Hi everyone.
I’m 25 years old and I’ve just been told that my blood tests confirm that my thyroid is high. I’ve to see the doctor on Monday for more details but I’m very worried about this particularly because I plan to have children in the future. Does anyone else have an overactive thyroid? Is this going to have a major impact on my life?
Welcome to our forum and am sorry you have hyperthyroidism and those who have or have had hyper will respond.
I believe you should be referred to an Endocrinologist.
I shall give you a couple of links which may be helpful:
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...
Always get your blood tests at the earliest possible as TSH is highest then.
There's no reason why you cannot get pregnant but you must first of all get your thyroid hormones in line.
Always get a print-out of you results with the ranges. Ranges are important as labs differ.
Hi, first of all you need to say what symptoms you have. Then you need your bloods and vitamin levels, with the ranges tested by your doc. If out of range You will be most certainly referred to an endocrinologist. Keep all the resuLts by asking for them , my doc has no problem giving me a print out. If you are too high and over the ranges you will be prescribed carbimazole or if this doesn’t suit you a different one. There is one given if you are breast feeding but I don’t know enough about it, you will have to ask about your wish to get pregnant. Other symptoms are treated with another drug along with the most important one carbimazole as this stops the thyroid producing too much hormone that is making the thyroid overactive. When you have been on carbimazole for about 6 weeks the Endo will know how you are responding (it takes 6 weeks for the drug to fully work) It is usually a long process but eventually you will get a lower blood test reading and the Endo will take it from there reducing your dose. I am just another patient with hyperactive thyroid and this is what happened to me. The impact on my life is now mimimal 9 months down the line. Please feel free to post if you don’t understand anything. Good luck. Val
Hi Schristiie
I’m being treated for an overactive thyroid.
There are quite a few people with hyperactive thyroids on this forum, and even more who’ve been hyperactive in the past. I’m sure some of them will be able to chip in with experience of pregnancy with a hyper condition
As others have said, when you see your GP, ask what tests have been run, and for a copy of the results - if you post those here, (with the ‘normal’ ranges used by the labs, typically shown in brackets next to your results), people will be able to give you more specific advice.
GPs usually diagnose on the basis of something called thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and FT4, a thyroid hormone. If TSH is low and FT4 high-ish, they will probably diagnose you as being hyper, but they won’t know the cause - for this, you will need antibody tests. You may not get these until you see an endocrinologist, but if diagnosed as hyper, you will almost certainly get a referral, and if not, given your pregnancy plans, you should push for this. The endo (if not the GP) will also test another thyroid level, FT3.
The most common cause of being hyper is an autoimmune disease called Graves (after the doctor who identified it). The usual treatment for this is an anti-thyroid drug called Carbimazole, but this is better avoided during the first few months of pregnancy, in which case, there is an alternative called PTU. Either way, you will need to take the tablets for 12-18 months, until your thyroid levels are within range, and stable. There are two basic regimes, ‘titration’, in which the dose of anti-thyroid medication is reduced once thyroid levels are within range, and continued at a low dosage for several months, and ‘block and replace’ where a high dose of anti thyroid is given over the treatment period, in parallel with a dose of thyroid replacement ‘Block and Replace’ is not considered suitable during pregnancy .
Among other causes of excess thyroid in the system, it’s also possible that you have a different autoimmune disease called hashimotos. This is actually primarily a hypOthyroid condition, but there are certain phases where it creates excess of thyroid, and as this can make people feel very unwell, it’s often when they first see their GP. Antibody tests will show if this is the case, there are people here who will be able to offer the benefit of their experience.
The main thing is to make sure you discuss your pregnancy plans with your GP and endo (assuming ‘in the future’ means ‘near term’ rather than ‘at some point...’) so they can take this into account when deciding treatment.
It probably won’t make you feel any better, but one of the symptoms of being hyper is a heightened state of anxiety - which will resolve as your thyroid levels come down. Being hyperthyroid makes people feel absolutely the pits, and can have serious consequences if left untreated, but there are tried and tested ways of managing hyper conditions, whatever their cause. Ask lots of questions when you see your GP/ endo, ask for information leaflets, take notes - and perhaps consider taking someone with you.
Hi,
I'm sorry you have this diagnosis to deal with. I hope you are not feeling too ill. I'm sorry I can't advise on the pregnancy aspect of it because I became hyper after having children but I'm sure that controlled or treated hyperthyroidism will mean successful pregnancy is very possible.
Hyperthyroidism can be tricky to stabilise in the short term but in terms of the future, things may depend on what sort of hyperthyroidism you have. If you have Graves' Disease I was told something like 30-50% of people attain remission and may never have it again. This may depend on your antibody status when you finish a course of anti-thyroid medication. There are many knowledgeable people on this board who can advise on the best dietary means of getting antibodies down - going gluten free is the key advice.
Then there are also various versions of transient thyroiditis described in the medical literature which go away, although leaving you at slightly increased risk of return in the future. These can include post partum thyroiditis and thyroiditis brought on by a virus. Then there is Hashimoto's thyroiditis which is apparently for life and results eventually in hypothyroidism, although I am currently reading a book by Izabella Wentz on how to, again, get antibodies down so as to slow/prevent the disease progressing.
If you get blood test results (including lab reference ranges) people on the board are always very happy to interpret them for you.
Hi there i was diagnosed with hyperthyroid end of july plus hashimotos and got to agree with everyone else its not a quick fix and it can make you very ill, i am on my 3rd month off work now as irs had a huge impact on my life wirh all the symptons that go with it- anxiety,panic attacks, palpitations, breathlessness, exhaustion, trembling, the list is never ending but everyone is different but being hyper does put alot of strain on your body particulary our heart and you must rest up. I am now on a titration dose of carbi and feel slightly rubbish as this dose is not right but you will find its trial and error with finding right doses for youand with most dose changes its again a 4 week wait to see if that suits but it will take several months and endoc appointments are far and few between.
I used to think you take a pill and by magic it will be fine in a month- ha, boy i was sooo wrong. I hope somebody comes along with the pregnancy question so they can help you. Good luck.x😊
Thank you for all your replies everyone, I’m overwhelmed with the amount support! So nice that you have all taken the time to reply.
I’m surprised that anxiety is a symptom because I’ve suffered from this since I was 18 and I’ve been on Sertraline for this ever since. I only decided to get a blood test because my mum has just been diagnosed with under active thyroid . I also tend to sleep a lot, I can nap for three hours during the day.
I will know more once I see the doctor tomorrow.
Thank you so much everyone, it’s a lot to take in, especially because I’m only 25.
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