Thyroid??

To be honest I'm not 100% sure on what she said, just that the results of the thyroid BT was low & my Dr wants to put me on meds to rectify it. And speaking of it being hereditary, my mum has just found out that her thyroid is completely non functioning, hence the reason I had mine tested.

Aye my mum had hypothyroid on and off but refused to be medicated (it runs in cycles, hers never got too terrible), my sister and i both have Hashimoto's, an autoimmune disease where the body identifies the thyroid as foreign and attacks it. Keep us updated on what your GP says.

Bx

oh wow Bx, my brother has Hashimoto's!! My mum & 6 of her sisters have hypothyroidism, only 4 are medicated. I have around 20 first cousins and 5 (all female) have hypothyroidism. 2 of them have non functioning thyroids.

I was treated for it when I was 13 because they couldn't find any answers with my symptoms at the time... so they just gave me meds for an overactive thyroid (gotta love the 80's medical treatments...) it turned out my issues were with my adrenal gland, not thyroid.

When I was pregnant both time & post natally I get tested every 3-6 months to make sure that my thyroid is functioning properly. jic

Wow Christy, Hashimoto's is rare in men!

It's funny they gave you thyroid destroyers for nothing!

I think the BT's took even longer in the 80's. Even now they don't routinely test for autoimmune thyroiditis off the bat because it takes nearly 6 weeks to get the results. THey only did mine because i had joint pain (which might have been rheumatiod arthritis but thankfully turned out to be carpal tunnel and slow joint regeneration due to the low thyroid levels). My thyroid does still function. My doctor said "Autoimmune thyroid disease is not a linear disease but of the TSH level is ever found to be above 9 and anti-thyroid cells are present then destruction of the thyroid is inevitable, though it may take your whole lifetime to occur." My TSH at the time was 16 (normal is 0.5 - 5 or 0.5 - 3 in america).

Bx

Okily dokily I've just gotten off the phone with my GP & he's said that I have an underactive thyroid. He said it's not greatly underactive, but enough to need to be medicated. So I have to go down a little bit later today & get a script for Thyroxine (sp?).

I also have called the IVF clinic to make sure it's ok that I start on it. The receptionist has taken all the details & will be talking to the Dr to find out what he thinks. So it's a wait now to see what happens. Phil (my GP) says it would actually give me a better chance of conceiving as thyroid issues can affect conception ??

Exactly (BTW I LOVE that you have a Dr Phil!!!).

When I was in early pregnancy, up until about 21 weeks I think, my TSH was mildly low (meaning a slightly over active Thyroid Gland, producing slightly too much T4) and my Ob has said that pregnancy can effect it if there have never been any instances of Thyroid function disorders in an individual (not necessarily their family) prior to falling pregnant.

Maybe you're pregnant? Wouldn't that be cool? Anyway, hope it all works out for you, Thyroid and IVF. And just as a point of interest, my TSH levels are tested quite regularly and they're fine, have been for a while now. As for Jr, well healthy as can be apparrently. So if you do have mildly abnormal Thyroid functioning when you fall pregnant, it may not effect babe too much, if at all, so long as it can be monitored and treated. Apparrently you can take Thyroid Meds while you're pregnant without too much problem for babe, as I was told would be the case for me if mine didn't sort itself out.

This probably just sums up what everybody else has said, but isn't it comforting to know that other people out there have/had the same probs? I reckon that helps!

Best of luck, hope Thyroxine fixes you right up and you can conceive a little one real soon!

For a hyper (overactive) thyroid there are drugs you can take while PG and nursing which don't affect baby.

For a hypo (underactive) thyroid you just take thyroxine, which is the hormone you're body isn't making enough of, exactly as a diabetic takes insulin. You take it forever, like insulin. In the UK your prescripions become free for everything once you need thyroxine as it's in the "necessary for life" catergory. They'll probably start you on 25-50 micrograms of levothyroxine Sarah and give you 6 weeks on it before re-doing your bloods and talking about how stuff is going. They might adjust your dose from there. It takes 2 to 3 weeks for it to take effect, at which point you may feel you are less cold, less forgetful and slightly (a kg or so) lighter. Or you might feel the same. My mum always said she felt fine and never took the meds but i feel rough even now and my bloods are back normal. Some people have symptoms on the borderline of normal and some don't have them even when they're quite markedly low.

A slow thyroid can contribute towards fertility issues because thyroxine is one of the major chemicals driving your metabolic rate - when you don't have enough your heart beats slower (my resting rate, in half-marathon training which will have some effect but not to this extent, is 43 - before meds it was 38!) your cells regenerate slower and many women find their periods space out hugely or stop. Everything becomes slow and tired, including thought processes. So taking meds might iron out any potential problems you might have, but i thought yours was male factor infertility right?

Bx

Yep male factor here, but going by my charts my GP suspected I had 3 early losses. At the time he thought it was a progesterone issue, but now it seems to be a thyroid one.

I'm hoping that the dazed & confused feelings start to go away son & I can wake up a bit more LOL! I've always been a very tired person, but had an excuse - HSC, uni, pregnancy, baby that doesn't sleep etc... So it will be interesting to see what happens now. I might finally become normal :cryinglaugh:

I had 2 early losses sarah, one of them a chemical pregnancy and my GP said "i guess we'll never know" when i asked about it.

Your dazedness should improve in aboput 3 weeks, mine was far quicker in fact but it can take that long. Then you'll be on here running rings around everyone...

