my story, auto immune thyroiditis and 14 weeks pregnant at last, after 3 miscarriages

[mandy1971]

hi folks,
thought I'd introduce myself I am 14 weeks and 4 days roughly.. will be 40 and a half when baby is born but still 39 at present!!

this will be our first, been ttc since summer 2009..I had a lap and dye in Jan 2010 after 9 months of nothingness.then bfp in april 2010 which ended in miscarriage after 5 weeks, followed by 2 further early miscarriages all at 5 weeks.. I have autoimmune thyroiditis( with thyroid antibodies).

My levels of thyroid hormone are at the low end of normal on the charts, which means that I do not merit medicating as my levels are not dangerously low- from lots of research and chat with women on b&b I explored the idea that perhaps this was the cause of the miscarriages.Having been reasured by my gp and 2 fertility experts that there was no link..autoimmune thyroiditis can aslo be attributed to infertility.
So anyway I got my bfp in April, and this sustained pregnancy I am putting down to taking a low dose of thyroxine prescribed by my understanding gp, whom I handed a pile of research to way back in January this year and was started on thyroxine that very day!
I have also been taking baby asprin since January( not prescribed) so who knows it may be down to the asprin instead...although I've not been diagnosed with any clotting deficiencies.
I suppose I am posting this to make sure that there are no other women in the same boat as myself and living in ignorance, I discovered the diagnosis 18 months ago as I felt I was displaying some mild symptoms of thyroidism.
As there is not a great deal of research into autoimmune thyroiditis and its link into infertility and early miscarriage, I just want to put it out there and faise awareness.
Feel free to pm me if you have any questions I would be more than happy to hear from annyone who feels they may be suffering from this.
Good luck to everyone xxxxx

Thats my story girls and sorry I did get carried away with it...
Cannot wait till december the 19th when I'm told the baby is due, I am however wishing wishing wishing so hard to fast forward the next 6 months and to meet my precious child xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[onmymind17]

hi folks,
thought I'd introduce myself I am 14 weeks and 4 days roughly.. will be 40 and a half when baby is born but still 39 at present!!

this will be our first, been ttc since summer 2009..I had a lap and dye in Jan 2010 after 9 months of nothingness.then bfp in april 2010 which ended in miscarriage after 5 weeks, followed by 2 further early miscarriages all at 5 weeks.. I have autoimmune thyroiditis( with thyroid antibodies).

My levels of thyroid hormone are at the low end of normal on the charts, which means that I do not merit medicating as my levels are not dangerously low- from lots of research and chat with women on b&b I explored the idea that perhaps this was the cause of the miscarriages.Having been reasured by my gp and 2 fertility experts that there was no link..autoimmune thyroiditis can aslo be attributed to infertility.
So anyway I got my bfp in April, and this sustained pregnancy I am putting down to taking a low dose of thyroxine prescribed by my understanding gp, whom I handed a pile of research to way back in January this year and was started on thyroxine that very day!
I have also been taking baby asprin since January( not prescribed) so who knows it may be down to the asprin instead...although I've not been diagnosed with any clotting deficiencies.
I suppose I am posting this to make sure that there are no other women in the same boat as myself and living in ignorance, I discovered the diagnosis 18 months ago as I felt I was displaying some mild symptoms of thyroidism.
As there is not a great deal of research into autoimmune thyroiditis and its link into infertility and early miscarriage, I just want to put it out there and faise awareness.
Feel free to pm me if you have any questions I would be more than happy to hear from annyone who feels they may be suffering from this.
Good luck to everyone xxxxx

Thats my story girls and sorry I did get carried away with it...
Cannot wait till december the 19th when I'm told the baby is due, I am however wishing wishing wishing so hard to fast forward the next 6 months and to meet my precious child xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Oh thank you so very much for posting this, i have been thinking something was wrong with my thyroid, but my doctors all say i am "Normal" I have had 4 m/c and all they say is its because of my age, and yet with all my IUI's i produce multipal follies. Can you tell me what some of your symptoms were that you noticed? I am so thrilled for you, and happy that this little one is sticking for you.

