Question for ladies taking thyroxine in pregnancy

[blueberry71]

I'm 12 weeks pregnant and I take Levothyroxine due to total thyroidectomy 5 years ago. My levels were always 200 micrograms a day and they were throughout my last pregnancy. When I had my dd I was told to go down to 125 micrograms after multiple blood tests.

Now I'm pregnant again (12 weeks) and I'm concerned about my levels. I'm basically so tired all day everyday, which I know is normal in pregnancy but I don't feel like this is normal for me. I would have gone to see a doctor but I'm due to see my consultant in a week or so for a yearly check up so thought I'd leave it till then to mention it to her. Plus I've just had my bloods taken for that.

I'm really worried because I've read low thyroxine levels can cause miscarriage. Should I ring my doctor ASAP or just wait for my blood test results with my consultant to come back? Has anyone else been in this situation and had to change thyroxine dose this early in pregnancy?

Hi, I had a blood test at 4wk preg and was put up 25mg at that stage. I believe it’s typical to be put up 25-50 early in pregnancy. Like you I was very anxious about it all and didn’t know how to tell normal pregnancy fatigue from thyroid issues. I got lots of support on MN and many people seem to feel gps aren’t very knowledgeable about thyroid, I worried about this and wanted to see an endo but they wouldn’t let me. I’ve just had baby and after that initial increase my levels didn’t need to go up again, I think this is also typical. I got regular bloods and did feel well cared for in the end, I think in general in the first trimester you feel a bit on your own before more regular appts kick in.

What were your last blood levels? In preg, tsh should remain below 1. I’d ring gp now if I were you tbh.

I'm not sure what my levels were before as my consultant never really tells me. All I know is that they like to keep me on the high end of thyroxine levels. If I hadn't had my blood taken for my usual yearly check up then they wouldn't be checking my levels until 16 weeks! I've got my 12 weeks scan tomorrow but I will ring the doctors in the morning as well. I know it doesn't mean everything is alright but I have been using a Doppler and baby is moving and has a good heartbeat so at least that has reassured me from that point of view.

Nice guidelines advise an increase of 25, regardless of starting volume and before blood tests, do if you have extra I'd start taking them until your blood tests come back (very very unlikely to be too much if you've had a thyroidectomy).

Yeah I had to ask for the blood test at the early stage, the gp said I could have one ‘if I wanted’ and probably would not have checked until later. When you ring gp you can ask them to read your levels out to you, they’ll have the info available on screen. Yes like pp says, nice guidelines are clear and informative, don’t be afraid to quote them if people aren’t listening. I’d agree about using what you have to increase but given you are phoning gp in the morning, tell them this is what nice recommend and see what they advise.

Thanks guys! Yeah I'll ring the doctors tomorrow and say I'm feeling really tired which I think is due to my thyroid levels. I had a blood test taken today for my usual yearly consultant appointment which I'll let them know about as they'll be able to keep an eye on the results from the hospital. I already know I need to increase my dosage, just want it confirming. So sick of sleeping 10 hours a night and still feeling like a zombie.