Hypothyroidism.... Help :( :UPDATE PG 6:

[essie0828]

Btw, im a bit limited on my experience with Hashimotos. I know the basics but the antibody tests confuse me some. But I have a few awesome text books from my college A&P class that i can dig out

 

[essie0828]

Oooops. I butchered your screen name. Proserpina.

 

[essie0828]

Courtney, I personally haven't had issues with progesterone, but I know that it can be an easy fix. Congratulations on your little bub!! 25 weeks! The rest will fly by and you will be at 40 before you know it

I am starting to try for my second baby and I have hypothyroidism. I've had it since child hood and have always had to take higher doses of levo. On 200mcg now but if my thyroid panel comes back bad, that will be upped once again. My best advice....keep up on your blood work and meds. Make sure you keep your tsh, t3,t4 and progesterone in the appropriate range and I think you will have as many babies as you want. btw, If you plan to breast feed, being hypo can cause issues with milk supply. I dried up after only a few weeks with my daughter.... If I get the chance again... I'm going to hound my doc for meds to help with milk supply. I wanna be a milk cow this go round, lol!

 

[Courtney917]

Thanks!!! I'm wondering if I'll have trouble with progesterone again. Perhaps it was bc I had undiagnosed hypo when I was TTC and miscarrying? With my two other sons I had no trouble so it all came as a surprise when I was diagnosed. I'm hoping if I try soon after this LO is born ny body will be ready for another pregnancy. Lots of luck TTC!!

No BF for me, I tried with my sons but it never worked out so we will be bottlefeeding. That sucks that your supply can dry up bc of it!!! Did you have any trouble losing the baby weight due to the thyroid? I'm nervous about that as I gained 25lbs before pregnancy bc of the thyroid issue:-/. They also tested my antibodies and I have high levels of that so Dr diagnosed me with hashimotos as well.

 

[aimee-lou]

Thanks!!! I'm wondering if I'll have trouble with progesterone again. Perhaps it was bc I had undiagnosed hypo when I was TTC and miscarrying? With my two other sons I had no trouble so it all came as a surprise when I was diagnosed. I'm hoping if I try soon after this LO is born ny body will be ready for another pregnancy. Lots of luck TTC!!

No BF for me, I tried with my sons but it never worked out so we will be bottlefeeding. That sucks that your supply can dry up bc of it!!! Did you have any trouble losing the baby weight due to the thyroid? I'm nervous about that as I gained 25lbs before pregnancy bc of the thyroid issue:-/. They also tested my antibodies and I have high levels of that so Dr diagnosed me with hashimotos as well.

I'd been advised that BFing could be an issue too but already bottle fed by first due to personal choice anyway, so no problem FFing.

It was actually pregnancy that 'caused' my hypo. I have a family history of it, and my Dr said that I most likely had sub-clinical Graves' disease before having Earl which meant that it was already damaged, but the stress of pregnancy and an undiagnosed case of ante-natal thyroidistis caused it to give up completely. When I went to the Drs after having had Earl my TSH was in the 50s and the t3 and t4 were well below normal. Nowadays i'm well on top of it (apart from when I'm PG when I need much more support than normal due to my tendency to develop pregnancy-related anaemia in 3rd tri.

I've never had problems with my weight because of it - having said that I was pretty quick to get myself checked as my Mum has it and I recognised the symptoms. I did put on a bit of weight but it easily came off through healthy eating. Once you're on correct treatment, weight issues shouldn't come up. However, my mum has always struggled so I know that's not always the case.

 

[Courtney917]

I wonder if pregnancy or stress brought mine on. My mom was recently diagnosed as well so I know we have a family history as well. I've never been thin but also never had a problem with my weight. Meaning, I've always stayed at one weight until last year when I gained 25lbs. Now that in combo with the pregnancy weight worries me lol. I am on synthroid so I'm hoping it'll be under control and I will lose it quickly as I always did before being diagnosed. I'm a healthy eater and exercise so I'm hoping it won't be an issue.

Wow you were in the 50's??! That's crazy high, thank goodness you found out. Mine wasn't too high AMD was managed within a few months. Now I realize the only time I feel like myself is of my TSH is below 2.

