I developed Hashi’s 2 years ago after having my son and have only just got my health back to something that feels like I used to.
My partner and I are debating trying again for a second baby but I don’t trust the doctors to monitor me or look after me during pregnancy as I’ll be honest they haven’t been much use through this.
This forum and my own research is ultimately what made me better.
I know that there’s an increased risk of miscarriage and also of the baby being born with a learning disability which I would feel so guilty about if that were to happen.
I’m also worried about the physical impact the pregnancy could take on me. My first pregnancy was a breeze and I know any second pregnancy would be much more complicated and could leave me back at square one in terms of my health.
I’ve got a perfect little boy so should I just be thankful for that? But there’s a part of me a little sad about the prospect of not being pregnant again. I’m 38 so need to decide soon if this is something I feel confident enough to try.
Has anyone had any experiences of pregnancy with Hashi’s? Did you find your doctors competent in your care or did you have to look after yourself to a large extent?
I don’t feel armed with enough knowledge at the moment to go into a pregnancy and be able to properly advocate for my own health and the health of my baby.
Any advice appreciated.
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Newmummy82
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Hi I am 37 and am 7 months pregnant I also was diagnosed with Hashimoto so far my 1st pregnancy has been pretty standard I go and get my bloods checked privately because my gp was useless so also got diagnose privately even though it runs in the family. One thing I will say is that I reacted really badly to the flu vaccine when pregnant so get it before you get pregnant also when trying make sure your TSH is below 2.5 my gp didn’t seem to understand this. My ivf clinic stated that it was a bad idea to get the flu vaccine in the first trimester because fevers can lead to miscarriage although government studies say it’s fine they haven’t studied the effect of it in pregnant people with Hashimoto. During your first trimester it needs to be kept below 2.5 otherwise there is an increase in the chances of miscarriage this is extremely important. I personally am keeping my TSH below 2.5 for my whole pregnancy. It can go up to max of 3 in the second and third trimester. I also self referred to my hospital and wrote down that I have Hashimoto at my booking appointment I stated that my Hashimoto needed to be monitored by fetal medicine because my gp practice was rubbish and I can’t trust them so I speak to the consultant every trimester and he is happy with my levels. You need to review your levels and every trimester at minimum but I do it every 2 months. The most important thing to do is to get it below 2.5 before you try to get pregnant and maintain it. I have kept my levels below 1.8 the whole time.
Thank you for the reply and all the information. Congratulations and I’m glad your pregnancy is going well.
Interesting about the TSH being under 2, mine’s always been around 3.5 since starting Levo and I didn’t worry too much as I felt ok generally. But I think I’ll start tinkering with my dose to increase slightly and see if I can get it below 2.
Hope the rest of your pregnancy goes smoothly and your little bundle arrive safely xx
my 2 kids are now grown, and i did not have what you have ie you've already found your way here. I was on my own with just the GP's. I could also be considered by some to have ME/cfs as well as autoimmune hypothyroidism. (If i'd been given some T3 when the Levo didn't fix me fully, maybe i would not have been put down as ?Me/cfs )
I now believe my thyroid was struggling before my 2nd pregnancy age 33, although it was not diagnosed until 5yrs later. However i had a very nice life and enjoyed being a mum to my son who was then 7.I was able to give him loads of brilliant experiences, and time.
The 2nd pregnancy was not enjoyable, i felt exhausted and nauseous 24/7 for all of it, bar the last 2 weeks, but that may well have been a very different story if i was taking Levo.
So since you are, and as long as it's kept adjusted properly , i wouldn't worry unduly about the pregnancy part. My baby was fine .
However the reason i write this is not about the pregnancy.
It's about the 20 yrs of parenting that follow.
My kid's have both turned out to be wonderful humans, and so 'all is well' in the end.
But i have not been able to be the parent that i wanted to be for them since i had the second one. And they have had to manage without my active involvement in many areas where i wanted to give it.
If i had my time again i would not have had a second child, but enjoyed the first and not put the extra strain on my thyroid /immune system of another pregnancy.
Perhaps the fact that there is 7 yrs difference between mine is part of it, since i had to stay in 'mummy ' mode for 7 yrs longer when the first was ready to fly the nest. But those extra 7 yrs were very hard, not least cos i got a daughter who was just as stroppy as me, which made my mum smile when i was pulling my hair out with a 14 yr old 'madam'.
whatever you decide , families are wonderful adaptive things, and all you need is love.
