Thinking about TTC and Hypothyroidism

[lemon]

Hello Ladies

This is my first post - I am wondering if someone has some experience in this area...

I was diagnosed as hypothyroid last last year and was told by my endocrinologist that when I wanted to start a family he would refer me to a specialist as my thyroid levels would have to be strictly monitored. I have been thinking about starting the process by making an appointment with my endocrinologist, firstly to get my TSH levels spot on and then to get referred, which will take months alone, but am wondering if anyone else has been through this experience? What is the involved? Were you referred to a specialist fertility endocrinologist or an obstetrician? How difficult was it to maintain your TSH levels during pregnancy? How often do you get monitored? How did you feel about being constantly "watched" while TTC? Did this add extra pressure to the situation?

I am also anxious about complications with the babys development due to being hypothyroid. I know it is also common for babies to be born pre-term to hypothyroid women. Your experiences on both the pregnancy and the health of your child would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[xhaylesx]

Hi Lemon.

I too am hypo. but have only been diagnosed since my miscarriage in January. I have been seeing an endocrinologist every 4 weeks to try to get my levels balanced. My endo is just a general endo, rather than a fertility one, but she has taken notes of all my cycles etc, I was worried she wouldnt be very interested in my TTC but she is very keen to help me where she can.

I gather if/when i get a BFP she will still be the one to see me just more often. There has been no talk of me seeing anybody else.

Good luck with your journey, as iff TTC isnt stressful enough, worrying that our levels are doing what they should be makes it such a worry.

[Loubee]

I have had my thyriod removed (6 yrs ago) as I was waaaay over....now I'm about normal (on 100mg thyroxine per day) . My doc has not said anything in regards to pg so I guess I'll self moniter as I've had this so long I know when I'm to high/low - best advice I can give is listen to your body. Good luck!

[milka]

Hello Ladies,

I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and Graves disease in February 2008. I was quickly referred to my endo and put on medication to try and get my levels under control. Due to hyper having strong medication TTC was not recommended so we had to wait for my levels to go back to 'normal'. Anyway the medication was not doing anything for me and I was pretty bad so after trying that for 8 months and seeing my endo montly (sometimes fortnightly) I opted for a total thyroidectomy in Oct 2008- so goodbye dodgy thyroid!

Anyway I am now hypothyroid and on thyroxine and still have Graves disease. And baby number 1 is on the way with only 6 or so weeks left to go and it's all going well!

So here are my answers to some of the questions (I'm no doctor just giving my personal view).

1. I was diagnosed as hypothyroid last last year and was told by my endocrinologist that when I wanted to start a family he would refer me to a specialist as my thyroid levels would have to be strictly monitored.

I have had the same endo. When I fell pregnant I just had a few extra appointments with him to get my levels in the normal range as pregnancy makes them a little funny. This did not take long at all and he would liaise with my Ob so she was kept informed. I also had a couple extra blood tests here and there just to make sure they were still on track.


2. What is the involved? Were you referred to a specialist fertility endocrinologist or an obstetrician?

As mentioned above, I had my own Ob and kept the same endo. My Ob is great and knows my full medical history. Due to my Graves disease and thyroid condition I have had a few extra ultrasounds too, to make sure bubs is looking good and to see if bubs will have a thryoid condition so they can be prepared for this at birth (nothing to worry about). So as long as you have a good Ob they should liaise with your other doctors to make sure they are all on the same page.

3. How difficult was it to maintain your TSH levels during pregnancy? How often do you get monitored? How did you feel about being constantly "watched" while TTC? Did this add extra pressure to the situation?

My levels stayed pretty good. I can't remember how much medication I was taking prior to falling pregnant, I think 150. Then when I fell pregnant I went up to 200 and a couple of months back went to 175 but my levels were pretty stable and nothing to be worried about. I have found it much easier to control my hypo levels than my hyper level. I also didn't feel 'watched', if anything I felt relieved that I had a great team of doctors looking after bubs and I. So don't be stressed about this, I found my endo didn't really do much in my TTC phase. Once my levels were normal we were given the OK to TTC and that he would see me when I was pregnant.

4. I am also anxious about complications with the babys development due to being hypothyroid. I know it is also common for babies to be born pre-term to hypothyroid women.

I think that if your levels are stable then the pregnancy should be fine and bubs should be OK too. I am unlucky enough to have gestational diabeties which means bubs is extra big so may come earlier... but my endo or Ob never once mentioned the risk of my baby being born pre-term so I can't help with this question. I do believe it is safer to be hypo and pregnant than hyper and pregnant.

Seems like I have written an essay! Hope some of this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'd be happy to share my experiences.

Good Luck and the main thing is try not to stress (easier said than done!!)

[onthefly]

Hi
You can check out this thread too : TTC with thyroid issues

I found it wasn't too hard to keep on top of things while pregnant. Went from 100 to 130 once pg and it stayed pretty steady throughout. If you're monitoring things and treating it, then there's not too much risk to your baby or pregnancy. My only problem was that I should have increased my dosage while doing IVF, but fs overlooked that one...
Also a bonus - I found i felt the BEST I have felt in years during the second trimester...