 

[Vinesha]

Vinesha - have you tried metformin for your PCOS? Xx

Hi hope3
I have tried metformin along with clomid we tried our first iui but ended up with bfn my dh has low sperm count with infections , now he gave up smoking so sperm count has increased a little

 

[Hope39]

Vinesha - have you tried metformin for your PCOS? Xx

Hi hope3
I have tried metformin along with clomid we tried our first iui but ended up with bfn my dh has low sperm count with infections , now he gave up smoking so sperm count has increased a little

Metformin takes 3-6 months before it starts working properly. I had been a bit slack taking mine after my mc, I started ovulating in day22/23 again but made a big effort to remember to take it and I ovulated on cd18 this month. My endocrinologist wanted me to takeit for at least 3 months before ttc again

Xx

 

[Leids]

This thread makes me feel a bit better, I'm not alone!

I was diagnosed with sub-clinical hypothyroidism/hashimoto's a few months ago. They're adjusting my medication now. I was on 100mcg of levo and that turned me hyper so she lowered my dose to 50mcg. I go get more blood work done in 8 weeks, last blood test was done last week.

The main reason I'm on medication with sub-clinical (TSH levels of 6.24 I believe) is to prevent a miscarriage if I were to become pregnant. Since I have a high antibody count, I'm guaranteed to have full-blown hypothyroidism sometime in my lifetime due to hashimoto's.

Does being hypo really increase the risk of stillbirth? We're debating on having #2, and now I'm incredibly worried! As long as my levels remain stable and I get blood work every month things should be fine, right? Also, she's only testing TSH at the moment, and she's a relatively new doctor (very young!) should I ask them to check my FT3/FT4 as well?

So many questions, sorry. DH and I are not the most responsible when it comes to protection, and I would be absolutely devastated if I had a miscarriage so would like to get my levels sorted now. Thanks ladies.

Oh! ETA, I've been successfully breastfeeding (EBF till 6 months and even now he barely has solids so is primarily on BM) and have had no issues with supply. Should that be the same with the next baby or is it a toss up as to whether my supply will be effected or not? I don't mind FF'ing but would like to BF the next as well.

 

[Courtney917]

I think as long as your numbers are under control you're not at higher risk for stillbirth. I also have subclinical with high antibodies. All is going well with my pregnancy, although I did test high for he hormone inhibin which may be an indicator of possible preterm labor. Not sure it's related to the thyroid problem but after all the miscarriages I have had, I have my suspicions. I would go to a specialist to be monitored especially since you want to conceive again. My endo only checks TSH while pregnant bc he said the T3/T4 can be off due to the pregnancy. Have you had your levels checked since being on the synthroid? It took me (while pregnant) almost 4 months to get to a decent level (2.0). However my endo said since I was on the meds, all should be okay with the pregnancy. I am now below 2 and feel great (mind you I went from 50MCG to 112mg during this time). Lots of luck to you

 

[Leids]

I think as long as your numbers are under control you're not at higher risk for stillbirth. I also have subclinical with high antibodies. All is going well with my pregnancy, although I did test high for he hormone inhibin which may be an indicator of possible preterm labor. Not sure it's related to the thyroid problem but after all the miscarriages I have had, I have my suspicions. I would go to a specialist to be monitored especially since you want to conceive again. My endo only checks TSH while pregnant bc he said the T3/T4 can be off due to the pregnancy. Have you had your levels checked since being on the synthroid? It took me (while pregnant) almost 4 months to get to a decent level (2.0). However my endo said since I was on the meds, all should be okay with the pregnancy. I am now below 2 and feel great (mind you I went from 50MCG to 112mg during this time). Lots of luck to you

Thank you. I have had my levels checked, though she didn't say what my levels were exactly she just told me my thyroid had gone overactive since taking 100mcg. She halved it to 50mcg and I'll have blood work taken in 2 months to check my levels. I may give her a call once LO wakes up and see if she can explain things to me a bit more regarding FT3/T4 and ask about being referred to an endo.

I see you're in PA! I'm about 5 min from the border. My doctors are actually in PA so I'll likely get an endo there if referred. I feel great right now even though I apparently turned hyper, SO much energy. Switching to 50mcg actually makes me a bit worried, I'm sure I'll be tired for a bit. I didn't have any palpitations or signs that I had gone hyper either other than losing 10lb or so in the last 6 weeks (which I thought could have just been related to thyroid levels regulating).

