I had been trying to get pregnant with my husband for about 4-5 months. I ended up going to the GP for an unrelated issue and thought while I was there I would mention the fatigue I had been experiencing for the last few months. I've previously been anaemic so assumed it was that! Was surprised to get a call a couple of days later to say I had an underactive thyroid!! It was only then I realised how many symptoms I had been getting.
I was told to stop trying for a baby and was put on 100mcg levothyroxine. I was lucky to be told 6 weeks later that my levels were now 2.8 and I could start trying again. I was also feeling so much better.
My periods are still infrequent. I used to be in the pill up until December 2020, where I was having a bleed every 25 days. Since coming off they have been irregular. I was hoping being on levothyroxine would make them more regular, however again I am now on day 37 with no sign in sight. I have jut taken a prregnany test which is negative. Has anyone else experienced this, does it improve?
Also how long has it taken to get pregnant after your thyroid levels have normalised? I'm hoping I'm not alone with this!!
Thank you!
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Greeny11
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I was lucky to be told 6 weeks later that my levels were now 2.8 and I could start trying again.
Did you have an increase in your Levo after this test result? You should have. The aim of a treated hypo patient on Levo only, generally, is for TSH to be 1 or below with FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of their reference ranges. Just being somewhere in range isn't enough.
Guidelines clearly state that TSH should be below 2:
How can blood tests be used to manage thyroid disorders?
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Occasionally patients only feel well if the TSH is below normal or suppressed. This is usually not harmful as long as it is not completely undetectable and/or the FT3 is clearly normal.
There are also certain patients who only feel better if the TSH is just above the reference range. Within the limits described above, it is recommended that patients and their supervising doctors set individual targets that are right for their particular circumstances.
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Also, Dr Toft, past president of the British Thyroid Association and leading endocrinologist, states in Pulse Magazine (the professional publication for doctors):
"The appropriate dose of levothyroxine is that which restores euthyroidism and serum TSH to the lower part of the reference range - 0.2-0.5mU/l. In this case, free thyroxine is likely to be in the upper part of its reference range or even slightly elevated – 18-22pmol/l. Most patients will feel well in that circumstance. But some need a higher dose of levothyroxine to suppress serum TSH and then the serum-free T4 concentration will be elevated at around 24-28pmol/l. This 'exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism' is not dangerous as long as serum T3 is unequivocally normal – that is, serum total around T3 1.7nmol/l (reference range 1.0-2.2nmol/l).*"
You can obtain a copy of this article from Dionne at ThyroidUK:
tukadmin@thyroiduk.org
print it and highlight Question 6 to show your GP.
If you didn't get an increase in your Levo you should discuss this with your GP and ask for one.
For conception and a successful pregnancy TSH should be below 2.5:
Thank you so much for your response. No, I didn't have an increase. My GP's exact words "your levels are exactly where we want them to be", then advised I book in another blood test in 6 months time unless I experience any fatigue or heart palpitations. That's really frustrating, I will call my GP on Monday! Thanks again for your time and response. How would it effect me of I were to get pregnant with my levels at 2.8?
My GP's exact words "your levels are exactly where we want them to be",
And I can guarantee that if your GP was hypothyroid then s/he would not be saying that because they'd be symptomatic.
Doctors generally are extremely ignorant of how to treat hypothyroidism. Just a few hours one day in the whole of the time they spend at medical school is spent on hypothyroidism and they are taught that all that matter is a TSH somewhere within the range, a little white pill taken daily magically makes the patient well again, and any lingering symptoms that they complain about are all in their head. Oh, and FT4 and FT3 don't matter because all that matters is TSH. FT4 and FT3 are the thyroid hormones, these are the results that tell us what we need to know. TSH is a pituitary hormone which signals the thyroid to make hormone when it detects there's not enough. With a TSH of 2.8 it may be in range but it's still too high and your pituitary is saying "make more hormone".
Here is a graph of the TSH level in healthy people
you will see that most healthy people have a TSH close to 1. The very least we can do as hypothyroid patients is bring our TSH down to at least that level
The evidence is there in the articles I have quoted above. Getting GPs to agree is a problem that many members face.
How would it effect me of I were to get pregnant with my levels at 2.8?
To put it bluntly you could miscarry, sorry but it is a possibility that you should be aware of. As the grandmother of 4 babies (two were a set of twins) who didn't make full term due to undiagnosed hypothyroidism, I know the agony the parents face so I urge you to read all you can about hypothyroidism and pregnancy and for the safety of your baby please make sure that your GP doesn't allow your TSH to stay too high.
See this graph of the % of healthy people with various TSH levels. healthunlocked.com/thyroidu... 2.8 while it is 'in the normal range' is still much higher than most of the population. who are around 1 .
TSH at 2.8 will probably make it harder for you to conceive in the first place, if your own 'normal' was nearer 1.. and if you did conceive now the dose would probably need increasing quickly as the body has a need to increase it's capacity for transporting and making thyroid hormones as part of pregnancy. Normally it would take care of this itself , but if we are hypothyroid it struggles to make enough, so we often need to put the dose up.
Probably much better to get TSH a bit lower and stabilised before conceiving.
There are increased risks of miscarriage if thyroid hormones are inadequate. but i don't know if this is still a big risk when TSH is as 2.8 (ie. treated , but probably not optimal).... but if it was me i'd ideally want my TSH nearer 1 before TTC.
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