 

[Jolinar]

Hi,

Congratulations on your pregnancy

I'm a correctly medicated autoimmune thyroiditis sufferer and just wanted to reassure you and other people it is possible to have a normal and healthy pregnancy with this condition. My son is perfectly healthy too.

Well done on convincing your GP to give you lose dose thyroxine and the good news is now you're pregnant they'll monitor you closely

 

[FuzzyCaz]

Thank you for posting this!

I was hyperthyroid, w/ Grave's Disease, and then I had a total thyroidectomy last year. So I figure that now I'm hypo/Grave's. I'm guessing you have Hashimoto disease, yes?

We've just started TTC#1 (I'm 37), and I'm delighted to hear your good news, congratulations!

 

[mandy1971]

hi folks,
thought I'd introduce myself I am 14 weeks and 4 days roughly.. will be 40 and a half when baby is born but still 39 at present!!

this will be our first, been ttc since summer 2009..I had a lap and dye in Jan 2010 after 9 months of nothingness.then bfp in april 2010 which ended in miscarriage after 5 weeks, followed by 2 further early miscarriages all at 5 weeks.. I have autoimmune thyroiditis( with thyroid antibodies).

My levels of thyroid hormone are at the low end of normal on the charts, which means that I do not merit medicating as my levels are not dangerously low- from lots of research and chat with women on b&b I explored the idea that perhaps this was the cause of the miscarriages.Having been reasured by my gp and 2 fertility experts that there was no link..autoimmune thyroiditis can aslo be attributed to infertility.
So anyway I got my bfp in April, and this sustained pregnancy I am putting down to taking a low dose of thyroxine prescribed by my understanding gp, whom I handed a pile of research to way back in January this year and was started on thyroxine that very day!
I have also been taking baby asprin since January( not prescribed) so who knows it may be down to the asprin instead...although I've not been diagnosed with any clotting deficiencies.
I suppose I am posting this to make sure that there are no other women in the same boat as myself and living in ignorance, I discovered the diagnosis 18 months ago as I felt I was displaying some mild symptoms of thyroidism.
As there is not a great deal of research into autoimmune thyroiditis and its link into infertility and early miscarriage, I just want to put it out there and faise awareness.
Feel free to pm me if you have any questions I would be more than happy to hear from annyone who feels they may be suffering from this.
Good luck to everyone xxxxx

Thats my story girls and sorry I did get carried away with it...
Cannot wait till december the 19th when I'm told the baby is due, I am however wishing wishing wishing so hard to fast forward the next 6 months and to meet my precious child xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Oh thank you so very much for posting this, i have been thinking something was wrong with my thyroid, but my doctors all say i am "Normal" I have had 4 m/c and all they say is its because of my age, and yet with all my IUI's i produce multipal follies. Can you tell me what some of your symptoms were that you noticed? I am so thrilled for you, and happy that this little one is sticking for you.

My symptoms were severe constipation, (so bad 2 years I went to accident and emergency department thinking that I was suffering from a bowel obstruction), poor short term memory, just a feeling of fuzzyness..., weight gain, increasingly more over the past few years, palpitations, and a few others. Since starting the thyroxine, well weight loss has'nt been evident as I fell pregnant, but the one big difference is the constipation is completely sorted and I have a more regular bowel pattern!
With the autoimmune thyroiditis, there are thyroid antibodies which attack the thyroid gland recognising it as a foreign body, your gp will need to do a separate blood test to diagnose this, usually after they test the thyroid function, which if the tsh is high and the t4 is at the low end of normal they would then test for... the theory is that the thyroid antibodies also recognise the fetus as a foreign body and attack the implanting fetus...
Hope this helps please ask your doctor to run some tests., and keep in touch to let me know how it goes for you. Good luck.xxxx

 

[mandy1971]

Thank you for posting this!

I was hyperthyroid, w/ Grave's Disease, and then I had a total thyroidectomy last year. So I figure that now I'm hypo/Grave's. I'm guessing you have Hashimoto disease, yes?

We've just started TTC#1 (I'm 37), and I'm delighted to hear your good news, congratulations!

