Hashimoto's, missed period

[carlsden]

hello I'm 23 and my period is 9 days late and this NEVER happens. I am on my second year or levothyroxine and recently had my t3 t4 and TSH checked (3.75) a little above normal. I took the pregnancy test three days ago just in case, and it came out negative. Im doing some research and don't know how concerned I should be... any practitioners or hashimotos/hypothyroid patients have some answers for me??

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Well your results suggest you need dose increase in Levothyroxine

The aim of Levothyroxine is to take high enough dose for TSH to be around one and FT4 towards top of range and FT3 at least half way in range

As you have Hashimoto's Thyroid fails futher as time progresses and dose of Levothyroxine needs increasing in 25mcg steps. Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose increase

Very important to also regularly test vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin. These are very often too low when not on high enough dose and under medicated and therefore remain hypothyroid.

Hashimoto's affects gut and vitamin levels often low as result

Ask GP to test vitamin levels and for increase in Levothyroxine

[Boohbette17]

Hi Carlsden,

Here is some useful info from a Harvard & MIT trained OB/GYN & scientist that I faithfully follow her protocols. You're at the perfect age to learn all about hormones & the female body. Hugs🤗💐

saragottfriedmd.com/underst...

[hjh88]

You probably know this but just in case, you can get a false negative so do retest a bit later just to make sure.

[silverfox7]

Thyroid levels can mess up periods etc but take a further test to confirm you aren't pregnant.

[overunbykids]

I have always been told Hashi's can affect both the heaviness/cramps as well as timing of periods. I've been increasing my medication after a recent tsh spike and my period is currently 10 days overdue from my regular cycle of when I am around 1 tsh. As the others have said, though, retest if you don't start your cycle in another week, just in case.

[saritadelmar]

When I was young I used to experiment with mono-diets and that would eliminate my periods for awhile. I have a friend with Hashi's who wrote an award-winning health food cookbook, and she didn't have a period for years. I'm not saying that this may be your problem, but it is more common than you think.

[humanbean]

As part of having a thyroid problem it is common for people to have low levels of nutrients. In the case of people with hypothyroidism nutrients are usually low because stomach acid is low and so the body can't extract nutrients from food very well.

Have you ever had vitamin B12, vitamin D, folate, iron and ferritin measured? They are often low in people with hypothyroidism. Low iron/ferritin is particularly common in people with period problems.

[Toria_Star]

It could be related to your thyroid levels but there are loads of other possible reasons too. I'm currently doing a bit of reading about women's health and I'd highly recommend these few books:

Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler

WomanCode by Alisa Vitti

The Period Manual by Lara Briden

There is so much in these books that I wish I had known when I was younger (31 now) and I would have been saved many sleepless nights and a whole lot of fake hormones had I had this information then.

You may not be pregnant and your body may have just delayed ovulation. It can delay ovulation for a number of reasons including but not limited to stress, travel, illness, strenuous exercise and medication. Think about your previous period and the first week or two after that - did you experience any of the above that may have caused it to delay? I'm assuming you are not on hormonal contraceptive? Are you trying to conceive or trying to avoid pregnancy? Send me a private message if you like and I can try to talk you though some of the stuff I've been learning.

[blondpalomino]

Hi carlsden,

when my Hashimoto's first started (nearly 20 years ago), I lost weight and my periods stopped for about 4 months (happy days!).Of course I didn't know anything about Hashi's then, so didn't know what was happening.Eventually a lump(goitre) came up on my throat and various tests revealed what it was.