Subclinical hypothyroidism and pregnat

[cloud2021]

Hi everyone...

I am 7 weeks pregnant, it wasn't planned but I am very happy with it. I am only very concern as couple of years ago I was found through some blood test to have subclinical hypothyroidism, I was never put on medication as they told me that my T4 was fine and my TSH wasn't high enough (fluctuating from 3 to 6.8) but they said if I was struggling to conceive than I would have receive medication.

I definitely didn't struggle to conceive, but know I just got tested again and my TSH is still at 4.2, which my GP is still considering normal and not planning to treat me, but I read a lot online that for pregnant women the max level should be 2.5.. So I am very confused, did anyone in the group experienced something similar and can share?

Thank you!!

@cloud2021 according to my local endocrinology department TSH should be no higher than 3.7 in the first trimester. Was your latest test done since you’ve been pregnant? I was worried about mine when TTC as a blood test put it at 3.5. I cut out dairy and gluten and that seemed to help as next blood test it was 2.5 and then at 7 weeks pregnant 2.18 or something along those lines. I would ask your GP to confirm what the upper limit in pregnancy is x

@MintGreenLife thank you for sharing... Yes my GP is aware that I am pregnant, they didn't want to test my thyroid level but then I pushed and they gave me the test. But I only received the NHS saying that my test results were normal, when I checked the level it says 4.2.
I will try to call the GP to better understand.
I have another blood test at 10 weeks with the midwife so I hope they will be more thoughtful of my situation.

[quote cloud2021]@MintGreenLife thank you for sharing... Yes my GP is aware that I am pregnant, they didn't want to test my thyroid level but then I pushed and they gave me the test. But I only received the NHS saying that my test results were normal, when I checked the level it says 4.2.
I will try to call the GP to better understand.
I have another blood test at 10 weeks with the midwife so I hope they will be more thoughtful of my situation.[/quote]
TSH should be below 2.5 in the first trimester of pregnancy. Mine was 2.9 and I was started on Levothyroxine by a private Consultant. I would push hard for that outcome if I were you. Have a google of guidelines and the reasons e.g. www.btf-thyroid.org/pregnancy-and-thyroid-disorders-guidance-for-patients

@cinnamonrolls5 Thank you... I know, I have read a lot about it, I am just so surprised the GP doesn't seem concerned at all. I called the midwife and they will look into it, but they said they will test me again at 10 weeks, that's all :(

[quote cloud2021]@cinnamonrolls5 Thank you... I know, I have read a lot about it, I am just so surprised the GP doesn't seem concerned at all. I called the midwife and they will look into it, but they said they will test me again at 10 weeks, that's all :([/quote]
That's so frustrating :( I was prescribed my Levothyroxine privately, then as I was already taking it the midwife referred me to an endocrinologist during pregnancy (so I managed to bypass the GP on the whole). Do you know what your T4 level is?
There are loads of NHS guidelines out there recommending that sub clinical hypothyroidism be treated in pregnancy which might be worth forwarding to your GP if you haven't tried already.

www2.worcsacute.nhs.uk/EasysiteWeb/getresource.axd?AssetID=11852&type=full&servicetype=Attachment
Good luck!

@cinnamonrolls5 my T4 are 15 pmol/L so those should be normal... is TSH that in the last 2 years have been fluctuating between 2.5 and 6.8, currently is 4.2.... I did found out though only throuhg a random general blood test, never had major symptoms...

Thank you for the attachment is very useful! I just hope they are not messing around with my pregnancy :( I will push harder and try to get something out of it!

I also have subclinical hypothyroidism - slightly different as I was having issues conceiving but my TSH was at 3 and they started me on levothyroxine. They were very clear that I should get in touch as soon as I have a positive test (which I did) so they could immediately increase my dose - they did this without checking my levels as a matter of routine. They want me in every 6 weeks throughout pregnancy to keep checking and adjusting; the GP said my levels need to be below 2.5 and ideally closer to 1. I am really surprised by your GP's attitude and I would definitely push very hard to get them to think again about this!

Hmm everyone else seems to have had a very different experience to me! My TSH was 3.5 when I was TTC and the GP wasn’t interested. As I said above, my local endocrinology department guidelines state that TSH should be under 3.7 in pregnancy. GP agreed to test mine again around 7 weeks and was 2.18 or something similar and so it was just left and was never advised to retest. I’m 26 weeks now and no issues so far x