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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

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Original poster

underactive thyroid causing problems to concieve?????

74 replies

sambrads · 11/12/2007 09:52

hi ya i have ds and having problems ttc baby number 2 !!!!
as a result of underactive thyroid i am not ovulating and doctors suggest it will correct itself but im not so sure .
also has anyone known of anyone who had baby born with defects due to underactive thyroid?

OP posts:

bethoo · 11/12/2007 10:04

my friend had an underactive thyroid which caused several miscarriages but she went onto medication and now has a one year old boy.
can you not ask to go onto Clomid or something to stimulate ovulation?

SantasWhiskers · 11/12/2007 10:21

I couldn't concieve for years when mine was very overactive. Had a partial thyroidectomy in 1997 & am now underactive so have been on thyroxine since then (between 100mcg & 250mcg - am now stable on 150mcg daily). dd3 was born March 2005 & ds was born Nov 2006, both conceived while using contraception but in a very half-@rsed way. Both are fine, no probs but did have to have their thyroid function monitored for the first few weeks. I was barely monitored while pg & didn't need my medication altered.

I do think that while your thyroid is still out of control it will mess things up but once the pills have you stabilised everything should come good again.

hth - good luck

Original poster

sambrads · 11/12/2007 14:22

well i am now taking 200mg of thyroxine and they say my thyriod levels are back to normal but they cant get me to ovulate .

dont think i can be put onto clomid until two years which will drive me mad!!

do you no if you can get it from your gp or do you have to wait to see a specilist??

you can buy it on the internet but i would be afraid to take it with out the doctor giving me it first!!

thanks for your advice everyone (fsmile)

OP posts:

fruitloop79 · 11/12/2007 15:07

I'm having the same problem. Seeing GP on Thursday. If he tells me to come back in two years I'll go mad!

I'm on Thyroxine, have been for years. I have a DS also conceived half-heartedly taking contraceptive pill

Been off pill since beginning of August and am only on cycle 2 and CD76!!! Very much not pg as have done about 6 tests in two weeks

if GP doesnt do something about it I'll lose it big time!

I'll let you know what happens on Thursday if your interested

Original poster

sambrads · 11/12/2007 20:15

hi ya fruitloop yes please keep me informed of whats happening!!!!!!!!!!!

i have been on thyroxine for a year and only now getting my levels back to normal.

i have not taken the pill for three years and i was really stressing why nothing was happening especially as i have already got ds !!!!!!!

blood tests showed i was not ovulating which is hard to take as i am onmly 23 and doctors wont take me serious and i hate it !!!!

i think i might tell gp that i will buy clomid if they wont give me it as it might show them how badly i want it !!

i have an appointment on tuesday to check blood i got taken yesterday!!!

have you read any reports about deformities or in crease in mc??

i am really looking forward to my son having brother sister but nervous incase anything would go wrong??

OP posts:

fruitloop79 · 12/12/2007 15:52

I think as long as you've got it under control you dont need to worry about deformaties. I dont really know much about it. My DS turned out fine, never had any cause for concern during pregnancy and had a fantastic pregnancy too. The first I've heard about miscarriage and underactive thyroids is on MN.

Let me know how you get on with results, got my appointment tomorrow

Jzee · 12/12/2007 16:01

I found out after having ds that I had an underactive thyroid and I'm now taking thyroxin - not a big deal. Sometimes the thyroid can resove itself, although I would keep it monitored and be persistant with your doctor they sometimes be too casual about these things and for me it has perhaps been one of the causes of other major pregnancy related health problems.

TheBlonde · 12/12/2007 16:02

Once treated an underactive thyroid should not cause any problems
Untreated it can cause miscarriage

You should have it monitored more frequently during pregnancy and postnatally though

Original poster

sambrads · 12/12/2007 16:50

i was fine till i had my son then i developed an underactive throid just wish things would go back to normal!!
one doctor said that your thyroid would correct itself anyone said you will be on thyroxine for the rest of your life and that worries me as i really really want another baby.

i think you want things more cause you cant have them !!!

OP posts:

ladylush · 12/12/2007 17:46

Interesting how a few of us have developed this after having boys. Might be coincidental of course, just strange.

Original poster

sambrads · 13/12/2007 07:41

i never realised that lady lush maybe you are right there could be something to do with a boy!!

OP posts:

SantasWhiskers · 13/12/2007 08:52

ladylush I developed an over-active thyroid when in the late stages of pg with dd2 (altho' she is a bit of a tomboy). I weighed about 10 1/2 stone at 7 months then just 10 stone when I had her so was already losing weight before she was born.

There was no way mine was ever gonna correct itself - I'm almost 5' 8" & my weight one point was under 7 stone despite medication (14 bloody tablets a day). You can inagine what I looked like - think skeleton with skin. My pelvis stuck out, widest parts of my legs were my knees (ditto arms), you could count my ribs & I was in pain sitting on a padded sofa & lying in bed 'cos I had no 'natural' padding at all. It took over 6 months to diagnose me (in the meantime I was getting kinds of hassle from my mum who thought I had an eating disorder). I also developed a goitre which partially blocked my wind-pipe, pressure behind my eyes making them bug right out, sweats, shakes & palpitations so fierce that I could be lying flat on my back totally still & you'd see my left breast (or at least where it should have been - they were the first things to go) jumping up & down.