 

[Courtney917]

Ohhh you're in Delaware?!? Small world! I love my endo but hes all the way in Allentown so that's a hike for you. LOL I wish I would go hyper for a week or so...so I can lose the weight after baby is born lol. I gained 25lbs before being diagnosed, it was insane. I also had 4 miscarriages. I was diagnosed at the start of this pregnancy so I was really scared I would miscarry again. I was so surprised by the Hashimotos diagnosis...my antibodies were through the roof. Luckily my TSH wasn't that high so it was able to be managed fairly quickly. As soon as I found out my mother went and got tested and she too came back with subclinical....lucky us!

 

[Leids]

Ohhh you're in Delaware?!? Small world! I love my endo but hes all the way in Allentown so that's a hike for you. LOL I wish I would go hyper for a week or so...so I can lose the weight after baby is born lol. I gained 25lbs before being diagnosed, it was insane. I also had 4 miscarriages. I was diagnosed at the start of this pregnancy so I was really scared I would miscarry again. I was so surprised by the Hashimotos diagnosis...my antibodies were through the roof. Luckily my TSH wasn't that high so it was able to be managed fairly quickly. As soon as I found out my mother went and got tested and she too came back with subclinical....lucky us!

It's no fun! I gained 20lbs randomly before being diagnosed as well. I went to the doctor with chest pain though and that's where they caught it. I'm happy that I've lost the 10lbs but now worried I'm going to hit another wall with losing weight.

I just called my doctor, I was worried that she would think I was questioning her but oh well. She said they checked my FT3/FT4 in December and that it was normal. She's sending me the results of the lab via email so I'll have something a bit better to post results-wise soon.

And for antibodies.. not really sure how they measured mine, she said normal amount for antibodies was 0-34 and mine was 89. I've seen some crazy numbers for antibodies though so I'm not sure if the lab I went to just measures them on a different scale or not. She said after 2 months if my levels still aren't the ideal between 1-2 then she may take me off of the medication altogether then just send me for blood work every 6 months.

It's amusing though, I absolutely HATED blood tests prior to this. It took a week of me bawling and coming up with excuses before getting my first prenatal test done, and now I have to get blood work done all the time.

 

[Courtney917]

Oh don't be worried at all if they get offended, I always ask questions and what my levels are ;-). They probably hate me, lol.

My antibodies were through the roof, they were close to 3,000! So naturally I heard that and freaked out bc I was pregnant but dr said the synthroid will help to control the antibodies and all they tell us is that--yes I have Hashimotos.

I too hated bloodwork...now I go every 4 weeks so I have became so accustomed to it, the techs even know my kids bc we see them so often lol.

 

[Leids]

Oh don't be worried at all if they get offended, I always ask questions and what my levels are ;-). They probably hate me, lol.

My antibodies were through the roof, they were close to 3,000! So naturally I heard that and freaked out bc I was pregnant but dr said the synthroid will help to control the antibodies and all they tell us is that--yes I have Hashimotos.

I too hated bloodwork...now I go every 4 weeks so I have became so accustomed to it, the techs even know my kids bc we see them so often lol.

I think she was confused as to why I was asking questions since I'd never asked before. It's fine though. Apparently through labcorp you can access all of your test results online!

Phew, every 4 weeks. I guess I'll end up doing that as well when I get pregnant. I'm pretty much over my fear right now, but still get uneasy when I walk into the lab. I feel better as soon as I sit down in the chair, which is weird. Oh well.

My results!

Newest results from 1/17:

TSH: 0.279
Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO): 89 (normal range is 0-34)

And from 12/4:
TSH: 6.030
T3: 29 (range is 24-39, so is normal)
T4: 6.2 (range 4.5-12.0, normal)
Free thyroxine index: 1.8 (not really sure what this is? range is 1.2-4.9, so it's normal but on the lower end)

 

[Courtney917]

Wow so in Jan ur labs did indicate hyper. I just moved to PA from NY and I find many drs are surprised here when u ask questions. It makes me laugh bc in NY I suppose they are prepared for it and expect it lol.

Yes they check pregnant women every 4-6 weeks so you'll become a regular lol. I wish I could review my lab results online. My lab doesn't do that . I need to find a labcorp around here!!!

 

[aimee-lou]

Wow I wish I could get my results online. All I ever get is 'it's a bit high/low' and told what to do. I do ask for the numbers as I have had it a while now and know what I'm looking for, but they still don't tell me as par for the course.

