I think I might be Pregnant?!

[Rhsana]

Ok... so I was told that I was not ovulating and that it was highly unlikely that I would get pregnant. But I am 5 days late and looking at a positive pregnancy test. That being said I have gone keto in the last month and am only taking T3. I think I read somewhere the T4 is really important for pregnancy? In light of that here are my most recent bloods.

[Kitten1978]

Hi Rhsana,

Good level of thyroid hormone is very important in pregnancy BUT the biologically active thyroid hormone is T3, not T4. If you decide to keep the pregnancy your NHS health care professionals (GP, midwife) are likely to get very anxious about you taking T3-only and will put you under a lot of pressure to take thyroxine instead. They simply don't have experience working with pregnant patients on T3-only meds and will try to cover their own backs.

Are you already a member of the "Recovering with T3" facebook group? They have over 4,000 members and there are definitely ladies there who have been through successful pregnancies on T3-only They will be in much better position to advise you and support you. The yahoo adrenals group may be also very helpful. The majority of members take T3-only. Their web page is rt3-adrenals.org/

Take good care of yourself xx

Kitten

[Rhsana in reply to Kitten1978]

Thanks Kitten1978 ! I am a bit shell-shocked, to be honest! I am a member of that group so I will put a post out there as well, thank you for reminding me. Can't think straight at the moment! I was just worried as my T4 is very low and I think I read somewhere that the fetus needs t4 for healthy brain development?

[Kitten1978 in reply to Rhsana]

The reason why medics get so anxious about pregnancies on T3-only is that there is hardly any research about it. The common sense approach is: T3 is the active hormone and, as far as we know, T4 is the packaging hormone. If there are women out there who have given birth to healthy babies whilst taking T3-only medication, it means that it is entirely possible. It's important that you take sufficient amount of T3 whilst pregnant and your need for T3 is likely to increase. If you didn't feel well on T4 or ndt you would be less likely to have a healthy pregnancy on those meds. Listen to what your own body is saying Posting on Recovering with T3 group is a great idea.

Take care xxxxxx

[Rhsana in reply to Kitten1978]

Thanks Kitten1978 , I thought I was in that group but apparently I had only 'liked' the page. Have requested to join now, thanks for your insight. I am feeling a little all over the place right now! xxxxx

[Kitten1978 in reply to Rhsana]

I don't blame you! I would be all over

They are more careful whom they accept to the Recovering with T3 group, than any other group I have ever joined. I vaguely remember I had to change my facebook security settings for a day so that they could check who I was. I appreciated that as they want members to feel safe and they don't want any healthcare professionals snooping there (unless they have thyroid problems themselves). If you have any problems send facebook message to Helen Macdonald, one of the admins. I found her very helpful. Take care xxxxxx

[Rhsana in reply to Kitten1978]

Thank you! I will definitely get in touch with her. Thanks again!

[Hidden]

I was under the impression that t4 is important especially during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy as lack of it can cause miscarriage and it crosses the placenta. Am I totally wrong? I do know the importance of t3 also though. I also thought it was linked to developmental delays. I have never been pregnant on t3 only but just going by what I have heard and read. I had several miscarriages and two boys with developmental delays and always thought this was down to lack of t4? Or is it more down to tsh levels being high and general overall low thyroid levels?

I am in no way criticising just curious really. When I got pregnant this time my t3 levels were quite high so I know that played a major role. If women have had successful pregnancies on t3 only then that makes me question the t4 importance really.

[Kitten1978 in reply to Hidden]

High TSH levels and low thyroid levels are definitely associated with infertility, miscarriages. There is an ongoing discussion whether our bodies need T4 at all. All of us who take T3-only are a bit like guinea pigs but the fact that so many people thrive on T3 and some of us have healthy babies on T3-only indicates that T4 cannot be so important. "Your body needs T4" is the usual argument medics use when they want "naive" us to use T4 medication...because this is safer for them, not for us.

Saying that, T3 is more tricky to use as most people have to take it 3-4 times per day. If I was pregnant I would be obsessed with taking my meds on time

[Hidden in reply to Kitten1978]

Thanks. I certainly don't fully trust the medical establishment and what they tell us through sheer experience but it's one area I thought I had nailed but has just been thrown again haha. Thanks for explaining. I was actually considering going over to t3 only once my baby is born. I wouldn't change anything now as what I have done is working for me but each person is different.

[Kitten1978 in reply to Hidden]

You are much better off staying on ndt, if ndt is working well for you. T3-only is really the last resort option for people who cannot tolerate any T4 medication. I take T3-only because I had extremely bad reaction to both levo and ndt. For some reason my body hates T4 hormone. I have to take my thyroid meds 4 times per day, although I hope I may be able to reduce the number of doses in the future. In all honesty, I would prefer to take ndt if I only cold tolerate it!

Take good car of yourself xx