Yes its hashimotos.
good luck with ttc lots of literature online about fertility and thyroid disease, apparently fertility is optimised if the tsh is between 1-2... mine had been between 4-5 for a few years.xxx

 

[readyformore]

hi folks,
thought I'd introduce myself I am 14 weeks and 4 days roughly.. will be 40 and a half when baby is born but still 39 at present!!

this will be our first, been ttc since summer 2009..I had a lap and dye in Jan 2010 after 9 months of nothingness.then bfp in april 2010 which ended in miscarriage after 5 weeks, followed by 2 further early miscarriages all at 5 weeks.. I have autoimmune thyroiditis( with thyroid antibodies).

My levels of thyroid hormone are at the low end of normal on the charts, which means that I do not merit medicating as my levels are not dangerously low- from lots of research and chat with women on b&b I explored the idea that perhaps this was the cause of the miscarriages.Having been reasured by my gp and 2 fertility experts that there was no link..autoimmune thyroiditis can aslo be attributed to infertility.
So anyway I got my bfp in April, and this sustained pregnancy I am putting down to taking a low dose of thyroxine prescribed by my understanding gp, whom I handed a pile of research to way back in January this year and was started on thyroxine that very day!
I have also been taking baby asprin since January( not prescribed) so who knows it may be down to the asprin instead...although I've not been diagnosed with any clotting deficiencies.
I suppose I am posting this to make sure that there are no other women in the same boat as myself and living in ignorance, I discovered the diagnosis 18 months ago as I felt I was displaying some mild symptoms of thyroidism.
As there is not a great deal of research into autoimmune thyroiditis and its link into infertility and early miscarriage, I just want to put it out there and faise awareness.
Feel free to pm me if you have any questions I would be more than happy to hear from annyone who feels they may be suffering from this.
Good luck to everyone xxxxx

Thats my story girls and sorry I did get carried away with it...
Cannot wait till december the 19th when I'm told the baby is due, I am however wishing wishing wishing so hard to fast forward the next 6 months and to meet my precious child xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Oh thank you so very much for posting this, i have been thinking something was wrong with my thyroid, but my doctors all say i am "Normal" I have had 4 m/c and all they say is its because of my age, and yet with all my IUI's i produce multipal follies. Can you tell me what some of your symptoms were that you noticed? I am so thrilled for you, and happy that this little one is sticking for you.

What exactly are your levels? TSH specifically. TSH should be between 1-4 for general health, but 1-2 for pregnancy and preventing miscarriage.
Some docs (ob/gyns included) will not treat you if you are in the 2-4 range, but specialists (endocrinologists, reproductive endocrinologists) will tell you that levels have to be perfect (1-2) and not just normal(1-4), to get pregnant.

 

[Indigo77]

Is TSH part of the day 3 blood work?

 

[onmymind17]

hi folks,
thought I'd introduce myself I am 14 weeks and 4 days roughly.. will be 40 and a half when baby is born but still 39 at present!!

this will be our first, been ttc since summer 2009..I had a lap and dye in Jan 2010 after 9 months of nothingness.then bfp in april 2010 which ended in miscarriage after 5 weeks, followed by 2 further early miscarriages all at 5 weeks.. I have autoimmune thyroiditis( with thyroid antibodies).

My levels of thyroid hormone are at the low end of normal on the charts, which means that I do not merit medicating as my levels are not dangerously low- from lots of research and chat with women on b&b I explored the idea that perhaps this was the cause of the miscarriages.Having been reasured by my gp and 2 fertility experts that there was no link..autoimmune thyroiditis can aslo be attributed to infertility.
So anyway I got my bfp in April, and this sustained pregnancy I am putting down to taking a low dose of thyroxine prescribed by my understanding gp, whom I handed a pile of research to way back in January this year and was started on thyroxine that very day!
I have also been taking baby asprin since January( not prescribed) so who knows it may be down to the asprin instead...although I've not been diagnosed with any clotting deficiencies.
I suppose I am posting this to make sure that there are no other women in the same boat as myself and living in ignorance, I discovered the diagnosis 18 months ago as I felt I was displaying some mild symptoms of thyroidism.
As there is not a great deal of research into autoimmune thyroiditis and its link into infertility and early miscarriage, I just want to put it out there and faise awareness.
Feel free to pm me if you have any questions I would be more than happy to hear from annyone who feels they may be suffering from this.
Good luck to everyone xxxxx

