TTC - thyroid test results

[Charro86]

Hi,

My husband and I have are trying to conceive and are still relatively early on in our journey. I came off the pill in April and since then I had what felt like 3 normal cycles and then my cycle really lengthened. Whilst I have been on and off BC since my late teens (now 33) I have had periods of no BC and my periods were always quite regular so this caused me a bit of concern. My GP was v dismissive and said to come back if not pregnant in 1 year, but I was intrigued to see my hormones so paid for an at home hormone test, results attached. At first I was happy the results all came back ‘normal’ but obviously I then spent ages googling each result and it’s got me really worried:

• LH is almost double FSH which apparently can be symptomatic of PCOS.

• my TSH is 2.97 which is much higher than the desired 2.5 or less for women trying to conceive. I can’t make much sense of my T3 & T4 but I think my T4 looks on the low end which might confirm a mild case of Hypo? If I look at hypo symptoms some ring true, but I’m on the thin side of things and I always associated hypo with weight gain.

Anyway I appreciate the results could be nothing, but now I’m stressing (not what you want when TTC). I can’t get an appointment with my GP until early December (!!!) and think she’ll dismiss me anyway. Does anyone have any words of wisdom or advice?

Thanks so much x

Hi @Charro86 I have a hyperactive thyroid which is now under control.

From my experiments, anything between 0.3 and 4.8 tsh is considered normal so your levels look ok.

T4 is normal between 7 and 20 so yours looks ok too (mine is also about 14) and t3 should be between 4.2 and 6.9, can't see your result in the pics.

I can't help with the fsh level as never had that tested but the other levels look ok I think, I'm not a doctor but have had bloods done every 3 months for the last 4 years. When I was first diagnosed the wait time for a thyroid appointment was so long I had to pay to go private for my first appointment then was referred to nhs so if you're worried it might be worth looking into x

That was meant to say experience not experiments 😂

Hi @Bellesjp, I'm sorry you're feeling confused and stressed out by your results - I know what it's like as I was in a similar position back in May. You're right that your TSH should be below 2.5 when TTC. Hypothyroidism can be asymptomatic (subclinical) when mild.

I actually started a thread for those of us who are TTC with subclinical/mild hypothyroidism:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/4250334-TTC-and-subclinical-hypothyroidism

Do feel free to join us over there, there's a lot of experience and advice being shared. 😊

Sorry @Bellesjp, I meant to tag @Charro86! 🤦

@Charro86 I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism about 3 years ago, same as you, on the small side and I also never had any symptoms. I would see an endocrinologist if I were you (you can get a GP referral) as those levels can stop you getting pregnant (not saying they definitely will!). It's very easily treatable with levothyroxin and it should get your levels back to normal pretty quickly. It's very common so I wouldn't worry about it too much! The reason I recommend seeing a specialist is that the GP often doesn't understand the condition, your results may come back as normal in the sense that you can function properly, but they need to be within a certain range when it comes to fertility.

@Owl86 - thank you so much for linking me through to that thread. It looks like I have a lot of reading to do this weekend!! So nice to know there is a big support network here though as I really struggled to find much on the net beyond stating what the optimum levels of TSH are.

@Frenchie86 - I am trying to get an appointment with my GP so I can get a referral for a private appointment, but nothing until December currently. I don’t know with my levels whether it’s worth continuing TTC as I’m worried now about miscarriage. I last had bloods done back in 2015 and my TSH was 1.56 so it’s gone up a fair amount since then. I also fell pregnant back in 2017 but at the time wasn’t in a position to have a child so had to make the very painful decision to terminate at 7 weeks. Do you know of hypothyroidism can just appear in your 30s? It seems strange that my levels were relatively normal back 6 years ago in my mid to late 20s.

@Charro86 sorry it’s so long, fingers crossed for an appointment soon. From what the specialist said to me it’s more a question of not being able to get pregnant rather than miscarriages but I may be wrong. I feel pregnant naturally at the end of last year (normal results) but sadly had to terminate at 13 weeks due to a heart defect in the baby, so similar-ish situation to you. I’m 35 and was diagnosed at 32 so it’s definitely possible, my grandma has it as well and she was diagnosed in her 40s but of course things were different back then.

Hi does anybody want to create a group chat on Whatsapp with me sharing tips on ttc/pregnancy