TSH of over 6 at 5 weeks pregnant

[CloJa23]

Hi,
I have been told by my GP today that after my routine pregnancy blood test my TSH level has come back at more than 6 with everything else fine. They said said they didn’t want to start treatment for it yet as it could be due to metabolism changes due to pregnancy. I have to get repeat bloods in a months time and to also check for thyroid antibodies. As I had no information on TSH and pregnancy I trusted the doctors advice to wait until the results of my next blood test, however, after getting home and googling the info I was given I am now concerned that having a high TSH during the first trimester and it not being treated, theres a risk of problems occurring, i.e. miscarriage/still birth, development problems with baby and problems with mothers as well.
Has anyone else had this and have any advice on what should be done?

@CloJa23 hiya first of all, congratulations on your pregnancy you must be super excited! I don't really know what to say in regards to your specific needs but I have been doing IVF since Jan 2022 and the first thing they did was check my thyroid function as it plays a vital role during pregnancy. I was put on tables to stabilise and reduce it although I was on the top end of the normal range so for example it's 0.5 to 5 I was at 4.89 and they wanted it at 2.5 and less. So been on tablets since to keep it stable at 1.50. I would urgently tell you to speak to early pregnancy unit you can auto refer your self and you can also call them. Not sure where ur based but for example when I got pregnant (misscarried though 😞) I referred my self to the EPU in Cambridge hospital and they can at least advise you more appropriately than maybe what a GP can. Hope this helps and should you wish to keep in touch feel free to do so xx

Congratulations
I don't want to worry you further but this happened to me and I miscarried. We will never know if that's what caused it but I would definitely be contacting them back to say that advice is that your TSH needs to be much lower.

Congratulations on your pregnancy, I am 5 weeks at all.

I really would speak to your GP again and get him to repeat bloods or give you thyroxine to bring that down. I don’t have a thyroid so take thyroxine every day and earlier this year my TSH came back at 5.96 and GP initially said to me to repeat bloods in 3 months but I mentioned that I was TTC and they increased my dosage immediately and just had bloods re done and TSH back to normal. if your GP won’t do anything can you try see another one.

Thanks for your replies. I went back and saw a different GP this morning, and they said that something needs to be done sooner rather than later. So I got my bloods redone at lunchtime to see what the TSH is at and check for TPO antibodies. Now have to wait till Tuesday (due to the bank holiday) to get the results but should be put on Thyroxine if still at the same level and if TPO antibody are positive.

Good news
I'm glad you went back and got the ball rolling.
Good luck for Tuesday

I've had a TSH of 4.98 before TTC, and was advised by Dr to go on levothyroxine to get it nearer 1-2 as this is optimal for conceiving and carrying. We had IVF due to male factor infertility and the clinic wouldn't do a round if my TSH was over 2, and when I got pregnant I immediately had my dosage of 50mcgs upped to 75 to keep is low as it does rise slightly in pregnancy. I think you need a second opinion as all my experience has been that you need a TSH of 1-2 ideally. Congratulations on your pregnancy :)

Update: Results have come back at above 4.5 but pretty sure below 4.8 can’t remember the exact number as I was a bit surprised when the doctor’s secretary said no further action required as it’s gone down (I think this came from the 1st dr I saw as they did the original blood form when they wanted to check again in a months time). I told the secretary that this was still too high and all they said is do you want to make another appointment, which I’ve made for the the end of the week. What are everyone’s thoughts on this, should I push to be treated to get this level right down to the optimum level or just be monitored by blood tests? I’m thinking to just phone in the morning to see if I can get in with someone else sooner, it’s just difficult to know what to do as they’re meant to have some knowledge on what’s best 😩

@CloJa23 I don't know why they're fighting you on this as it's so so common to prescribe levothyroxine during pregnancy! I would just push for a low dose to get you nearer 2, the medically recommended level. You're only subclinical hypothyroid but I was too and I'm on 75mcgs daily to keep my level below 2 now I'm pregnant, was on 50mcgs before that. They don't even need to see you again, I had a telephone consult with mine once they got the bloods.
If yours is dropping might be worth getting blood tests done at intervals during pregnancy to make sure it doesn't go too low.

