Under active thyroid/Hashi's & pregnant

[Doris19]

Hi there,

Anyone else here pregnant and with thyroid issues???

It's been a bit of a battle to even get this far so looking for chums/advice for managing with this through pregnancy!!

Hi doris19

I too have an underactive thyroid and know exactly what you mean about the struggle getting pregnant .
Im 12 weeks and have been fine until the last week where i have felt so tired again like the days pre diagnosis. Got an appt with the consultant next week so hopefully he ups my dose
How you finding it? Coping ok?

also underactive here - in all my pregnancies, ive seen an endocrinologist and had my thyroid tested every month to check if dose needed adjusting.

Ask your midwife when you book in :)

Yay @Pambo81 a friend!!
The nausea has been quite quick to arrive, I'm only around 5 weeks. Going to see GP today to get bloods done and check my thyroxine dose

Are you under consultant led care?? I haven't discussed that yet...

Hiya, another underactive thyroid here 🖐🏽 pre-pregnancy, I was on 75mcg - my dose has been upped twice and I'm now on 125mcg at 22 weeks. I get super tired, super quickly but other than that, no other issues. I was referred to an endocrinologist but my midwife didn't follow it up as she didn't think I needed it (and tbf my GP has been good at sorting out my blood tests and doses). Hope your appointment goes well! 🙂

@Doris19 I'm 11 weeks +3 and have had a dodgy (borderline) underactive thyroid since my teens, only started on thyroxine last year. Was optimal before I got pregnant and now it's messed up again!

You'll get monitored closely and have your levels checked regularly throughout your pregnancy so don't worry :) I've also been referred to an endocrinologist but can't comment on that as I haven't had the appointment yet...

It's a horrible condition isn't it; in March before my BFP I was just starting to feel (tentatively) better and now I'm freezing cold, fed up and exhausted all the time again!! 😭

Will be worth it in the end though ❤️

Hi there,

Another underactive thyroid here. The standard practice is to increase your levotyroxine dose as soon as your pregnancy is confirmed (by a simple home pregnancy test, not anything fancy!). Speak to your GP ASAP. I have been on 75mcg for years and am now on 125mcg (at 28 weeks). You should also be referred to an endocrinologist after your booking appointment - make sure that you chase this, as my midwife left her job shortly after my booking appointment and never made the appointment! I had to chase for ages to finally get it. You should then be monitored every month or so and your dose adjusted as necessary.

For reassurance: this is my second pregnancy and I had no thyroid-related issues in my first - I just took the adjusted dose and had my bloods done regularly. There is almost no risk to you or your baby as long as your levels are well-controlled.

Thanks everyone!! I'm off to the GP this morning & keep you posted. Great to know that there's others in the same boat! 😘

Yup me as well. I've been borderline for a while but pregnancy has tipped me over into fully underactive. Thankfully I am negative for antibodies so there shouldn't be any issues with bubs. I'm just tired, although tbh it's difficult to tell what's thyroid symptoms and what's just plain old pregnancy!

Signing in, I'm 4+1 with a slightly underactive thyroid (I'm only on 25 mcg which seems to have it under control).

OP please let us know how you get on at the GP. I asked mine about changes to dosage if/when I got pregnant and she said nothing needed to change 🤷🏻‍♀️ so a bit worrying that others are told different.

Yep! I was on 75mcg, upped to 100 on finding out I was pregnant, last blood test showed my tsh was now too low and I'm back on 75.

Expect many blood tests in your future, I have to have one every 4 weeks!

Hi ladies. I'm 11wks now. Was taking 50mcg thyroxin before, now after blood tests increased to 62.5mcg. Next blood tests at 20wks

I'm 17 weeks and have just had blood test results back confirming I have over active thyroid. My gp couldn't tell me anything except there is a risk of miscarriage and he can't treat me because I'm pregnant. I'm waiting for a consultant appointment. I'm so ill and scared. Were any of you diagnosed when pregnant? How quickly can you be treated? Is treatment just medication

Hi all, I am lucky enough to have a private GP at work. He did bloods straight away and increased my dose by 25mcg. I was on 50mcg before.

I'm going to see my fertility consultant next week to make a plan but yes the GP said blood tests every 4 weeks, yikes!

@ivyleaf4 I think we are at exactly the same point! If you look on the NICE guidelines you should get s blood test immediately you get a bfp and generally expect an increase in dose of 30-50%. There's a good thread on here from a few years ago if you google thyroid and pregnancy, with links to the advice. Many GPs don't know much about thyroid so people take the printed research.

My GP yesterday told me it was fine but did the bloods, then rang me 30 mins later saying he had now read my notes and needed to change my dose....

@BlodwynBludd the treatment for overactive thyroid is also tablets, but different ones to under active. I don't know the ranges for overactive but you could try looking up the NICE guidelines on google and I would ask for a printout of your results so you know the actual numbers. And chase up that consultant appointment on Monday. The most important thing is that it got spotted and you have been referred! It's most dangerous when it's untreated! Xx

Here's my local hospital guidelines for under and overactive in case useful.

https://www.royalberkshire.nhs.uk/Downloads/GPs/GP%20protocols%20and%20guidelines/Maternity%20Guidelines%20and%20Policies/Medical%20conditions%20and%20complications/Hypothyroidism%20Thyroid%20diseaseV6.00GL945JUN18.pdf

@doris19 thank you so much, I had no idea! Will look up that thread and the guidance right now. My GP said it wouldn't make much difference in the first trimester and I didn't need to have any extra blood tests, they would just monitor thyroid function through the usual pregnancy blood tests.

Sorry @ivyleaf4 and @BlodwynBludd the link only seems to have done the first 2 pages, but you should be able to find the rest of it online 🙈, @ivyleaf4 you'll see the recommendations for first trimester in my link though. Xx