But kids are a bit like dogs....... one dog is easy to handle, you can get away with taking one well behaved dog into a restaurant and hiding it under the table........... but when you've got 2 it's a different game.
I don't think there is any need for a single child to be alone. In a decent community you can have other kids stay with you frequently, and you can send yours to them just as often. They can have experiences of going on holiday with other families, and you can borrow other kids to take on yours... everyone's happy. free childcare. and you still get to have some 'adult ' life while they are away. When you borrow some it's easier to do childcare cos they keep each other out of trouble( or in trouble!). All you need is a decent circle of friends, and your 'family ' can be as big as you like.
Thank you for sharing your story! This has occurred to me as well, my health is important and the most important thing to me is that I’m well enough to be the mum I want to be for my son who is already here.
small correction on the '20 yrs'...... Lovely daughter is now 22, in a minute i have to drive her car to her work , so she can drive it home with 'L' plates on, while i pretend to be;
a) not scared !
b) 'with it' enough to be a responsible accompanying licence holder (which is a laugh.... on the way this morning, we were joking that she could just put a hat on a cabbage, instead of me going)
Hypothyroidism is present in up to 1% of pregnant women, with the majority having been identified and treated before conception. Many of the common clinical features of hypothyroidism occur in normal pregnancy, including lethargy, weight gain and constipation. More specific features include cold intolerance, bradycardia and delayed relaxation of tendon reflexes.
Diagnosis is based on raised thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and low free thyroxine (FT4) concentrations with gestation adjusted normal ranges.
It is not uncommon for women to require an increase in levothyroxine dose during pregnancy, which may reflect previous inadequate pre-conception treatment plus an increased requirement due to the pregnancy.
Ideally pre-conception thyroxine dose should be adjusted to achieve a TSH levels 0.2 to < 2.5miu/l.
Untreated hypothyroidism is associated with increased rates of miscarriage, anaemia and preeclampsia and with infants of low birth weight and possible long-term cognitive impairment but this has been disputed from a recent cohort study (Pakkila et al).
When pregnant it is recommended that TFTS are checked at booking and then every 4 weeks up to week 12 of the pregnancy and then at weeks 16 and 28 adjusting the thyroxine dose to keep the TSH between the levels outlined above. If your laboratory is able to offer a trimester adjusted normal range refer to that when reviewing results.
A repeat level at 6 weeks post-partum to allow for any readjustment in medication after the pregnancy.
Subclinical hypothyroidism (TSH concentration >97.5th centile and normal T4) can be seen in 5% of the population and there is some evidence that this is associated with increased rates of preterm delivery and placental abruption.
Levothyroxine (LT4) is safe and appropriate for use in pregnancy and can be started in patients diagnosed with subclinical hypothyroidism preconception and in pregnancy aiming to achieve TSH levels 0.2 to <2.5 mIU/l. American thyroid Association Guidelines 2017 recommend measurement of TPO antibodies in women with subclinical hypothyroidism to help inform decisions regarding starting T4, particularly if the TSH is very slightly raised above trimester specific range.
GMEC SCN Endocrine Disorders in Pregnancy Guideline FINAL V1 December
A TSH up to 4.2 is considered within the normal range for the NHS if you are not pregnant but in other countries it isn’t when I had a TSH above 3 I felt tired, slow, cold etc but my gp kept on disagreeing with me about the fact that my TSH needs to be kept below 2.5 when trying to get pregnant and in my first trimester so I paid my ivf clinic to monitor it. I have been informed about my TSH needing to be below TSH 2.5 by two nhs specialists and a private ivf specialist who said that it was standard procedure for the gp to maintain adequate levels. But I couldn’t trust them to do that so went private. After my pregnancy I am also going to keep my TSH below 3 because if it goes above that it makes me feel ill. Gps are very badly informed / negligent about TSH and pregnancy.
Loads of people in my family have Hashimoto it shouldn’t be the be all my mum had twins and another child. I don’t know a single person who doesn’t carry a genetic issue whether that is genes associate with a higher risk of cancer, allergies, thyroid problems etc
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