Im new here ....I had been trying to conceive for months when I found I had Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) , i was put on 25mg levothyroxine daily , within a month i was pregnant and my dose was upped to 50mg daily which i have been on since . I had a successful, healthy pregnancy and baby. Since then my thyroid levels have jumped around and have had had 2 miscarriages within a year currently they stand at TSH 1.10 FT4 14 and i convinced my doctor to run free T3 as i havent felt right for months and months in June T3 was 3.4 i have just had run again and its T3 3.0. I truly believe my body is struggling to convert t4 to t3 and has been for some time . I also have crohns disease which has been ok but white blood cell constantly at 11. I believe my miscarriages are down to my T3 levels not right. My doctor wont
prescribe T3 please can someone help ? need advice ? where can get T3 , please private message me reliable sources all help welcomed
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I am glad you had a successful pregnancy but hypothyroidism can lead to miscarriages, unfortunately for many women desperate to have a child. These two may throw some light on the problem.
You can have a private test to check all of your thyroid hormones, i.e. TSH, T4, T3, Free T4, Free T3 and antibodies. We have private labs. They may do FT4 and FT3 alone I am not sure as I haven't used the labs.
All tests for thyroid hormones have to be at the very earliest, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24 hours between last dose of levo and the test and take afterwards.
Your GP should also check Vit B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate.
I have had B12 Checked which is 463 ng, so all ok , vit D 61nmol/L so all ok, ferritin 94ug/L so all ok and folate 15 ug/L So all ok but in upper range
Have you checked your estrogen-progesterone balance? Estrogen dominance often causes miscarriages. I had several and after supplementing with natural progesterone finally had my beautiful daughter. Hypothyroidism and excess estrogen go hand in hand. Hope you get the right kind of help soon. xxSimba
That's great news thanks. I'm on T3 only and am trying to get pregnant. Not successful so far so was considering going back on T4 just for this. Had 2 miscarriages on T4 only. Would really like to know how you got on with medication whilst pregnant. Thought I was pregnant last month, but turned out I wasn't. Had early symptoms though. Strangely I could feel my T3 medication wear off very quickly and had to top up during the day. Has this happened to you?
Ray Peats work was my guide and am quite certain there would not have been a baby without the progesterone and small dose of T3. Cannot exactly remember how it went with the T3 but here is a link to a discussion on pregnancy. You might also look up miscarriage ray peat and you get lots of important info that you may find useful. Good luck!
Welcome to our forum & sorry to hear about your miscarriages.
For many thyroid hormone will only work well with optimal levels of Vit B12, Vit D, folate and ferritin. All these are commonly low in people with insufficient thyroid hormone, which discourages the proper secretion of stomach acid and so nutrient & iron absorption problems occur. Your Crohns Disease could also play an enormous part in this.
Ask your doctor to test & post results complete with ranges (numbers in brackets) for members to comment.
Re your white blood cell count - have you had thyroid antibodies TPOAb & TGAb tested ? ? ..
Also adrenals health ? ? .. cortisol levels ? ? ...
They all can affect how thyroid hormone replacement works within the body.
Thank you for replying . I have had B12 Checked which is 463 ng, ref range ( 130.0 - 1100.0) so all ok , vit D 61nmol/L ref range ( 50.0 - 120.0) so all ok, ferritin 94ug/L ref range (23.0 - 300.0) so all ok and folate 15 ug/L ref range ( 2.7 - 15.0 ) So all ok but in upper range.
I saw my crohns consultant today and my recent tests show my crohns is under controlled with no inflammation or flare up's
I havent had thyroid antibodies TPOAb & TGAb tested , could you tell me a bit more about these and i will ask my doctor but i really had to fight to get T3 tested
Also adrenals health & cortisol levels , can these be tested by doctor also ?
Elevated thyroid antibodies denotes Hashimotos which is an autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid gland and is the biggest cause of hypothyroidism.
A doctors standard care is to simply wait until the immune system has destroyed enough thyroid tissue to classify them as hypothyroid and then prescribe thyroid hormone replacement, as it is not recognised in general medicine that elevated antibodies can be destructive by contributing to adrenal fatigue and gut problems (both of which can inhibit thyroid hormone replacement from working)..
As thyroid disorders are insidious and not usually diagnosed until the patient feels quite unwell, much body damage may have already occurred and if a high antibody count is not managed, the body can become stuck in a chronic state of immune system overload, adrenal insufficiency, gut dysbiosis, impaired digestion, inflammation, and thyroid hormone release abnormalities.
Having one auto immune disease may predispose you to others. If you suffer from inflammation (aches & pains, etc) it is worth having thyroid antibody levels checked.
It is hard to comment on your TFT's because you haven't supplied the ranges but both FT4 & FT3 look low, indicating under medication. Also your Crohns Disease could be affecting nutrients/iron absorption & T4-T3 conversion in the gut.
Your nutrient levels are within range but look too low for many to ensure thyroid hormone replacement works for them. Especially the ferritin level as good iron levels are key for T4 - T3 conversion.
You may not need to add T3 medication. You may just need to improve nutrient absorption by working on your gut & supplementing low nutrient/iron levels.
Cortisol levels (adrenal hormone) are tested on the National Health but a much more insightful test is a private saliva test (link below). It may be worth asking your doctor to test sex hormones as well.
Thank you for replying . I have had B12 Checked which is 463 ng, ref range ( 130.0 - 1100.0) so all ok , vit D 61nmol/L ref range ( 50.0 - 120.0) so all ok, ferritin 94ug/L ref range (23.0 - 300.0) so all ok and folate 15 ug/L ref range ( 2.7 - 15.0 ) So all ok but in upper range.
I saw my crohns consultant today and my recent tests show my crohns is under controlled with no inflammation or flare up's
I havent had thyroid antibodies TPOAb & TGAb tested , could you tell me a bit more about these and i will ask my doctor but i really had to fight to get T3 tested
Also adrenals health & cortisol levels , can these be tested by doctor also ?
With pregnancy issue combined with thyroid you should really be under care of gyne and/or endocrinologist or preferably combined. Not a GP!
Both consultants will have ability to test full hormonal panels and pretty much anything else and also prescribe t3 on NHS. GPs cannot.
If you struggle to get referral verbally (often happens) put it in writing slightly hinting you will take it further (compliant) if refused.
Best if you're in London or biggest cities as they have properly educated and best informed specialist there. If you're in a town you may struggle to get best help from local Endo but you may be lucky so still go for it. Mind you, a lot of so called "Endos" in smaller places are mosty diabetes specialist only.
You're other options are Europe mainland Endos/Gyne I.e. Belgium. Again biggest cities.
But try to get help and tests from UK local consultants 1st.
Do not rely on GP only - in UK they're just glorified nurses on fat salaries.
I am unable to convert t4 and I also was struggling to conceive. I eventually found a private dr to prescribe t3 and my gp continued the prescription. I was pregnant within 2 months and I have 2 lovely, intelligent girls. The whole way through both pregnancys the consultant tried to get me to take t4 rather than t3 even though it made me ill. I am so glad I I didn't. I hope you get the right medication for you.
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