TSH LEVELS FOR IVF

Happy new year to you sassy warriors out there, another year...another cycle for us all - sending postive vibes to you all🤞👊 we will be going to our 3rd and possible final round mainly because of cost in the next 8 weeks pending few more re tests on both sides.😬

The clinic asked for my TSH levels to be checked - tested at the docs as 2.6 mu/L - for them it was within the normal range - but the clinic have said that this is abit high for them and they would like to see it under 2.5 mu/L, so now I will take Levothyroxine 25mg once a day for the next 4 weeks and then re test- has anyone been in a similar position, im on dhea, cq10 and omega 3,6& 9 which clinic know about, if anyone can shed any useful advice I would be grateful. Its not like we take enough pills on these cycles X❤

[XOXO13]

Hello!

Happy new year to you!

My TSH has always fluctuated, so I have it checked monthly. Before my last transfer it was 5.6, which is too high but my consultant wasn’t worried about it impacting the transfer and said this wasn’t the reason why it failed. My thyroxine was increased from 25mg to 50mg daily and I had it retested before Christmas and it’s come down to 1.36 which is much better. I’m having it rechecked next week.

My thyroid specialist likes it to be below 2.5 when TTC, but my fertility consultant said anything below 4 is fine..

I think given yours is at 2.6, it should be okay and not a cause for concern but that’s only based on what I’ve been told.

Always better to ride on the side of caution though! Xx

[Hidden in reply to XOXO13]

Interesting, thanks for that, hope the retest goes well X❤

[Jane8412]

Hi Jaten- I can't shed any useful advice unfortunately but just wanted to share/follow in case anyone else had anything useful to share. I had the same TSH as you when i did my GP tests last year prior to being referred to the fertility clinic. It was 2.6 which the doc said was fine. I was told by a naturopath I started seeing that ideally she would like it below 2 for fertility and closer to 1. So I paid for another test with Medichecks and it came back around 2.90. So was going the wrong way. I was due to start IVF towards the end of the year so the clinic tested my TSH and it had gone up to 3.60. So it was increasing by 1 over the space of 6 months which worried me. I raised this with the clinic and they said they had extensive research on TSH levels and the head of the clinic had set the level as 4 or below for fertility. I found this surprising seeing as though so many clinics say 2 or below. My first round of IVF didn't stick so I did worry that it might be related to my increasing TSH. I raised it again at my follow up and they confirmed that recent research has confirmed below 4 as appropriate. I'm still not convinced as it seems to go against what everyone else says. I am having it tested again on Monday so will see what they say but I would like to go on Levothyroxine for peace of mind. I hope you get on well with it. All the best for your next round xx

[Hidden in reply to Jane8412]

Seems like we on here all waiting for retest- thanks for that good luck for yours X❤

[Cinderella5]

My TSH was a bit raised. Not enough for the GP to treat routinely at 4.96 but my clinic wanted mine below 2 so put me on low dose levothyroxine. It's pretty routine but as you say just another tablet to take.xx

[Hidden in reply to Cinderella5]

Routine is not to bad I suppose - I did have uti when I took the test who knows if that impacted it, hope the little ones are still behaving for you and pregnancy is going well and on track X❤

[Zebedee1971]

I've been on levothyroxine since 2018- as a drug I've had no side effects or anything like that. My levels were always around 2 after taking it but when I got pregnant in september I had it checked and it was exactly 1.0. It then went down to 0.93 one month into the pregnancy. I was sceptical it was doing any good before, but it seems odd that as soon as my level went to 1, I got pregnant. Definitely don't worry about adding another pill to the mix, it's a harmless addition and can only do good xx

[Hidden in reply to Zebedee1971]

That is interesting, it may do me some good then, will be interesting what effect the tablet has on meX❤

[Lapinblanc88]

I've researched a lot as I previously had problems with my thyroid.The hard fact is hat NHS ranges are artificially wide in order to avoid treating patients.

I was also told that my tsh was fine at 4 but then read that a tsh around 1 is optimal for fertility.

( I went into an anti-inflammatory diet and dropped it to something around 1.20)

Thyroid antibodies are also extremely important to check but the NHS does not routinely do it ( expensive)

Also T4 and T3 should be tested. Tsh could be fine for if T4 is really high this could mean you have a problem converting

[Hidden in reply to Lapinblanc88]

Great advice thank you so much - I might check with the doc ❤X

[Maui2020]

Hi Jaten. I was in a similar situation to you. When I started FETs last year my TSH was 1.6. I had to test again as I was going to start a fresh cycle 5 months later and it was 2.9. The GP didn’t flag it at all but my ivf Dr said he wants it below 3 and I’m too close to the cut off. So I’m now on 25microgram levothyroxine. I was surprised it changed so much but he told me it can change every month! So for that reason I’ve been happy to take the pills as I don’t want to keep retesting regularly and I’m worried it could creep over 3 at any time. Apparently it can prevent implantation and cause miscarriage so I think it’s worth it. He also said likely after treatment I wouldn’t need it again xx

[Hidden in reply to Maui2020]

Thanks for the advice interesting to know that it prevents implementation so taking the tablet may be beneficial I hope😬🤞❤