thyroid issues and ivf

[Victoria27]

Hi I’ve recently had 2 unsuccessful fet’s, one was a BFN and the other stopped growing at around 5 weeks. I’ve had some bloods done recently and it appears that there’s some issues with my thyroid. (Undectable tsh and below range low t4).

I know the big impact being hypothyroid can have on fertility so hoping I can get somewhere with this and start treatment asap. However I’d soon be going into round 2 ivf as no more embryos and I have been told previously I have low estrogen and progesterone so needed high doses of each before and after FET.

Does anyone have any experience with this or know about interactions with thyroid and levothyroxine and ivf meds etc. Any help would be appreciated.

[Tamaa]

Hi. After two failed transfers, I had my thyroid levels checked, was found to have subclinical hypothyroidism (raised TSH), and started on levothyroxine dose. I kept taking it through my successful IVF cycle and even after that. Dose kept getting adjusted accordingly.I would highly advise to get your thyroid levels in range before embarking on the journey of next cycle as thyroid hormones interfere with every system and almost every other hormone in the body.

Good luck

[Victoria27 in reply to Tamaa]

Thanks yes I’m waiting to see what my gp says tomorrow as these results only came back late on Friday. I don’t want to delay it further but I will if it’s the best thing to do

[Sweetaholic]

A friend of mine who was also going through IVF told me to get my thyroid levels checked before I started any treatment. My GP wouldn't do it as I wasn't displaying any symptoms, so I had it done privately, and I'm glad I did. My TSH was 6.8!! Once I shared my results with my GP, he advised I re-test in 6 weeks as I been around a lot of people with the flu, and apparently being around viral infections can affect the results. When I retested, my levels were borderline. My GP said I was fine, but my fertility doctor prescribed me levothyroxine as a precaution and I've been taking it ever since. My IVF cycle was successful, and I'm currently 6.5 weeks pregnant. There doesn't seem to be any known problems with taking thyroid meds with ivf meds, so if you need to be on it, I would definitely advise you start taking it. Good luck with your next cycle x

[Victoria27 in reply to Sweetaholic]

Thanks, I hope it’s straight forward but we’ll see. How long were you taking levothyroxine before transfer? And congratulations!

[Sweetaholic in reply to Victoria27]

I was taking it for about a month before my transfer

[Victoria27 in reply to Sweetaholic]

Thank you, I may have to delay my transfer, the clinic want me to have antibodies tested and gp have said they’ll only repeat thyroid tests in 8 weeks

[Chowlady14]

hi Victoria I had 6 early losses of naturally conceived pregnancies back in 2014. I had my tsh levels checked and they were 7.8 so was prescribed levothyroxine. I fell pregnant naturally the following month and carried almost to full term. Had an early emergency at 34wks (not related to my thyroid) and he’s is literally an angel on earth 🥰 I now have secondary infertility so having IVF due to the scarring from the emergency section and I think age for both me and my partner now are playing a part but I would 💯 get those levels checked and push for treatment if they are not right. I’m sure it’s supposed to be around TSH level around 2 for optimal fertility and ps some Drs don’t like diagnosing it because once you are on levothyroxine you are entitled to free prescriptions on NHS for life so it comes out of the surgery’s budget. You can imagine how much stress I had with this back in the day. My GP kept telling me I was thin so couldn’t have an underactive thyroid and I was too young at 29 blah blah blah so glad I pushed with the help of the nurses because that was definitely the reason I kept loosing the pregnancies xxx

[Victoria27 in reply to Chowlady14]

Thanks for replying. Yes I think the difficulty is that even though my free t4 is low my Tsh is also undetectable so they won’t prescribe Levo anyway and want me to repeat bloods in 8 weeks

[Chowlady14 in reply to Victoria27]

I would pay privately to have it done, you can get tests online for £39 and you get the results back within 2-3 days. I often do it as I don’t feel the yearly check is enough and my GP is always happy to take the results provided and if my medication ever needs adjusting do so xxx

[Hidden]

I’m sorry it’s not worked out so far for you. I’m surprised the fertility clinic didn’t ask for your TSH before starting treatment.

I thought we were good to go to start our first cycle of IVF, but the clinic wanted my TSH result before I start the meds. It came back a bit high (4.2) although the NHS threshold is 4.9, the consultant prescribed 50mcg thyroxin and wants my TSH to be 2.5 before treatment starts. It’s frustrating as they told me to order the ivf meds before this result came back, so I have £1000 of drugs in the fridge that need using within three months.

As far as I’m aware it’s fine to take IVF meds at the same time as thyroxin, and once you are pregnant they will want to up the dose.

Good luck!

[Victoria27 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you, will see my clinic have sent me a letter to send to gp as they won’t do anything else for another 8 weeks.

[LittleL3]

I've been on levothyroxine for a number of years due to a hormonal condition I have. There are no interactions with IVF medications that I have been told of. I always get my thyroid function checked before a treatment cycle. I have also been advised to increase as soon as I get a positive test and then to get my bloods done ASAP and every couple of weeks thereafter in case of any changes needed during early pregnancy. I think this is because it is key in early pregnancy as baby is totally dependent on you for this until they develop their own thyroid gland. The thyroid foundation have some useful guides/info. Also I just listened to an episode of bigfatnegative podcast where they had Prof Tim discussing it (it's the one with Ruth Corden, April '21). Def important to get it sorted. Good luck to you!

[Victoria27 in reply to LittleL3]

thanks for replying. Yes my clinic have asked me to get antibodies tested and will see what happens from there. If we have to delay we have to delay but as you say it’s definitely important to get it sorted