I have had so much good advice and read so much from such well informed people. Apologies since the subject strays from thyroid issues but I am hoping someone out there can point me in the right direction.
It's on behalf of my daughter currently 30 years old and trying for a family. When she was 18 she was operated on for 2 large cysts on her Fallopian tubes which we found late so basically a c-section type surgery was performed as an emergency.( we went private to a recommended surgeon here)
She continued to have irregular periods and pains but only when trying unsuccessfully for a family we found one falliopian tube was blocked and it was recommended to have it removed - at the same time we became more aware of pcos...
We went ahead with this (key hole surgery) The last two years she has had 3 unsuccessful attempts at IVF-We've changed 3-4 gynecologists - the latest recommended was shocked that she had never had hormone tests and is also doing DNA compatibility tests with her and her partner...
He dropped a bombshell last night on us that she may have endometriosis ( hope I spelled that right) which will mean another surgery .
She is so stressed about this- we don't know who to trust or who to believe anymore- I think it's more difficult to find a good gynacolological surgeon than an endocrinologist...
Has anyone or their family had any similar experiences or any advice to give- I am at the clutching at straws stage....
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Crete
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For full Thyroid evaluation your daughter needs TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if Thyroid antibodies are raised
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
Come back with new post once you get results and ranges
You may want to read up on the connection between low t3 syndrome - pcos and endometriosis. While keeping tsh below 2.5 is always quoted by fertility clinics my opinion is that sub optimal ft3 is the real culprit.
It has been discovered that people who go on to a low carb, high fat diet or a ketogenic diet get some relief from PCOS symptoms and fertility is improved.
I’d recommend either yourself or your daughter read the Period Repair Manual by Dr Lara Briden, ND. There’s a section in the book about PCOS and endometriosis. The latter is a disease brought about by inflammation.
She talks about how diet plays a role and how supplements like turmeric, berberine, resveratrol, NAC and zinc can help.
Conventional medicine is all too keen on either giving us medication or performing surgery. I always think it’s worth identifying the root cause and treating from a functional medicine perspective otherwise disease has a way of manifesting itself in other ways if ignored.
I don't have a link but the following is from one of Thyroiduk's Advisers (now deceased):-
"Multiple Ovarian Cysts as
a Major Symptom of Hypothyroidism
The case I describe below is of importance to women with polycystic ovaries. If they have evidence, such as a high TSH, that conventional clinicians accept as evidence of hypothyroidism, they may fair well. But the TSH is not a valid gauge of a woman's tissue thyroid status. Because of this, she may fair best by adopting self-directed care. At any rate, for women with ovarian cysts, this case is one of extreme importance.
In 2008, doctors at the gynecology department in Gunma, Japan reported the case of a 21-year-old women with primary hypothyroidism. Her doctor referred her to the gynecology department because she had abdominal pain and her abdomen was distended up to the level of her navel.
At the gynecology clinic she underwent an abdominal ultrasound and CT scan. These imaging procedures showed multiple cysts on both her right and her left ovary.
The woman's cholesterol level and liver function were increased. She also had a high level of the muscle enzyme (creatine phosphokinase) that's often high in hypothyroidism.
Blood testing also showed that the woman had primary hypothyroidism from autoimmune thyroiditis.
It is noteworthy that the young woman's ovarian cysts completely disappeared soon after she began thyroid hormone therapy. Other researchers have reported girls with primary hypothyroidism whose main health problems were ovarian cysts or precocious puberty. But this appears to be the first case in which a young adult female had ovarian cysts that resulted from autoimmune-induced hypothyroidism.
The researchers cautioned clinicians: "To avoid inadvertent surgery to remove an ovarian tumor, it is essential that a patient with multiple ovarian cysts and hypothyroidism be properly managed, as the simple replacement of a thyroid hormone could resolve the ovarian cysts."[1]
Reference:
1. Kubota, K., Itho, M., Kishi, H., et al.: Primary hypothyroidism presenting as
multiple ovarian cysts in an adult woman: a case report. Gynecol. Endocrinol.,
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