Thats my story girls and sorry I did get carried away with it...
Cannot wait till december the 19th when I'm told the baby is due, I am however wishing wishing wishing so hard to fast forward the next 6 months and to meet my precious child xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Oh thank you so very much for posting this, i have been thinking something was wrong with my thyroid, but my doctors all say i am "Normal" I have had 4 m/c and all they say is its because of my age, and yet with all my IUI's i produce multipal follies. Can you tell me what some of your symptoms were that you noticed? I am so thrilled for you, and happy that this little one is sticking for you.

What exactly are your levels? TSH specifically. TSH should be between 1-4 for general health, but 1-2 for pregnancy and preventing miscarriage.
Some docs (ob/gyns included) will not treat you if you are in the 2-4 range, but specialists (endocrinologists, reproductive endocrinologists) will tell you that levels have to be perfect (1-2) and not just normal(1-4), to get pregnant.

Honestly i dont know what the numbers were all they would say was "It was normal" i really need to get in and have it checked. Now would an endrocronoligist know this for sure, i had a thyroid check run with one a long time ago, and he never said it was bad.

 

[onmymind17]

hi folks,
thought I'd introduce myself I am 14 weeks and 4 days roughly.. will be 40 and a half when baby is born but still 39 at present!!

this will be our first, been ttc since summer 2009..I had a lap and dye in Jan 2010 after 9 months of nothingness.then bfp in april 2010 which ended in miscarriage after 5 weeks, followed by 2 further early miscarriages all at 5 weeks.. I have autoimmune thyroiditis( with thyroid antibodies).

My levels of thyroid hormone are at the low end of normal on the charts, which means that I do not merit medicating as my levels are not dangerously low- from lots of research and chat with women on b&b I explored the idea that perhaps this was the cause of the miscarriages.Having been reasured by my gp and 2 fertility experts that there was no link..autoimmune thyroiditis can aslo be attributed to infertility.
So anyway I got my bfp in April, and this sustained pregnancy I am putting down to taking a low dose of thyroxine prescribed by my understanding gp, whom I handed a pile of research to way back in January this year and was started on thyroxine that very day!
I have also been taking baby asprin since January( not prescribed) so who knows it may be down to the asprin instead...although I've not been diagnosed with any clotting deficiencies.
I suppose I am posting this to make sure that there are no other women in the same boat as myself and living in ignorance, I discovered the diagnosis 18 months ago as I felt I was displaying some mild symptoms of thyroidism.
As there is not a great deal of research into autoimmune thyroiditis and its link into infertility and early miscarriage, I just want to put it out there and faise awareness.
Feel free to pm me if you have any questions I would be more than happy to hear from annyone who feels they may be suffering from this.
Good luck to everyone xxxxx

Thats my story girls and sorry I did get carried away with it...
Cannot wait till december the 19th when I'm told the baby is due, I am however wishing wishing wishing so hard to fast forward the next 6 months and to meet my precious child xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Oh thank you so very much for posting this, i have been thinking something was wrong with my thyroid, but my doctors all say i am "Normal" I have had 4 m/c and all they say is its because of my age, and yet with all my IUI's i produce multipal follies. Can you tell me what some of your symptoms were that you noticed? I am so thrilled for you, and happy that this little one is sticking for you.

