High thyriod levels in pregnancy?

Hi all,

Just got back from my GP. Turns out my Thyroid levels are 3.5, and should be between .25 -3. I am 6w5d.

Does anyone know what this means??

She is refering me to a specialist.

Any advice or feedback would be swell :)

TIA

it's only a tiny bit high, so I wouldn't stress about it at this point. Did you get the t4 levels as well (that's the actual amount of thyoid hormone). the 3.5 would be tsh, which is an indicator of how hard your thyroid is working to try adn produce thryoid hormones.
bascially, it might mean your thyroid is a bit sluggish and the pituritary gland is having to pump out more tsh to get enough thyroid hormones into your body.
When I was first pregnant with DS I had OHSS, which meant my estrogen levels were through the roof. E2 can block thyroid hormones (or sometrhing) and after my thyroidectomy I'm reliant on synthetic thyroxine, so my pituritary was going nuts trying to stimulte more thyroid hormones - TSH was 35. That's really high.

Your body naturally needs a bit more thyroid hormones during pregnancy, so it actually might be quite normal for youto have slightly elevated TSH at this point :dunno:

Thanks for the reply MadB. I'm almost positive it was the tsh levels, as my GP just did some general blood tests, to confirm my pregnancy and what not.

I'm a little bit annoyed, she didn't answer my questions. Just said that if I wasn't pregnant, she wouldn't worry about it and simply send me for another blood test in a couple of weeks to see if it was still high. That was is :dunno: She said she would refer me to a specialist.

Bloody google, stressing me out. Just read some of the factors, and they include miscarriage, premature birth, and the worst one - can effect brain development! :wall:

Never had this problem with my other two cherubs :(

nah nah, 3.5 is really not particularly high.
My DS I mentioned has shown no sign of ill effect. Or maybe he'd be a mensa candidate if not for the elevated TSH, who knows? I'm sure your baby will be fine, as I said, it's really not that high.

Thank you MadB :hug: Really needed to hear that!

TellyTubby - try to get into a specialist as soon as possible...don't stress, but it's important that your thyroid levels remain in the optimal range during pregnancy so the sooner you can get on top of this the better. And they want to keep TSH at the low end of normal during pregnancy.

Hi buliej, thanks for your reply.
I got a call from the specialist, and they want to see me after my NT scan. They want the results of the NT scan, plus some extra bloods done before the first appointment ..
I feel so helpless!

Is there anything I can do, to lower my levels?? Diet, exercise??????

Don't worry too much as MadB said. There's nothing you can do about thyroid levels, they are what they are unless you take medication. However, I'd call them back and ask if you can see them after the bloods but not wait for the NT scan as that is still a bit in the future (plus, I don't see how the NT scan matters whereas I'm pretty sure the additional blood tests are necessary and shouldn't take long). Tell them you would be happy to come back after the NT test as well. I'm a pretty pushy person when it comes to doctors.

Thanks buliej.
Maybe they're waiting to the 12 week mark to see if I'll miscarry?? Dr google bought that word up for me this afternoon. Shouldn't have looked!
Thanks again, might go back to the doc tomorrow

A slightly elevated TSH is not really cause for great concern at this point, which is probably why they're happy to wait. Also it takes time for changes in your levels to pan out so there's not much point doing another test right away.
However, for your peace of mind, why don't you go back to your GP and request an order for a TFT? You can do it in 2-3 weeks and see where you're at. The TFT will measure TSH and T4, which is actually a better indicator of where you're at hormonally. The TSH shouldn't have any real effect on your baby at this point since it doesn't have a thyroid yet. Your T4 levels are probably fine in any case, but another test may set your mind at ease.

I know MadB knows more about this than I do, but I had elevated TSH levels and my endocrinologist (luckily I had one prior to pregnancy as I have had thyroid issues in the past) wanted to get on top of it as soon as possible (to be conservative, not because it's reason for immediate alarm). I recall having a 2nd series of blood tests and then just being put on Thyroxin (I forget the generic name) - you then have fairly regular blood tests. It's all really no big deal in terms of treatment, you just need to be seen by the specialist. By the way, my only issue was an elevated TSH - and elevated being on the high end of normal whereas best practice for pregnancy is on the low end of normal (I forget the exact threshold). Just as an aside, my TSH levels are still being monitored post-birth most recent results discussed with endocrinologist yesterday and she said - "well, your TSH is still normal but it's going up...are you thinking of trying to get pregnant again in the future" and when I responded "we think so", she told me to start a very low does of Thyroxin again as she wants to see it steady at the right level before we try a transfer (ivf)...which won't be for at least 6 months - if that soon.

Oh - and they only ever focused on TSH for me - I never quite understood why that was.

That's interesting, I wonder why that is? (And I don't think I actually know any more than you Bulie:))
My endocrinologist told me the TSH doesn't matter in first trimester as the feotus doesn't have a thyroid to be affected by it, but T4 levels may affect pregnancy.
Anyway, my first pregnancy I had the endo, OB and GP all telling me different things about where my levels shoudl be... :wall: 2nd time round I just figured it out for myself.

Anyway, I think the upshot here is follow it up and reassure yourself that it's ok.