High tsh / antibodies and IVF

[Karas7]

Hi there,
I have been diagnosed with underactive thirioud.....not sure if hashi or graves as dr was not clear.

Medication - eutroxsig 50 mg and now increased to 100 mg

Lab results

Test                                                     Feb.              May.           Range
Anti thyroid peroxidase antibodies.         Not taken.      153 H.        < 35
Anti thyroidglobin antibodies                  Not taken.       210 H.        < 115


Vitamin D.                                            Not taken.      48 L.        ( 75-250 )
S Cholstrol                                           5.7 H.            6.9 H.       ( 3.5-5.5 )
S LDL-Chol.                                         3.5 H.            4.9 H.        < 3.5
S Chol-HDLC.                                      3.4.               4.8 H.         < 4.5

Been married for a year in june, l,am 39 yrs old and planning on starting IVF in June.
dr wanted to start in may ivf however l didn't think that was a wise idea considering my antibodies are so high....l have read there is a high chance of miscarriage if thiruod levels are not right....is this true?
I have also been on a 6 week detox thru my naturopath and am concerned to see my cholesterol has gone up so high considering l have been eating and exercising daily.....been on metagenics.
Dr has recommended l do not take anymore supplements, however l feel that thirioud perhaps has something to do with cholesterol?

I would greatly appreciate feedback and any suggestions on ways l can help improve my health issues and get healthy for a successful ivf journey....god we have been trying for a year but now understand hat thiriod perhaps had something to do with it.

Thank you


I am also exercising everyday and feel a little sad about things.

[Red_Star]

You would be classed as having vitamin B12 deficiency in Japan and Europe. Most countries have far too low a B12 serum range and that includes Australia.  The lowest acceptable reference range in Japan starts from 550pg/mL (405pmol/L). This is the same or similar in Europe.  My vitamin B12 serum range states 162 - 811pmol/L. Far too low. Sublingual (under the tongue) B12 is an effective way to increase B12 levels.

Okay to reword this, make sure your TSH is lower than 2mU/L when trying to conceive.  You do need to increase the dosage since your TSH is 8.2mU/L.  See how you go with Eutroxsig and keep checking your thyroid labs.  If you have lingering hypothyroid symptoms no matter how high you raise the dosage you may need to add T3.

In Australia there is one synthetic T3 replacement called tertroxin.  The other option is finding a compounding pharmacy to make up natural desiccated thyroid hormone (contains both T4 and T3). You need to also find a doctor who is willing to prescribe it.  It may be easier to ask the pharmacy what doctor/s are sending in prescriptions for natural desiccated.  Not all chemists are compounding pharmacies however so you need to check if there is one where you live. A naturopath may be able to prescribe natural desiccated but i'm not 100% sure.

I mentioned what can help lower antibodies but the results are individual. See how you go with your vitamin D levels. I personally could not raise my vitamin D or calcium levels until i corrected my severe magnesium deficiency.

[Karas7]

Hello and thanks for your kind reply :)

Re Thirooud Meds , do l need to add T3 medication or will the current meds which sipply T4 make T3....is this how it works??

Re Vit D, taking Ostevit D3 x 2 daily....can l expect better results next month?

Re Vit B12 results            Oct 2010.         Feb. 2012.    

RBC Folate.                      1697.               1504.        
S Total B12.                       361.                 351

There is no range on this test,  do l need to take more b12 than what l am taking in Eliviat daily x 1 tablet?

Re IVF / TSH level
Pls correct me if l am wrong, my TSH  needs to be 1-2 ??
What about my antibodies, will they improve if my TSH is reduced.....fingers n toes crossed for improvements.

Re Fertility / high antibodies
This is exactly what l was thinking too, how can a dr get you started on IVF knowing that miscarriage is highly possible....not to pleased with dr regarding this.

Re selenium
I was taking this thru my naturopath but my results did not improve....perhaps that had something to do with my low dose of thioruid med 50mg....now it's 100mg.   Do u think l should take this too?

re gluten free
I am still on detox, no gluten, no sugars, no dairy....just veggies , meat,fish,chicken and nuts and will definitely continue eating this way with no
gluten foods either...thanks for the tip :)

Let me know what you think regarding my further results and any suggestions to improve my health.

Slowly slowly l am understanding hasimots diseas....thanks for yr kind help!
    

[Karas7]

Thank you for your kind reply, l found this very helpful :)

Re Vit D
I am on Ostevit D3 x 2 tables a day.  
Do you think l will see an improvement with my next blood test?

Re Free T4  + T3
Sorry l forgot to add these details, here they are below:

F T4.      Feb.              May.         Range
              13.2.             12.8.         11.0-21.0
F T3.      Not tested.    4.0.           3.1-6.0

S TSH    5.3 H.           8.2 H.        0.5-5.0

Can you remoccomend anything else to help me get my levels in the middle range ?

I also tested for diabetes / sugar levels.....5.0 in feb and now 4.8 in may, range is 3.6-6.0.

Would you please explain what test is HBA1C, so l can test this next time.....terminology may be different in oz, more than likely l am not familiar with this abbreviation :)

Thank you

[Red_Star]

Eutroxsig is one of the 2 synthetic T4 meds available in Australia for the treatment of hypothyroidism. The most common cause of hypothyroidism is Hashimoto's thyroiditis.  Hypothyroidism is one of the causes of elevated cholesterol.  

Vitamin D is important for fertility. One study found 93% of women with infertility were deficient in vitamin D.  The vitamin D council recommend vitamin D serum between 125 - 200nmol/L (50 - 80ng/mL) year round. Vitamin B12 deficiency is another cause of infertility and this deficiency is common with hypothyroidism as well.  Optimal vitamin B12 serum is over 600pmol/L (800pg/mL).

From what i have read, when trying to conceive make sure your TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is no higher than 1 or 2 mU/L. There is also evidence that thyroid antibodies level can affect fertility. Various studies have found 200mcg of selenium daily can lower TPOAb (thyroid peroxidase antibodies). Anecdotally, a gluten free diet can lower TgAb (thyroglobulin antibodies). A study found thyroid hormone replacement can lower thyroid antibodies as well.

[Super_sally888]

Hello,

I think you should address some of your health issues to give you a better chance at IVF success.

First your Vit D is very low.  This should be treated with a supplement of Vit D3.  You could aks your naturopath about this.

Make sure they test your FT3 and FT4 as well as TSH.  These should be optimised with FT3 and FT4 in at least middle of the range.

High cholesterol can be related to insulin resistance / diabetes.  Have you had your blood sugar tested?  You should also have your HBA1C tested, with truely  normal result being in the 4s (ideally around 4.3 - 4.5).

HOpe this helps.