Pregnancy/conceiving question

[plokmijnuby]

Hi all. As I've been recently diagnosed and have been finding this forum very helpful I just wanted to ask if any of you know the impact of hypothyroidism on fertility.

Is it right that once I'm balanced with levo my fertility won't be impacted and will just need monitoring during the pregnancy to check that it stays balanced?

Or is there a chance that despite taking levo my fertility will be gradually declining?

I just want to be prepared either way!

TIA

[shaws Administrator]

I shall give you a link re Pregnancy/fertility which may be helpful. Others who've been in the same position as you will also respond.

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

[plokmijnuby in reply to shaws]

Thank you for the link Shaws.

[radd]

plokmijnuby,

Mis-managed hypothyroidism can lead to fertility issues as low levels of the thyroid hormone may cause disruption with ovulation (when the egg is released from the ovary and ready for fertilisation). In response to low thyroid hormone, thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) and thyroid stimulating hormone (THS) is secreted but by doing this the body also creates prolactin, a hormone that can interfere with ovulation.

Hypothyroidism can also affect the luteal phase, the period of time between ovulation and menstruation usually between 13 and 15 days.

Once pregnant, low thyroid hormones can also increase the risk of miscarriage and developmental problems in your baby..

When you are considering trying for a baby, it would be a good idea to have your thyroid levels checked (and not just the TSH). Many women require an increase in meds to achieve a low enough TSH as recommended by the NICE guidelines.

.

NICE Guidelines

cks.nice.org.uk/hypothyroid...

[plokmijnuby in reply to radd]

Thank you for that explanation Radd. It sounds like once hypothyroidism is rebalanced there shouldn't be an impact as ovulation will not be disrupted?

So in that sense there won't be a permament impact?