Unexplained Secondary Infertility/ autoimmune disease (graves)

[got2be]

Hi All,

Apologies for the long post however,
Hoping to get a good informative lucky thread going.
and find others who have been diagnosed with unexplained infertility either primary or secondary who also have an autoimmune disorder.

The reason for this thread is I have been TTC for approx 9 years with my current partner.
we have had all tests and nothing has really presented itself and any levels that were low in me are being supplemented.
I requested my file from GP (2010- present) and have noticed that VIT D, VIT B12 & IRON have always been below range.
i OV by OKPS day 13-15 but every 3months I OV late day 21- (28-30 day cycle) every 3 months seen by charting, (progesterone levels are always around 40-45) but have no lining issues, and tubes are patient.
I have 3 teenage children, however since after TTC naturally i have recently been diagnosed with unexplained secondary infertility.

I had been complaining of feeling unwell (since 2012) to GP, nothing was ever found however last year I became very ill and was diagnosed with graves disease and hyperthyroidism. I was on carbimazole then changed to PTU as I informed my ENDO I was TTC.

my levels went back to normal quite quickly ( 6m) and i'm totally off medication.
however even though levels are stable TSH 1.69 (range 0.30-4.20) FT4 14.4 (range 12.0-22.00) and FT3 5.4 (range 3.1-6.8)
I did a private blood test for TSH receptor antibodies and they came back as 0.8 (range 0.00-0.40) Has been forwarded to ENDO & GYNE.

last year after several years of faint lines on tests (chemicals i assume)
I actually got to 5.5 weeks.

I don't believe there is anymore the NHS can do (was very hard to be taken serious in 1st place) as i have children and have not had 3 confirmed loses.

Im now 39 so running out of time so my next step would be IVF, however after an intensive amount of research I'm starting to think my GRAVES is what is caused this, I was told levels of TSH T3& T4 was important TTC but never actually had someone explain what affect graves disease has or that it can cause infertility due to implantation failure, or IS attacking sperm/fetus, nor has having antibodies ever been mentioned or looked into as a cause for my infertility. (NHS)

So my questions to start this thread off are.

1. If you've been struggling TTC or diagnosed with unexplained infertility, do you have graves disease.
2. How long have you been TTC and are your antibodies high?
3. If anyone has had success TTC with antibodies did you conceive naturally or through IVF.

4.. Was this with the use of steroids? if not what treatment if any worked?

1. selenium is supposed to lower thyroid antibodies has anyone tried this? supplements or brazil nuts.

I know this journey of TTC is not always a success and welcome input from all . x

have you tried an anti-inflammatory diet?

People with auto immune diseases have high levels of inflammation in the body.

From what I’ve read this can lead to problems getting pregnant because your body is in a sort of hyper state all the time And therefore a bit of a hostile environment to welcome a pregnancy if you see what I mean.

I have two auto immune diseases: endometriosis and asthma and didn’t get pregnant easily. I don’t have graves but thought I’d make a suggestion in the hope that it might help! X

@Latinorapida
hi thank you so much for your message, i've not tried it, however i will as your advice makes so much sense.

when i got a BFP last year i had toothache during my fertile week and as dentists were closed i was taking ibuprofen like every 4-6 hours.

I remember mentioning to my DH that was the only thing i did different but could never find the link. x

It’s a worth a try! I can’t remember the exact diet as I didn’t do it for long but it’s anything that causes inflammation in the body. So dairy etc all has to go and there are specific foods that reduce inflammation! Best of luck! X

@Latinorapida thanks definitely worth trying, i'd do anything for a BFP at this point!
i've looked into it and yes there loads of information that relate to what your saying, even found a few pages to follow for inspiration.

omega 3 and blueberries have come up loads.

thanks again x