@CloJa23 they gave me levothyroxinr when I started my IVF as @Imisscoffee2021 said as it needs to be between 1 and 2. My experience was the opposite in the sense when my cycle failed my thyroid went down to like 0.13 and the doctor just kept saying everything was fine stick to the highest dose. I adjusted me medication alone and got my thyroid stable at 1.5 over the past year but j test my thyroid every 2 to 3 months! 4.8 is still very high if needed maybe push to see an endocrinologist who at least is a specialist!

@CloJa23 So sorry you are having such a hard time getting this sorted. Have you booked your booking inn appointment with a midwife yet ? I spoke to my GP today about my TSH levels and they said that when I go for my booking in appointment they will up my dose. Maybe you could contact them to say you are concerned ?

Definitely needs to be under 2. Keep pushing until you are on enough to get the level in the right place.

Update: thanks everyone for your replies. I have since pushed and after seeing the GP again, I was referred to a specialist. However after going round in circles trying to get answers before the long weekend, I was eventually given 2 different answers, firstly I was prescribed 25mcg levothyroxine after speaking to the specialist, but then had another phone call from GP who had spoken to someone else who specialises in thyroid conditions and they said it’s pointless giving a dose on less than 75mcg, so have now been prescribed 100mcg and to get my bloods checked again in a months time.

How's it going @CloJa23 ??? I'm dealing with something similar (I'm on 75 mg of levo and my TSH is 5.03, but my GP says my bloods are 'normal') - I had a miscarriage in April when my TSH was at 4.23, so I'm quite worried.

@EstieGreenwood the best thing would of been to get your thyroid sorted maybe first but even so it's happy news. I would recommend you urgently go to ur GP and insist you get referred to an endocrinologist who should be able to regulate you. Unfortunately as I learnt thyroid plays a big part in pregnancy which I didn't know in the past. Do you maybe have private health insurance through work as maybe that could speed things up if you could c someone privately! My IVF specialist got me started on thyroid tablets and he ended up making my thyroid go to 0.10 which was practically non existent and has other issues but I started of at 5 as well! I went to a doctor specialising in thyroid in Greece during my holidays paid 40 euros and finally saw someone who knows what their doing!

@EstieGreenwood I’m now 22 weeks pregnant and everything seems to going fine so far. It took a couple of dose changes to get everything on track as my TSH dropped to 0.3 but my L4 had increased to above 20 within the first month, so the dose was dropped to 50mcg. I had another blood test a month later and my TSH went up to 1.16 and my L4 was back to normal at 15. My dose has now stayed at 50mcg since June, with my next blood test being in September.

The specialist told me not to worry when I saw him for my 8 week scan, as it’s highly unlikely that a TSH of this value would cause problems i.e. early miscarriage as this was one of my worries. Usually a TSH below 10 is considered ‘normal’ and wouldn’t be treated unless it went above 10, so your GP is right but during pregnancy it should be lower, so when you have a TSH above 2.5 in pregnancy they treat it anyway, starting on a high dose to bring it down asap. Please don’t worry and stress yourself out, it’s good you’ve been started on Levo and you’re not being left, make sure you have regular blood tests to ensure the dose it’s right for you. I was getting myself in a right state in the beginning, hence this post in the first place but as soon as I knew it was being treated I started to relax, I have regular blood tests to make sure all is as it should be, once I give birth I stop Levo straightaway and have a follow up blood test 3 months later to check my thyroid I still working as it should.

@CloJa23 I’m so happy to hear things are going well for you and that it’s all under control! And I’m immensely grateful for your kind response - you’ve eased my mind so much.