BTW ladies who are worried about pregnancy with hypothyroidism, as long as you're receiving treatment, there shouldn't be any issues whatsoever. I am under constultant led care during the pregnancy but have managed two very normal births under midwife care. Both my boys are healthy as can be, and Eddy (who I was pregnant with when I actually had hypo rather than thyroiditis) is a bonny wee thing who was massive at birth and is doing so well in every way. They may do an extra scan for you at 32 weeks to check growth etc as supposedly it can cause slow foetal growth (nobody told Eddy lol). My Drs have been great, and I am referred to an endocrinology clinic once per trimester so they keep on top of my treatment pretty well. My only thing I would say is to watch out for anaemia. Iron and thyroxine do not like one another, so added doses of thyroxine in pregnancy can cause aneamia to flare up. I take iron supplements from 24 weeks (have done with both boys) and can just about get it under control but the extra iron normally means you need extra thyroxine - this isn't always the case but you can see the pattern forming for me lol. Be careful when you take your supplements (i.e. iron needs to be 12 hours away from your thyroxine dose so as not to counteract it etc) and try to eat well to stop it from happening.

A lot of women go through their pregnancies not even knowing they have an issue as they don't test thyroid function as standard in the UK, and many babies are born happy and healthy. Trust your body, ask all the questions you need to, and try not to worry. I know I'm a fine one to talk as I can be guilty of getting worried especially when the Dr's don't communicate what the hell is wrong, just ask me in urgently (what the hell am I supposed to think ).

Good luck ladies xx

 

[Proserpina]

Prosperina

Have you got your t3's back yet darlin??? I may have a little insight as to why your tsh is 12 something. If your t4 levels are normal, t4 is the most usable form of thyroid hormone and it's produced in your thyroid by binding another molecule to t3. So basically what's happening is your CNS/pituitary gland is having to over stimulate your damaged thyroid gland to keep up a normal production of t4. Your thyroid is working fairly well....it just needs a tiny boost to tell your pituitary to chill out on the thyroid stimulating hormone. The extra tax on your body from being pregnant can cause this sometimes. The fact that your t4 was normal is a really good thing for your baby. I agree with your doc s long as your t3 is normal.

I take 200mcg levo and my Fetal Medicine Specialist wants my tsh around 4 to 5 in pregnancy. That's considered a bit high but he has found that if my pituitary kicks in some and he supplements me with 200mcg that my t4's stay in range of what he wants for a baby till 13-15weeks gestation. After then they have their own thyroid Good luck dear. I'm being a bit vague but if you have any questions just ask. I can either explain it better or point you tosome articles that will.

Thanks for the explanation, essie. I've been on the 50 mcg levo since Sunday morning and it is amazing how much more energy I have! I am watching for signs that I've gone hyper, and I still feel fatigue (that's normal for 1st trimester pregnancy), but not nearly so much as I was feeling before starting the levo.

The doctor's office hasn't called me on the Free T3 results yet. I had the Free T3 drawn at a children's hospital in Chicago while my daughter was having surgery, wanting them to fax the results to my doctor's office. It's been a week since my draw. Today I called the doctor's office and the nurses said those results hadn't been added to my chart yet, which either means they haven't received them or the doctor received them and hasn't gotten around to adding them to the chart. I'm trying to find out which it is! Such a run-around. He said he hadn't gotten the results yet when I talked to him last Saturday, so I'm inclined to think he hasn't received them.

I'm not 100% certain that it's Hashimoto's yet. I will ask my doctor about doing some antibody tests at my first prenatal check-up on the 4th of February.

 

[Proserpina]

Does being hypo really increase the risk of stillbirth? We're debating on having #2, and now I'm incredibly worried! As long as my levels remain stable and I get blood work every month things should be fine, right? Also, she's only testing TSH at the moment, and she's a relatively new doctor (very young!) should I ask them to check my FT3/FT4 as well?

I am in a similar situation, Leids. My doctor is young, too (a resident) and I admit it, I sometimes question if he knows what he's doing because I know he's still learning. But he obviously gives a damn, which is why I stick around.

From what I've read, the risk of gestational complications, birth defects, stillbirth and miscarriage is not as high for SCH women as it is for women with full-blown hypothyroidism. Doctors are divided on whether or not it even needs treatment. So if you're SCH, don't panic too much yet. If you're full-blown hypo, that's another story...

Personally, I would go ahead and ask your doctor for FT4 and FT3 tests. I don't think TSH alone gives enough of a picture.