Hey all, so I have routine thyroid blood tests as thyroid problems run in the family. I have been told with my latest blood results that I have a slightly underactive thyroid, and that I need to go on tablets. I am in the process of requesting my actual results so I can see the levels.
I'm still researching as this is all new to me; I have come across thyroid and fertility issues. Does anyone have any good reads on this please? All previous thyroid tests have been fine (every other year), we're trying to conceive with no success. I have been having heavier periods. On average my cycle length is 28 / 29 days, with ovulation CD 14 / 15 (I know the day on each cycle as I do test), spotting during the last few months has always been CD 24 / 25 combined with a drop in basal body temperature which to me feels like a failed implantation. Could hypothyroidism be related? Or am I reading into it too much.
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luthien
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Hey, so I'm sub-clinical hypothyroid, my level was 4.63 when I got tested and it's usually expected that levels should be under 5. Hence why I'm 'sub clinical' which I suspect you might be too. Many women are put on levothyroxine to bring the level down as its been proven that pregnancy is more successful when the thyroid level is under 2. I started on levothyroxine in July 2018, and it didn't help me get pregnant. In fact, I had nothing for a year and had 2 failed ivf rounds...
However, I got tested for nk cells a year later and i came back as having a high nk cell count, which meant my body attacks embryos at implantation stage. I'm not saying you have this, but I have noticed a pattern whereby women who have aggressive nk cells also seem to have underactive thyroid diagnosed first... My mum has rheumatoid arthritis so when I got an immunology screen it made sense that my issues with pregnancy were because of my immune system. This obviously might not be the case with you, but thought I'd throw that in there in case it happened to be relevant to you. There are so many reasons for unexplained infertility but these two do seem to be connected (this is my own observations, not a scientific fact proven one!) x
Hey it would be worth getting your prolactin tested too - this is a hormone that is produced by the pituitary gland and can interfere with getting pregnant as if it’s high, in very simple terms, your body kinda thinks you’re pregnant already as it’s the hormone that shoots up during pregnancy to get ready for breast feeding etc. I just replied to someone in here about high prolactin so if you go to my profile and see my replies it’ll be on there.
Nk cells attack the embryo as though its a foreign body or tumour. People who have aggressive nk cells often have lots of chemical pregnancies or early miscarriages, or fail to get pregnant. Like I said, it might not be relevant to you but it's worth reading into to have testing as an option further down the line. There are 3 immunology specialists worthy of mention in the uk, that I know of: doctor Shehata, who I'm with (crp clinic), doctor gorgy in London and doctor quenby in Warwick. The tests are quite expensive so definitely read up on it first. Good luck x
Honestly, some consultants can be a bit sceptical with nk cells, they tend to say failed pregnancies are most likely 'chromosomal' - which is true most of the time, but not for everybody. I'm only pregnant because of the drugs I'm on for nk cell treatment. Some consultants are savvy about the research and do the testing at their clinics, others will tell you 'there's no evidence to suggest it works' - but it does work, I'm proof! So I'd say definitely listen to your consultant but if you get further down the line and have lots of early chemicals or failed implantation definitely look into it. You can get basic nk cell count through your GP but you'd need a specialist to analyse the numbers as ivf doctors won't be able to use the info. Like I said, it's not cheap, but it's good to have knowledge of this just in case it turns out to be relevant x
Can I ask you do you have Hashimotos, were you testing for thyroid antibodies and were they high? I have hypothyroidism, antibodies have always been low, high peripheral nk cells, low uterine cells so in my last fet I was given intrallipids and scratch and heparin. What was your treatment and how high were the cells? Thank you xx
I’m hypothyroid and had 2 ivf babies, one fresh and one frozen. TSH needs to be below 2.5 when trying to conceive and your thyroxine dose will need increasing when you first find out you are pregnant as demands increase. I have actually just managed to conceive naturally and I put it down to my thyroid being controlled so well since having my last son 1 year ago and my level being that bit lower. Fingers crossed it all works out well for you. I wasn’t diagnosed till after my fresh ivf cycle.
Hey, I'm suspected sub-clinical hypothyroid and my level was 5.6 at the time of my transfer which is quite high but I was told it wouldn’t impact implantation (my first IVF cycle wasn’t successful).
I was on 25mg thyroxine daily at time so my medicine was bumped to 50mg thyroxine daily and I have a thyroid screening every four weeks. My latest result (that I got today) is 1.3 which is healthy.
So right now I know my thyroid levels are healthy ahead of a FET beginning January!
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