), and I've had to increase my dose a number of times and haven't noticed any difference either physiologically or in my mood / feelings (I also suffer from depression so am often hyper aware of how I'm feeling).

Hope that's of some help, and best of luck in your journey.

Thanks Evedarling

Anyone else have experience of this?

Yep me! My tsh was above 3.5 and they said they liked it as close to 1 as possible for ttc. So for the last 6 weeks I've been on 75mg levothyroxine and my level has already dropped to just over 1.5! I feel slightly better in myself too. So the tsh doesn't need to be extraordinarily high to have an effect on you. Good luck with it.

Thanks snowdog37

May I ask in what ways did levothyroxine make you feel better?

Better mood? More energy?

I found I wasn't so tired during the day after abut a month, and apparently it'll help me lose weight a little easier but so far no uvk on that front! I think I feel generally better overall but it could be I just had good news this week so I feel more positive.

*Luck not uvk.

Hi there
I thought I'd join the thread as I also have hypothyroidism, well no thyroid at all actually! I am TTC #1 and am on cycle 2. I had a routine thyroid function test recently and TSH was 2.4. I have read in lots of places that it should be under 2 so am planning a visit to the GP for some reassurance and advice.
Wishing you well OP x

Hi rarotonga

My doc says under 3.5 is fine but I am reading that 1-2 is ideal for TTC.

Hello

I'm 38 (well, 39 in a couple of months!). I had a TSH of 6.7 which was diagnosed privately earlier this year. My GP refuses to prescribe levothyroxine unless TSH hits 10 (insert much anger and wailing on my part here!) - this is despite the fact that she agrees it should be under 2.5 for pregnancy and knows that I am ttc.

So I'm paying for it privately. I started on 50mg but my TSH went to 0.23 within 4 weeks so I'm on 25mg now. Due to be retested in a few weeks! The main thing I noticed on it was that I'm not retaining as much fluid around my middle - after a few weeks on it, it looked as if I'd had lipo The downside has been palpitations - they're not so noticeable on 25mg though so hopefully it's just part of settling into the meds.

Hello ,
I am not sure if any of you will see this and are able to advice .
I have been TTC for a year now with no luck. I have done initial tests including a private MOT tests and everything seems ok. When i went to the private clinic for the MOT test the consultant mentioned that TSH should be below 2 when ttc and as close to 1 as possible
I just got my blood tests back from the GP as "normal" i asked to see the actual values and i noticed that my TSH is at 3.4
I want to push for medication as i am now convinced that this is what causing my infertility!
snowdog37 how did you get your go to prescribe medication i am affraid that she will just tell me is normal

Hi nicky. Unfortunately a lot of Drs in the UK are useless when it comes to thyroid issues. It's true that a TSH below 4 is considered to be in the normal range (hence the result you've been given). However if TTC it should be at the lower range of normal, so under 2 / 2.5.

Have a look at this link:

www.btf-thyroid.org/projects/pregnancy/202-thyroid-in-pregnancy-information

My tsh was 3.85 in May (I had it tested privately). I know that's high for me because it was 1.8 when I was tested in pregnancy with both DCs. I also have a family history so I went to the GP because I'd read that it needs to be under 2.5 to conceive and sustain a healthy pregnancy. They won't do anything unless it's over 10 or if you're already pregnant. So... I'm now 5 weeks pregnant (conceived on the first try so it obviously didn't affect that) and had another tsh test as soon as I found out (again privately because I knew the GP would say that there was no reason to test). My levels have gone up to 6 so they've given 50mg of levothyroxine. I'm just really hoping no damage has been done to the pregnancy in the meantime! It's so frustrating when they won't listen to you. My GP wasn't going to treat it even in pregnancy but I showed him the NICE guidelines and some stuff off of the British thyroid organisation website and he then called an obstetrician for advice and they said he needed to treat it. I've been on levothyroxine for about a week and still shivering with the cold constantly despite having the heating on and loads of layers. DH is in a t-shit!