Can combined pill interfere with the uptake and use of thyroid hormones?
Can the pill mask a thyroid condition?
*I take my contraceptive pill 5+hours away from thyroid meds*
lil bit of back story:
I’ve been on the pill for 10+years. I have wanted to stop it for at least 7. Every time I try coming off I become severely unwell (symptoms I now recognise as thyroid dysfunction: severe constant headaches, extreme tiredness, I was only awake for a few hours a day. The worse and most life ruining symptom by far was the brain fog, I couldn’t remember things, even how to do my job. I couldn’t watch tv or play video games because my brain couldn’t keep up with what was happening on screen. It felt was wading through treacle the entire time. I became incredibly depressed, paranoid and had crippling anxiety. All so unlike me.
Dr’s checked my hormones and TSH and FT4 and said I was fine. The longest I’ve stayed off is 8 months and there was 0 improvement in this time and I didn’t have a single period. I was diagnosed with PCOS but can’t attribute all my symptoms to that.
Every time I would just be told to go back on the pill and as it seemed to help relieve symptoms and make them more manageable, so I did.
Now I’m diagnosed with subclincal hypo and having symptoms. So I try levo for a year in varying doses and brands and I feel worse in many ways and don’t feel great on combo either.
My t4 has always been 16-17 off meds but never had t3 tested until the last year. I feel like I defo have symptoms of low t3 that worsen off the pill.
Is it possible I’ll fare better with thyroid medication if I quit the pill?
(Most recent bloods in comments are after 9 days off contraception- seems like my t3 is already dropping? I felt absolutely awful so restarted the contraceptive again)
I appreciate this is very niche but grateful for any insight or thoughts or research papers?
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I have been gluten free for around 10 years already as this is when issues w digestion started and i found it helped a little - could this be why i never have positive antibodies? (just a thought?)
No scan yet as I cannot afford one. I am hopeful I can persuade NHS...
Ferritin has tanked even with supplementing so keeping much closer eye on this, started three arrows and going to retest iron panel in around 6 weeks.
I know that PCOS affects sex hormones but there is a strong link between that and thyroid issues. I am on the pill but I feel the pill is interfering with my ability to use the thyroid hormones i am taking. It seems that taking oestrogen can meddle with thyroid and prolonged use of the pill can cause thyroid dysfunction?
Most recent hormone tests attached whilst on contraceptive pill:
I have been gluten free for around 10 years already as this is when issues w digestion started and i found it helped a little - could this be why i never have positive antibodies? (just a thought?)
Pretty likely reason
It seems that taking oestrogen can meddle with thyroid and prolonged use of the pill can cause thyroid dysfunction?
Yes seems so …..oestrogen dominance as possible cause of hypothyroidism
I am so enraged that i was just rammed on the pill for a decade and no one discussed these kinds of risks with me.....and now i get incredibly ill with thyroid symptoms when i stop it. URGH.
I was on the pill from somewhere around 16 (!!! ) until 30. Originally I was given it because of a single iron test that showed low levels. Knowing what I know now, how ridiculous! But in the 90’s it was just what you did… birth control pills.
What a difference with my 17 year old daughter who had said that she is never going on the pill because it messes with your hormones and your whole body. Maybe Instagram and TikTok are good for at least one good thing among all the horrible misinformation on social media otherwise!!!
When I think of my 15 years on the pill (like… holy s***, right!), especially since I didn’t even “need” it for its intended purpose most of that time. my work ethic that had me pull all nighters all the time, my marathon running stressing me out while I was unknowingly sun-clinical…
I can’t even handle thinking that what I’m going through right now was somehow something I could have influenced.
We actually sound VERY similar in our stories you know!
I was put on pill at 17. My mum had dragged me to the Gp a million times because I wasn't having periods, I had my first tiny one at 15 and that was it. Nothing.