My symptoms were severe constipation, (so bad 2 years I went to accident and emergency department thinking that I was suffering from a bowel obstruction), poor short term memory, just a feeling of fuzzyness..., weight gain, increasingly more over the past few years, palpitations, and a few others. Since starting the thyroxine, well weight loss has'nt been evident as I fell pregnant, but the one big difference is the constipation is completely sorted and I have a more regular bowel pattern!
With the autoimmune thyroiditis, there are thyroid antibodies which attack the thyroid gland recognising it as a foreign body, your gp will need to do a separate blood test to diagnose this, usually after they test the thyroid function, which if the tsh is high and the t4 is at the low end of normal they would then test for... the theory is that the thyroid antibodies also recognise the fetus as a foreign body and attack the implanting fetus...
Hope this helps please ask your doctor to run some tests., and keep in touch to let me know how it goes for you. Good luck.xxxx

Thank you so much, i dont have the constipation as i have IBS, and i am a type II diabetic (Diagnosed 3 years ago, before that i was fine) and i am on metformin, so i have diareaha (Sorry not sure of the spelling on that) i have the fuzzyness, so much so lately that i was worried i had althezmiers (Again the spellin) i used to joke that i had a 10 second memory span, but lately its had me worried, i cannot for the life of me lose weight, and with the metformin i should be losing weight, and i am just exhausted all the time, i keep telling myself i need to work out, but lately i am just always tired, i could fall asleep at work at the drop of a hat. I am an active person, always doing something but still the weight does not come off. I did a slim fast diet one time, consumed no more than 1200 calories a day and worked out for two weeks, i gained 5lbs!!! You have helped me to look into a new doctor, i have a co worker that had issues with her thyroid, her gp told her it was "Normal" but she went to this other doctor that tested the T4 Free cells i believe is what she said and found that they were all out of whack. This could explain why after over 3 years my dh and i have only been able to get pg once on our own, all others were with IUI. Thank you so much for all your help!!

 

[readyformore]

Is TSH part of the day 3 blood work?

Not necessarily. It can be done at anytime, it's not related to your cycle.

Your doc may have checked for it during a physical along with blood sugar, triglycerids, etc.

Just call and ask if one was ever done. The office will be able to tell you.

 

[mabel281]

I have Hashimoto and before diagnosed had a miscarriage, then after medication sustained 2 healthy pregnacies, right now thinking in trying for our last baby, I'm already 36, my boys are almost 6 and 8. I got pregnant by accident about 4 months ago (1 positive test followed by my period), so I'm wondering if it is because lately my thyroid is acting weird (1 month my TSH is .23 and the next is 10, dr. cannot explain why). I may wait another 2 or 3 months to see if my thyroid gets regulated. Anyway, good luck and keep in touch!

 

[lala1214]

Hi Ladies,

It's nice to meet others in a similar situation. I was diagnosed with Hashi's in 2006 (on my 31st birthday actually). I was "lucky" in that my mother had it and I knew exactly what was causing my symptoms... fatigue, gaining 25lbs in a year, inability to think, etc. etc. etc. I found a doctor who would listen and give me thyroxine, but it took me several more years to find one who would help me get optimized.

I've been "stable" for a while, my antibodies kept low, but it wasn't until this year that I got my Free T4 and Free T3 in mid-range. (These tests are just as important, if not more, as TSH IMHO.) I can't tell you exactly what did it... a slight increase in meds, extra Vit. D and extra iron or the anti-fungal I was prescribed, but I'm feeling better than ever. I'm just starting to ttc#1 and it's really really good to know pregnancy is possible.

Honestly, it truly breaks my heart to think about my mom, she suffered for 10 years before someone finally tested her antibodies and even after that she was poorly medicated. I think I'd still have her today if she'd been properly treated. She basically died from the complications of obesity, but she had little chance to overcome the weight gain without proper thyroid meds.

I sound so negative... It's quite treatable with a good diagnosis and medication. But that's partly why we need to fight for our health, right? For all those women who came before us who won't get to meet the babies and grandbabies they dreamed of...

Thank You Mandy1971 for starting this thread!

Baby dust and sticky beans to all!

 

[35inMT]

Mandy -

Sorry for your losses but congrats too!

I am 35 TTC #1 and was diagnosed with autoimmune hypothyroidism 6 years ago. My levels have been all over the place the last year. Two months ago a perfect TSH of 1.4. Now 4.3. But my GP is going to check it every month and adjust as necessary to keep between 1-2.

It is totally possible to get preggers with this condition. My husband's cousin was 38 when she conceived her first little boy (during 1st month TTC - so jealous) and they also have a second little guy.