Bx

Im so glad I found this thread I have a thyroid problem . I had sub acute thyroiditis two years ago and they found I had Raised antibodies and it was overactive. I took drugs and it has slowly gotten back to normal but now My thyroid is really sore again I cant press on it and I cant swalloe without tears coming to my eyes or wanting to throw up. I was told that Our infertility may be due my thyroid problems but they cant say wether it is hashimotos or graves disease until it starts burning out. So im taking asprin everyday . But im really worried why it so sore but of course I cnat see a doctor for at least two weeks.....

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in the neck. Between it and the pituitary, almost EVERYTHING is regulated. under- or over-active thyroid can cause problems ranging from weight fluctuations, hormonal disturbances, visual disturbances, metabolic rate change, gastric upset, heat/cold intolerance, abnormal adrenalin production, psychological disturbances, mood swings, changes in sleeping patterns, shin rash, hair loss, BP and pulse irregularities, increased ocular pressure, extreme fatigue and blood glucose abnormalities. :(. It screws with everything.

Collo,
I was diagnosed just over 3 weeks ago (took me nearly 5 months of jumping up and down telling my Dr something was wrong). My HR was 116 resting, BP 165/95, and I had lost over 20kg singe mid-december. Most people put that ON over xmas lunch, dont they? I was so strung out I looked like I had eaten a canister of coffee granules, but I was exhausted, and I felt like I was 50 (I am only twenty three). It was painful and inflamed then. Go and get it checked out at the ED. Tell them you haven't been able to eat. You may have a simple inflammation, or it may be playing up again.

Regardless, Hoobley is right. It plays a major part in hormonal regulation. To the point with me where my OCP wasn't enough to override my natural hormones, and I fell pregnant. :doh:

I wish you all the best, and I hope the answer is this simple for you.

<3 serene

Just found this thread!

How's everyone going?

I was diagnosed with an over active thyroid (thyroidititis/Grave's Disease) last December. I have another thread about it. I felt a bit like you Serene.... maybe not so bad, although my resting heart rate was 120 at times :o And the muscle weakness is bad. Now that the cooler weather has arrived I feel heaps better... plus I am on anti-thyroid tablets. I really hope I'm not on them for life though... they are the most disgusting tablet I have ever taken and i'm pretty resilient when it comes to bad tasting things!

Anyhow... it's scary stuff being over active and frustrating when it's under active no doubt. I think more women should have their thyroids tested if they are in any way suspicious that they might have a problem. I think that pregnancy triggered my condition. I never had a problem before :( Thyroid health: how I took it for granted...

Meg: how did your aspriation go? Sorry if I missed a thread about it.

I just had my bloods redone yesterday as i've been feeling a bit BLAH. My doctor says he doubts it's the thyroid as he'd expect an "event" to bring on a further failure (like pregnancy or an illness) but he tested for anaemia, diabetes, TSH and free T4 to see how i'm doing. I'm sitting here on the sofa with a heartrate of 50bpm. This morning on waking it was 37bpm. Practically dead! LOL. I've been adding speedwork to my running so it could be a leap in fitness, but if i'm honest i'm almost hoping it's my thyroid as i'm so tired and foggy-feeling the whole time. I guess i'll know in a week :)

Bec

DH went to have his meds levels checked and they are now suspecting that he has hashimotos as the cause of his hypothyroidism. He has been referred for bloods to test for it but i havent been able to persuade him to actually have the tests done yet. :wall:
Do either of these conditions effect your mood and/or state of mind i.e loss of temper, being on edge, no fuse at all etc?

Most definitely, your moods become so labile, hubby may as well be pregnant himself. I became very anxious, and quite jumpy. Your adrenalin production goes through the roof, so you are always switched on. Quick to anger, suspicious, unable to settle down, irritability... all that sort of thing. And it happens with both hyper and hypo thyroids.

Unfortunately men are notoriously difficult to persuade to see a doctor. :doh: Does he understand that thyroid conditions MUST be managed? as they can swing from one extreme to the other rapidly, if they are left unchecked they can be fatal? I am not scare mongering, but THYROID conditions are deadly. Tell him its like ignoring diabetes, and ask him if he would rather be sick and in toxicosis, or healthy and alive. PUSH him. MAKE him. He is at HUGE risk of heart failure while he declines treatment.

Good luck. It can be like pulling teeth with no anaesthetic. :pray:


<3 Serene

he is happy to see the doctor for his thyroid, and take thyroxine, but not doesnt believe any of the mood related side effects are actaully occurring.
He is also petrified of needles which is why, as usual, he puts off his blood tests. *sigh*
I am not sure how/whether his tratment changeds if its caused by hashimotos?

Hashi's causes low thyroxine, not high. Irritability and anger are FAR more common with excess thyroxine as it drives your metabolism so fast. Hashi's is more likely to cause brain fog, memory loss, dopeyness, diffculties "finding the right word" when speaking, forgetting PIN's, phonenumbers, that sort of thing. BUT if he's the sort of person who is enraged when he makes mistakes then yes, it could be the hashi's.

Hashi's people just get thyroxine too. It's autoimmune but because they can replace the thyroxine they don't bother with steroid treatment, thankfully. The tests he's not going for are just to check his antithyroid antibody levels so they can write "Hashimotos" on his notes. It doesn't change his treatment but it might be useful to get a full diagnosis to rule other stuff out. I was hoping i had post partum thyroiditis and wouldn't need meds but the antibody test confirmed it was Hashis and here to stay. In all likelihood your DH will need his bloods checked in a few weeks/months anyway to make sure his thyroxine replacement dose is doing the job. They can take his antibody test bloods then since the needle will already be in his arm.