We were told over and over it was 'normal' but the only suggestion they had was the pill. (no tests were performed at all) Since then I have felt a very slow decline and felt unwell, I try to stop the pill and I have super hypo symptoms but GP says nothing wrong but if struggling just go back on pill. I've tried to come off it 3 times now, the longest I lasted was 8 months and my life literally crumbled, I lost my job, my health completely deteriorated. I didn't even get a PCOS diagnosis until I was 31 and I had to seek that privately. (!?!?!?)
I have stayed on the pill for nearly 15 years now and like you I never needed it for its intended purpose. It interesting for me that in this time my TSH levels have steadily increased and this absolutely coincides with my struggling with health issues. I've been with my long term partner for years and years now so haven't needed the pill for a long time but can't seem to stop it without debilitating symptoms.
It's so reassuring to hear a bit about your story because I felt like I was going mad feeling that there was a link but then all GP's are like 'no that's not a thing' If I think about it too much I get upset because prior to going on the pill I was a happy healthy person (just w no periods!) and I feel like the pill is to blame for so much of what I'm dealing with today. I feel held hostage by it though because I have such a hard time off of it...but now maybe I have thyroid meds I can give it another go.
Also good on your daughter, I wish I knew more when it was first pushed on me!!! If I'm ever lucky enough to have a child someday soon I wouldn't want them on the pill either.
No apologies, I’m in it with you. I’m just 2 weeks from my next Thyroid blood test … I have a 4 point cortisol test in a box ready to go after, and am just realizing that perimenopause is (likely?) a huge f’ing problem too but it’s too big to get my head around and so I’m waiting til after my next blood test.
Eeyore/TiggerMe noted in a recent post to someone else that thyroid and sex hormones do have a two-way relationship and so as complex as it is, they can’t really be looked at sequentially.
For me - I’m straight up hashis, so I know what to do for my thyroid meds. I actually “feel” like maybe my Ts are going to be good next time … after 9 months of optimizing from advice on the forum. I also “feel” something else is up… I remember rock bottom Ts, and THIS does feel different.
But all “feel”s in quotes because I don’t trust what I feel right now - it’s all still very muddled. One change, low and slow, is the only way I don’t go crazy.
So good to hear you’re making good progress! I think a lot of all this you do just have to go off how you feel don’t you!? And then get the bloods to see if it backs up how you feel- good luck, I hope you get the results you want!
Ah yes I have menopause to still look forward too🤦♀️ I’m sure I read somewhere that PCOS women tend to have an easier time with it..so pinning all my hopes on that.😂
Thanks SlowDragon - yes they have gotten SUPER wonky since I've been on levo, particularly SHBG, Prolactin and my testosterone is steadily droppping below range it seems.
Interesting point re gluten - im seeing thyroid fertility specialist in a few weeks for the first time to discuss all of this so will mention! I can't help but wonder if i would respond to thyroid meds better if iwasnt on the pill but i get super ill off it. Gahh it all feels such a mess so i appreicate your input!
Yes FallingInReverse gave me some excellent advice on my own iron post re Three Arrows and dosing - I'm following it all and already ordered my next iron panel to do in a few more weeks.
Aside from trying to improve Ferritin I just feel completely lost a the moment but I do often wonder if endo was right all along and T3 will work better for me than combo...... hmmm.....
I was on oral estrogen and a progestin (HRT) for about six months. I understand they affect the body pretty much the same way the pill does.
Oral estrogen is metabolised by the liver and, in the process, thyroxine-bindning hormone (TBG) and cortisol-bindning hormone (CBG) increase, leaving you with less FT4 and less free cortisol (the latter is a problem if you have phase 3 adrenal fatigue). Oral estrogen also lowers IGF-1 resulting in lower human growth hormone levels. Both low FT4 and low HGH levels can cause fatigue and weight gain…something most hypos don`t need…!
It's bizarre because I actually feel more stable on the pill, it's when I stop that all hell breaks loose. I lost my job when I stopped taking it for 8 months last time, but frustratingly no one ever thought to test my t3 at that time so it's only speculation that my symptoms were low T3.
I thought the pill could slightly increase your frees? (as more of it is bound, the body makes more thyroid hormone to try and compensate?) Thereby potentially masking a subclinical thyroid issue? (Forgive me if im wrong, im still learning)
My cortisol is high all day when I've tested whilst on 'the pill'.
