Male infertility and hypothyroid

[Wired123]

hello

I wondered if anyone has experience of male infertility despite being adequately treated in combination of T3 and T4.

I am fully treated and under the care of a private Endo who is very good so no issues around the thyroid.

My testosterone has always been low (below “normal” reference range) which is most likely related to the hypothyroidism although I’ve not had testosterone treatment as that would increase risk of infertility.

What investigations and treatment have you tried and what works best? Would be great to hear of experiences so I can have a better understanding of what options are out there.

I can understand if you don’t want to post publicly on here so feel free to send me a private message and I will of course respect your privacy.

[Jazzw]

Hi Wired123. Hopefully someone will be able to share their similar experience.

But on a more general hypothyroid note…

…couldn’t help notice the word “adequately” in your sentence about being treated with T3 and T4.

Adequately is often not good enough. Optimal is better.

What are your thyroid blood tests looking like?

[Wired123 in reply to Jazzw]

My thyroid is optimal in my opinion, I’ve seen 12 different Endos privately including 3 professors in London (one of which treated the Queen but was useless). My current Endo is great and he’s got me to what’s optimal. T3 is what made the difference and too many London based Endos are dismissive of its usefulness which is astonishing given Harley Street is supposed to be at the forefront of medicine.

So I’m deliberately not sharing bloods as we don’t need to open a can of worms on thyroid treatment and want to focus on infertility diagnosis and treatment as this is a topic where there’s very little in the way of documented information.

[Jazzw in reply to Wired123]

Fair enough—completely understand.

Hope someone comes along who can help.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

looking at previous posts

Have you considered the iron/ferritin aspects of having thalassemia

thalassemia.org/wp-content/...

[Wired123 in reply to SlowDragon]

also treated thanks to a brilliant private Haematologist who is an expert in this.

[radd]

Wired123,

If you've eliminated any level of gonadal failure (oestrogen, LH, FSH, etc), then I would say wait because testosterone levels should normalise by themselves.

The devastation of long term inadequate thyroid hormones can takes years to rectify and demonstrating this (if on a slightly different note), it took five years of optimised T3 to restore my thermogenics. My mantra ‘Being warm is every hypos luxury' makes me grateful to be warm every single day. Nowadays I present pretty well but inside there are still continued slow and steady improvements going on year upon year.

Another factor are your genetic iron issues. Iron works on so many different levels and a hemo won't necessarily know the intricate implications iron has on thyroid hormones function. Even with optimised thyroid hormone meds, we need the right levels of good working iron to make them most effective.

Hormones decline naturally with age, and with age also comes a decline in ability to restore levels low as a result of a secondary condition (make sense?), but I would still wait and concentrate on anything known to improve health. I love the mitochondrial supports that help with the uptake and activation of T3 but also often contain antioxidants known to offset free radicals resulting from iron issues.

[Wired123 in reply to radd]

thanks Radd, the testosterone has never improved despite thyroid treatment and I’m not sure I can wait several years as my wife’s clock is also ticking.

LH and FSH are on the low side which of course would lower testosterone as they are the precursors to production. Do you have any thoughts on how these two can be revved up?

Finally you talk about mitochondrial support, any particular products you recommend? Might give them a go.

I love your mantra btw, since my thyroid has been properly treated and some changes to make my diet better I rarely feel cold!

[radd in reply to Wired123]

'Do you have any thoughts on how these two can be revved up?'

Taking exogenous testostesterone is known to shut signalling off to other hormones required for sperm development but I too have read that Ashwagandha can raise gonadotropins levels.

I can't find that article but have just found the paper below not quite so en point as evidences opioids decrease gonadotropins in rats but ashawagandha increased GnRH, FSH, LH and testosterone. Also oestrogen and progesterone. There will be loads more up-to-date papers if you search.

I have previously replied generally about Ashwagandha here ... healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Any of the usual mitochondrial supports are good such as coQ10, Vit E, zinc, selenium, alpha lipoid acid, etc There are loads of good quality combos and I have previously taken Nutri Advanced Mitochondrial Resuscitate. The forum isn't a fan of combo supplements but I think if they don't contain large amounts of one or certain vits/nutrients or iron/calcium, they are extremely advantageous.

I also take between 1-2 g of Vit C mixed ascorbate powder most days. Also ensure gut health is good, and many need a little HCI and/or digestive enzymes, and eat a really clean diet. There are also papers evidencing increasing body mass helps increase sperm quality and quantity.

Effect of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal on Sex Hormone and Gonadotropin Levels in Addicted Male Rats ... ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Antioxidant Supplements and Semen Parameters .. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl....

Mitochondria Resuscitate ... nutriadvanced.co.uk/mitocho...

[Wired123 in reply to radd]

thanks Rad, you’ve given me a lot to consider!

[Happytiredbunny]

have you tried looking at complementary treatments at all? I’m a reflexologist and completed additional fertility training, it can be really helpful for balancing hormones for men and woman. And you and wife can be given reflexes to work on each other between treatments which can be lovely and relaxing and helpful all round!

My husband had low testosterone and saw an improvement after taking ashwaganda, he took it to improve cholesterol and testosterone but it’s also good for thyroid function (so much so that you need to monitor your thyroid levels when taking it as it’s likely need to reduce medication) worth a bit of research, but his improved after 3 months

Also, I assume you know these things but, fertility wise, sperm should be cooler than body temperature so wear loose fitting underwear… ejac every 2-3 days for best quality swimmers and stopping smoking doubles the quantity! Has your endo checked your cortisol levels? When they’re low your body produces more ‘fake’ cortisol to compensate which wreaks havoc on the body and hormone balance!

Even if reflexology doesn’t sound appealing, I’d really recommend looking at complementary options (not alternative) it’s never a miracle fix but I’ve seen improvements in so many different conditions and most importantly reducing stress in the body and restoring homeostasis is invaluable!

[Wired123 in reply to Happytiredbunny]

thank you for your reply, you make a lot of very interesting points.

I have tried Ashwagandha in the past and it didn’t really work but maybe I need to try another brand.

My cortisol is much better since starting T3, it was always low before. Could you expand on the fake cortisol as I’ve never heard of that, does it get picked up on blood tests?

[Happytiredbunny in reply to Wired123]

Yes there are some quality requirements with ashwaganda, and potency and should have black pepper, quick google search will give you the info…

Sorry I didn’t word that very well at all! Fake isn’t the right word. When you have chronically low cortisol levels, your adrenals produce a lot more epinephrine and norepinephrine to cope with stress as you don’t have the cortisol to cope. The imbalance affects hormones and a lot of the bodily functions and balance!

[Wired123 in reply to Happytiredbunny]

ah yes that makes sense, will see if I can get those tested next time.

Thanks again for your advice, much appreciated

[Happytiredbunny in reply to Wired123]

anytime! I hope things start to improve for you!

[TWATTOX]

Look in to clomid.It’s a female fertility drug that can increase testosterone levels in men..

[Wired123 in reply to TWATTOX]

thank you