Hypothyroidism & Fertility

[SharmonB]

Hello all I am new to this site and I'm sure questions of this nature have been asked but I'm concerned. I am 26 and I had a TT in 2001. I take synthroid 137. I recently got married and my husband and I want to have children, however nothing has happened. I was wondering what the success rate was for pregnancy and healthy babies with sufferers of hypothyriodism. Please share your stories...good and bad. Thank you

[gimel]

From those results you need to get some additional testing done to check for thyroid antibodies, in order to understand if the basic cause is Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.    Those tests would be TPO ab and TG ab.  While you are there for followup testing, you need to insist on the FT3 test, and also ask about the advisability of testing for Vitamin A, D, B12, iron/ferritin, and selenium.  Hypothyroid patients frequently have deficiencies in those areas as well.  

Along with that you should be talking to your doctor his plan for starting medication to get your thyroid hormone levels increased.  I'm sure that other hypo members will tell you about their success at having healthy babies after getting their thyroid levels corrected.  

[SharmonB]

Okay I know it has been forever but my results are in....my TSH level was at 62.2 and my FT4 at 0.19. It didnt show my FT3..what do you think of those results?

[SharmonB]

To gimel,
Thank you so much for your response. I just had some lab work done and I am requesting them to send a copy to my home so it may take a while. As soon as I get them I will post them. I had been off synthroid for about 7 weeks as an "experiment"  When I got the results back all the doctor told me was that I really needed my meds. She said just looking at the results made her exhausted but failed to elaborate.

So when I found this forum and people knew what their numbers were I requested mine. I just started taking my 137's this week and I feel better but I'm still having problems. I have severe back pain ( painful to walk and even take a bath), I'm depressed, and I don't know if anyone else has this issue but I am very easily irritaed and disturbed with loud things such as commercial (they are the worst), loud cars,trucks--->anything loud. This may not be related but just had to throw it in there.

[gimel]

Well, being a male, I certainly have no direct experience to draw from.   LOL   I can tell you that from what I have read on the Forum and elsewhere, it should not prevent a successful pregnancy if you adequately adjust  your thyroid hormone levels.  By this I don't mean just the one they usually test for , which is TSH.  TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by so many variables that it is inadequate as a sole diagnostic for thyroid problems.  At best it is an indicator to be considered along with more important indicators such as symptoms, and also levels of the biologically active thyroid hormones, free T3 and free T4 (not the same as total T3 and total T4).  

FT3 is actually the most important test, since FT3 largely regulates metabolism and many other body functions.  Studies have shown that FT3 correlated best with hypo symptoms, while FT4 and TSH did not correlate.  A good thyroid doctor will test and adjust FT3 and FT4 as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.  Symptom relief should be all important, not test results.  Many of our members have reported that symptom relief for them required that FT3 was adjusted into the upper part of its range and FT4 adjusted to at least midpoint of its range.  

So how about posting whatever thyroid test results you have, and reference ranges shown on the lab report, and let's see what the doctor is using to diagnose and medicate you, and assess whether you are getting enough medication..