Interestingly my TSH drops a bit when I quit the pill and ramps steadily upward when I take it.
I know it's bad for me ad I need to stop taking it but im scared cos I just get so life changing-ly ill without it.
thanks SlowDragon! Hoping you can help point me in the right direction Buddy195 I've booked in to see a thyroid/fertility specialist in a few weeks so here's hoping she can help cos I'm running out of funds a bit now!
Sorry forgot to say also that I had hormones tested after I stooped the pill for 8 months in 2021 and was told everything was normal by NHS......despite feeling abysmal.
I do yes! Good thought actually I'll pull them off the NHS app as those results will be off the pill but not on any thyroid meds so a good baseline! Thanks
Good group to join if you are on Facebook is Hormone Balance Support Group UK. All the issues you have written about are frequently discussed there too and yse, the pill messes up your hormones and thyroid and lots of other issues like iron too but there is also a strong connection to your gut problems with which it all started.
ah thanks for sharing I will look this up on FB - thank you! I'm so upset that I've spent YEARS on the pill because I couldn't get off of it without life changing symptoms and no GP acknowledged this or wanted to suggest anything other than the pill.
I've struggled with low iron since going on the pill and i feel like it is to blame of so much that I'm dealing with now- I will check out the group - thanks again!
Hiya. I've read several articles about links with the contraceptive pill and hypothyroidism. My teenage daughter was recommended it to help with acne, but as there is history of hypothyroidism on my side of the family, I asked for another treatment option as I am trying the best I can, to help prevent my children developing it where possible. If you have a tendancy towards hypothyroidism through family history, or other factors like large ingestion amounts of soya, etc, the pill can exacerbate it's onset. Apparently, any hormone altering treatments can play havoc with the thyroid, it is a highly sensitive part of the body.
It's so hard isn't it, especially as GP's only suggest the pill and give no info and act like it's no biggie!? I was put on it in the first place because I had awful acne too and no periods at all (10 years later diagnosed with PCOS)
I was told to just stay on it long term if I was having issues coming off which just feels so dismissive. There is no history of thyroid issues in my family BUT I think your risk of thyroid issues is higher with PCOS so why they give you the pill is beyond me.
I've booked in to speak with a thyroid and fertility specialist in the hopes they can support me in finally ditching the pill and then I'm never touching it ever again!
Sorry for the rant I'm just so mad about all this.
I hope your daughter can find something else that helps - sounds a bit mad but I often found mixing honey into my face wash seemed to help a little bit when it was really angry! Your daughter is so lucky to have you looking out for her with all this knowledge!
It's all trial and error with this thyroid game unfortunately. I am just desperate for my children to avoid hypothyroidism if they possibly can. It's a difficult condition to treat for a lot of folk, hence this forum. I'm sorry you haven't had much help with things, which is an all too familiar story these days unfortunately. If the pill was mainly for acne, there are alternative treatments out there according to the Dermatologist my 14 year old daughter saw. She has been put on Doxycycline antibiotics and it is helping. For severe acne there is another treatment which is very strong and can only be prescribed by a Dermatologist. My daughter does not have it severely, so she is sticking with the antibiotics. Depending on the severity of yours, it would be worth seeking advice from a Dermatologist for treatment options which do not affect hormones. The very best of luck! 😊
Ah you sound so on the ball with it all!! I'm hopeful mine will be less caressive now I'm older but will just have to see but this time around I would def see a dermatologist!
Just bear in mind that antibiotics can create other problems with the gut flora and should not be used long term. Have they tested her hormones and especially prolactin?
Apparently, the Dermatologist disputes long term effects using Doxycycline when I enquired about that. My father was on it for quite a few years for something else, and didn't have any side effects. It's all an experiment at this stage. Hormone testing is very doubtful with my nhs board, they barely do the basic tests, never mind anything else. My husband had acne at my daughter's age, and her twin brother does too, neither is classed as severe thankfully, so it is most likely genetic.
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