It took 4 years for the gp to finally refer me for an op & he only did that 'cos I broke down in his office & told him I couldn't go on.

Once I'd had the op I felt so much better. I did gradually go under-active but after a bit of trial & error everything's levelled out & as I said earlier I've had 2 very healthy babies since. Like someone else said there's only an increased risk of miscarriage or defects if you're undiagnosed & untreated but I think the fact that you can't ovulate is your body's natural contraceptive as it knows it's not able to sustain a healthy pg at the moment. Once your thyroid is under control things will get back to normal.

Sorry this post is so long btw - I didn't set out to write an epic, honest.

ladylush · 13/12/2007 10:14

That's interesting. How awful that your gp left it that long. My colleague developed an overactive thyroid after having her dd. Most people I've spoken to who have underactive thyroid have had boys but I realise this is entirely unscientific! I had my ds 3 and a half years ago. I don't know how long I've had the condition. I'm pretty annoyed that it wasn't investigated earlier as I had 3 m/c and they sent me to a consultant led clinic for investigation, yet didn't do a simple test for TFT.

SantasWhiskers · 13/12/2007 11:44

It's ridiculous that it takes so long to get diagnosed. I wonder if it's because of our ages? Mine developed when I was 21 & the consultant said I was the youngest he'd ever seen with it as it's much more common in about 50+. It seems to run in families too as my gran had it (also very young). She had the radium therapy - which they refused to give me 'cos at 21 I might have wanted more kids - then she went on to have 3 more dcs. Now 1 of my aunties has been dignosed & another is being tested.

It's fine & easily managed when it's under control - as long as I remember to take my tablets I don't even feel 'ill' iyswim.

SantasWhiskers · 13/12/2007 11:49

CAN I JUST ASK ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED . . .

do you all know that if you're on thyroid meds you can get all your prescriptions free? You just need to get a form from your gp & send it to the social. I haven't had to pay a prescription charge for 10 years now yet poor dp who has a heart condition got charged £6.90 for a packet of aspirin ffs (silly mare in the chemist put it through on his scrip rather than crossing it out & selling it over the counter like they usually do)

Sorry for shouting at the start - just wanted to get everyone's attention

Original poster

sambrads · 13/12/2007 12:02

hi ya santawhiskers i never realised til someone told me that you dont have to pay for your prescription . i just had my son so i was entiled for free for a year and then started paying!!!!
cant believe the doctor doesnt tell you they are free!!!!

i also cant believe you went 4 years without knowing whats wrong the doctors definately have something to answer too!!!

i only had symptoms for 2 months and they diagnosed me which is good

i also want to ask you about what you said about me not ovulating do you think i should just leave things or see about getting clomid?

OP posts:

ladylush · 13/12/2007 12:02

yes i knew and even if you come off the thyroxine you still get free prescriptions for life.

Original poster

sambrads · 13/12/2007 12:03

hi ya fruitloop have you been to the doctors yet ???

what did they say????

OP posts:

ladylush · 13/12/2007 12:04

sambrads did you say your tsh is normal now? If it is between 1-2 I would say you should seek help to increase your chance of ovulation. If it is above this range, you might need more thyroxine.

Chuffed · 13/12/2007 12:09

I would ask for a referral if your levels are normal and you aren't ovulating say 3mths after normal.
I have no thyroid function but this is caused by no pituitary function not the thyroid (the pituitary controls it).
This pregnancy we have been juggling thyroid levels all over the place. I have had fortnightly tests and we just amend the levels. It has been a bit of a hassle but not that much.
They did say the 'danger' period is in the first trimester.
Good luck - I got a referral to an endocrinologist who specialises in fertility in the end and that made lots of difference.

Original poster

sambrads · 13/12/2007 12:10

i dont no ladylush what my tsh is but i have a doctors appointment on tuesday and i will ask !!

i think i do need help in ovulating as i have not in 7 months and of course my period is late this month but i no i cant be pregnant which drives me mad.

OP posts:

Original poster

sambrads · 13/12/2007 12:16

hi ya chuffed after how long did you wait til you were referred to see a specilist.

dont think the problem is my thyroid as my doctor says the levels is back up to normal but when my thyroid went so low my periods stopped and my body just shut down so now i need something to kick start it again

OP posts:

SantasWhiskers · 13/12/2007 12:20

sambrads - I'd get my levels checked first & make an app with the gp to get the results. If they're okay & you're still not ovulating then ask about getting help. If they're still a bit off see about adjusting your meds first to try to bring them into line. I suppose it does make sense that your body 'knows' when it's not capable of sustaining a healthy pg & so kind of suspends your cycle for a while 'til you're better.

Good luck

Original poster

sambrads · 13/12/2007 12:26

thanks santawhiskers

OP posts:

ladylush · 13/12/2007 12:44

Chuffed - were you referred to an endocrinologist when ttc or when you were pg? Just wondering if chances of ttc are greater if I ask to see one. GP wants me to get thyroxine levels checked in 5 weeks. I am so impatient, I wish they could be monitored more often than that.

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