The Hut of Gl/Doom Part V- for the unapologetically despondent

[duchesse]

The new hut. Ta-da!

This one is a snug little basement World War 2 type nightclub, with dim lighting, snug velvet sofas, red walls and certainly no politically correct smoking bans. Occasionally certain selected men may be admitted at our convenience.

Sit down, make yourselves at home, and never, ever apologise for feeling like shit. That's about it.

If only, if only.

I did say to DH that in order to get pregnant we do need to have more sex! His reply was that his super sperm have worked four times before they dont need any more help!

Get him eh!

Off to get DD2 from nursery now so will catch up later. Good to speak to you Lissie always cheers me up

lol dh says the same. see here

PMSL. Thank you will show that to DH next time he makes the comments!!

Lissie I spent many years and ivf attempts having my ds, I had 1 mc after first attempt ds was the result of our 10th attempt. I am now on my fourth attempt to have number two. I was 28 when i started I am now 38 so I know we are coming to the end of my natural fertile life. I know it sounds rubbish but do go out and do all those things you haven't done for ages because you are busy conceiving, because hell its a full time job. BTW have you taken baby aspirin? Apparently some mc are caused by sticky blood you should get your gp to do bloods if you can make them, if positive you have to have heparin injections throughout your pg.

Ronshar I had ds after having a holiday, where i smoked and drank copiously my mum had just died and I wasn't getting pregnant so I thought f* it. I don't think falling off the wagon means that you have given up I think its a way of releasing the tension

Hi ladies, have fallen from the other side that is the ttc boards. Hi Lissie and Ronshar Miss talking to some people but the ttc board doesn't seem right at the moment. I was getting depressed

Going to GP tomorrow to badger him for thyroxine as have just discovered that my Thyroid Stimulating Hormone is 4 times what it should be for a woman ttc. Wish me luck.

Lissie, glad you got your referral to LWH. Hope you don't have to wait too long.

oh LL, how do they miss these things?

ikwym about the ttc board. im no good to anyone at the moment, feel so pessimistic, so not good around the relatively new members.

I don't know! It's not routinely tested in this country. If I lived in the states or Oz it would've been picked up.

it makes me so cross. i know the NHS is overstretched, but surely thats partly down to problems that could be picked up by routine testing!

fix the cause, not just the symptoms.

Or even how about treating the symptoms instead of fobbing women off and treating them as if they are hysterical, irrational creatures. I would like to know what is causing my elevated TSH but my main concern right now is to get it down to a level that is conducive to carrying a full-term baby. In other words, give me the thyroxine now and run the tests after! I can't face being fobbed off again and being asked to wait for yet more tests.

Excellent news on the new consultant/specialists Lissie - I am sure they will be able to help you. All the best. x

thanks ready.

LL, i couldnt agree more!

LL- my consultant (endocrinologist) told me that TSH should ideally be 1-1.5 for a pregnant or ttc woman to avoid neural and neurological problems in the foetus. Yet they will not treat below 4.5!! 4.5 is really pretty high, but because it doesn't seem like much more to them, they don't take it seriously. My TSH was unfortunately 4.1 on the day I went, so they won't treat me. I hope you manage to get better treatment than I did.

Thanks Duchesse - did you manage to get thyroxine px by your endocrinologist? My TSH is 7.8 so I will be livid if they don't treat it. I posted on the health board seeking your expertise! Having run a search, I saw that you had written a fair bit on the topic.

Oh gosh, at those levels they should certainly treat, especially if your T4 is low as well. Because my TSH was juuust normal (4.something), and my T4 also juuuust normal (12.something), I am not eligible for treatment. In the US they are treating from TSH levels of 2.5 upwards. I have been ttc for 4.5 years now, and whatever they say, I am sure that thyroid problems affect your fertility.

Duchesse, I agree with you. My T4 is normal at 15.0. Look at the nhs link (cks.library.nhs.uk/hypothyroidism/view_whole_topic_review)
It doesn't state what the tsh range should be for women with sub-clinical hypothyroidism but it does say that for women with the overt type that tsh should be 0.4-2.0 and a T4 concentration in the upper range. Seems reasonable therefore that it should follow for subclinical. I think you should push for Thyroxine. Reference ranges have changed and are now high at 3.5 Were your anti-bodies checked?

sorry there should be an underscore between topic and review

checked yes, negative for antibodies, hence no treatment. It's a cracker barrel of laughs having to go in there sounding like cranky Dr Google every time.

I can imagine. I thought I'd have a battle tbh, but the dr did not quibble and gave me a px for Thyroxine with a form for bloods in 6 weeks. Apparently I get free pxs for life now - woo hoo. Actually, I'd rather have a baby

Although you are on the upper side of the range, you can show them the research that shows that your levels should be between 1-2 for conception/pregnancy purposes. I wrote a letter outlining all the research findings, because I felt that if I wrote to them they'd be less likely to fob me off. Though the dr agreed without reading the letter (incidentally, she also agreed that the tsh levels for conception should be lower than 4)I asked her to keep it on my file as a record. Just in case anyone had the bright idea of stopping the treatment when I need a repeat px.

As for Dr Google, well she was very positive. She said she thinks it is great that people read widely and take responsibility for their own health. I resisted the temptation to retort "It's just as well as nothing would get done otherwise" I am so relieved that I have been given the treatment.

Rx for prescription - not px. Brain fog that is hypothyroidism See - I can use it as an excuse for a whole range of things now

ll thats great news!

I know! I am still stunned. Such is my faith in healthcare

I feel guilty saying that. There is good and bad in every profession. I hope you get some good ones at the LWH

Ronshar - I'm sure you have pushed to see a consultant but I would recommend going back to the doctors & pushing some more. I am 4 years older than you (so if your over the hill then I'm positively past it)and I did bring my age up in conversation, however after my 2nd miscarraige in 4 months and a mini tantrum(I know it's bad)where I told the exactly what I thought of the - have a third with the same partner - and you can see a consultant rule they referred me.

Seeing a consultant on Dec 31st and illogically hoping the date is a good omen, role of shitty 2007 welcome, hopefully, new baby in 2008.

Mich, glad to hear you have a consultant appt coming up. Lissie has a lot of good advice about what to ask. I would suggest you ask them to check your thyroid (not only TSH and T4 levels, but anti-bodies too since women with anti-thyroid antibodies are more likely to miscarry/have problems with conception). They don't check it routinely. I had to ask my GP - the Miscarriage Clinic didn't bother to check. I found out my thyroid is not working as it should and I am now taking thyroxine to help this. I really think this problem was the cause of 2 or more of my m/cs.