TSH level 3.3 - and TTC....
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Anonymous
| I had extensive blood work done on April 6 this year and my TSH came back at 5.2 I saw an endocrinologist on April 13 who diagnosed me with hypothyroidism and prescribed the same dose as you are taking. I am also 31. I found out the same night that I am pregnant again! Thankfully the meds got my hypothyroidism under control very quickly and I am now 29 weeks pregnant. I would definitely take the prescription! |
Anonymous
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OP, I had a TSH of over 100 (yes, you read that correctly) when I was first diagnosed earlier this year.
I went through IF treatments in 2008-09 and conceived with IVF in Nov 2009. I didn't even know I had Thyroid disease until after the birth of my DD. I don't believe anyone bothered to draw b/w to check and see that I was hypothyroid. Anyway, take the meds. You will feel so much better. I haven't even been able to get into the single digits yet, but I can tell you that uncontrolled thyroid disease is awful. It can get out of whack fast. GL on TTC> |
Anonymous
| OP here, thank you everyone for all your input. I am so happy to hear that PP got pregnant with a higher thyroid level. Here's to hoping I can get it sort of under control this week as I ovulate on the weekend! Any idea how long it takes to kick in and start regulating? |
Anonymous
| My RE told me it can take up to 3 to 4 weeks to get your level correct. Sometimes a lower dose may not be enough and they will have to adjust it to a stronger dose. |
Anonymous
| OP, I doubt it's your thyroid that's keeping you from getting pregnant, though it's good you're taking care of the issue. Sometimes it just takes a while to get pregnant and you're young, so don't stress about it too much. |
Anonymous
| thanks PP. I hope you're right! |
Anonymous
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OP, my TSH was just at 3 when I got it tested, so at the top of normal, but I had a lot of symptoms of low thyroid--extreme fatigue, cold, high cholesterol, and a resting heart rate of 42.... Endo put me on small dose of levoxyl and my TSH is now between .7 and 1.5 and I feel so much better. I wasn't TTC when I was diagnosed, but I did have irregular periods for years--sometimes skipping 4 or 5 months in a row. Since starting meds, my cycles got normal and I conceived healthy babies at 38 and 40 without ART.
as for taking the meds for life, yes, thats usually the case, though you do need to have your levels checked 2x a year or so, since they can fluctuate (esp after hormonal changes like pregnancy). They are extremely safe and have been used for years and the health effects of not taking them are probably worse than taking them. |
Anonymous
100 - OK, you beat me. I thought my 42 reading 4 months after delivering my child was high! I didn't have thyroid issues as far as I know before getting pregnant. My thyroid condition presented when I was already into my third trimester. At that time, I was told that thyroid levels sometimes go crazy while you're pregnant. My mother said she found some info on the internet (yeah, I know  that pregnancy related thyroid issues are also tied to severe morning sickness, which I had (Lost 15 lbs in one month in my first trimester).
Anyway, when they finally figured out that my thyroid levels were what was causing my crushing exhaustion (in addition to the constant nausea), the OB told me that I just had to suffer at that point and that my levels should go back to normal after delivering. Mine didn't (hence the 42 reading), and I was first diagnosed with postpartum thyroiditis. This is a fairly common condition, actually, but lots of people don't get diagnosed because it presents so much like sleep deprivation, which we all know new parents suffer from! My thyroid has just continued to get worse, and when my child was 4 (I have not yet had a #2 for SO many reasons), I finally saw an endocrinologist who diagnosed me with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Even with severe hypothyroidism, I am fairly asymptomatic. My biggest indicator that my thyroid is out of whack is when I am extremely moody (and who isn't due to the stress of life, right?) BUT, I am high risk for TTC, which we have actually been trying to do for a year. We've run into OTHER TTC issues that relate back to how much my body hated being pregnant the first time, but the Hashimoto's isn't helping matters. Do NOT mess with your thyroid. It affects so many things in your body and definitely can hurt your baby if left untreated. |
Anonymous
| OP here. Thanks again for all the feedback. I just started the meds this week. My period/ovulation have been very consistent. The only symptom I feel like I have is extreme exhaustion, but that could be lifestyle and a 3 yr old I manage, and sleep deprivation in general ( probably 6/7hrs/night)...My thryoid measured 3.0 in April of this year, and is now at 3.3. I'm not sure why it is going up, and if I'm contributing to this change by not taking optimal care of myself. i have had a very stressful 12months in respect to my health and several autoimmune issues have presented themselves, includes alopecia. I don't know if it's all linked and if these 'stresses' are the reasons for the difficulty in TTC so far. |
Anonymous
I've been told there is VERY little we can do to control thyroid levels without meds. So rest, diet, exercise, etc - those don't seem to matter. They might help with feeling rested and what not, but not the actual thyroid number. How long have you been TTC? Just curious. It sounds like your general life is a little stressful right now, so that cannot be helping matters. |
Anonymous
Yes, I agree that there is pretty much nothing you can do to control hypothyroidism other than take medication. When I was diagnosed 12 years ago (my second child was 2) my TSH was over 100 too!!!! I couldn't stay awake and thought I must be pregnant again or something. The medication made me start feeling better within just a few days. I had another pregnancy after that and my medication had to be increased while I was pregnant (increased blood volume). Meanwhile, now when my levels get even close to 3.0 I notice a huge difference mainly in feeling fatigue. I imagine you will start to notice feeling much less tired soon, although like someone else mentioned you might have to get an increase in dosage before it is just right. Anyway, I said all of that to let you know that I had a very healthy pregnancy and baby while taking a pretty high dose of thyroid medication. And remembering how I felt before I was diagnosed, I am happy to take it for life. 
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Anonymous
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question to all posters: did the medication help your metabolism and/or help you to lose weight?
I just started medicating for hypothyroid (TSH=3.5) and I previously had no control over my weight. praying that this helps me lose some weight (already exercise often, good diet). |
Anonymous
| so i'm the op and I have a TSH of 3.3. I consider myself on the 'thin' side (b/c I'm small boned), but I will say sometime this spring I've noticed that for some reason I'm gaining weight in my stomach. I don't exercise, and had a brutal year health wise so wasn't physically active AT ALL so I wasn't sure if that was why I had put on some weight there but have been noticing it for some time. Hopefully now that I"m on the medication this should stop and I started to work out this week by joining a gym. |
Anonymous
| I just had a miscarriage this past week. I went back to my initial pregnancy panel blood results and my TSH was 3.2 - the normal range went up to 4 or so on the blood test results I received from my doctor. I had a physical in July and my TSH was 2. When I reviewed the pregnancy panel blood test results at 5 weeks - my NP told me my progesterone was low but everything else was normal. I began taking progesterone suppositories at 5 weeks and the progesterone level increased from 8 to 23. At 9 weeks I found out I miscarried at 8 weeks. I am thinking now that the office missed that my TSH was too high for pregnancy even though it's normal for other purposes at 3.2. What do you all think? Is this a huge miss on the part of my doctor's office for not picking up on this early in my pregnancy? |
Anonymous
I don't think it was your thyroid at all. M/c's are common. Still, sorry for your loss. |