Talk to me about thyroid issues

[tigerlynx31413]

So I had my 14 week appointment yesterday and my Dr went over my blood work results from before Christmas (the last Dr I saw never went over them with me). The dr yesterday is concerned because my thyroid level was at a normal level for a non pregnant woman, but too high for a pregnant woman. He has requested a prescription for synthroid and referred me to a MFM (I also have the likelihood of getting GD again and my Dr doesn't want me to have to see more Dr than necessary). I'm getting another blood draw to see where I'm at now and the Dr said it wouldn't hurt the baby if I didn't take the medicine.

This is all new to me so can someone help me figure out the pros and cons of taking medicine before I meet with MFM? I had my thyroid tested before I got my bfp and I was fine, so this is not a preexisting condition. Tia.

[kristhegirl]

It sounds like your thyroid level is to LOW, to put you on thyroid meds. Synthroid is synthetic thyroid hormone.

Do you by chance have or remember your T4 levels?

I have thyroid nodules, which don't interfere with my thyroid but have necessitated monitoring my levels as well. My doctor is fine with checking them every month, so if I needed meds after all, it would be a few weeks before I knew about it.

When do you see the MFM? You may be able to call their office before your appointment to go over the pros/cons of taking the meds. Thyroid function is important during pregnancy and I don't feel comfortable telling you one way or the other if it would be OK to not take them. If you know your levels, Google judiciously, but there is info out there that might help you.

[CoachTsWife]

It sounds like your TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was too high, which actually means you don't have enough thyroid hormones (T3, T4) in your system. That's why your Dr is recommending synthroid, which is synthetic thyroid hormone.

I can't tell you if you should or should not take the medicine, but your MFM Dr should be able to walk through the risks of taking/not taking them.

I'm on a thyroid medication currently, and feel comfortable with this during my pregnancy. We check my levels every month.

[tigerlynx31413]

I believe my level was just above 4. I think when I call to schedule my appointment with MFM I'm going to see if I can ask them about the medicine. This dr is new to me and just seemed like he wanted to put me on the medicine to cover his butt, but wouldn't give me any straight answers on why letting everything go would be bad for my pregnancy.

So I guess maybe I'm not looking for the pros and cons of the medicine so much as what affects/effects having a messed up thyroid has on pregnancy. I'm going to ask my Dr, and I googled a lot of this stuff when I tested prior to bfp and I know a lot of it worried me. I'm going to see what dr Google says and hope it's not as bad as I remember.

[kristhegirl]

From my very brief Googling, it's normal to have lower TSH during pregnancy, and there are some changes to the expected levels of all the thyroid hormones in each trimester.

The MFM should be able to give you answers - your doctor really might be just covering his ass, but he might be on to something.

It doesn't sound like your numbers were very alarming either way, if he said you wouldn't have to take the meds, but my doctor said they are well-tolerated in pregnancy.

[krissybeck]

I have Hashimotos which is an autoimmune disease that attacks my thyroid. My doctor is monitoring me because my thyroid levels can get out of whack being pregnant. Personally I prefer to be on armour thyroid which is a natural thyroid medicine vs. Synthroid. Synthroid never worked for me because even though my levels would be normal I still had all the symptoms.

[CoachTsWife]

I'm on armour thyroid as well. I was on synthroid for over a decade and we could never get the dosing correct, I was always alternating between hypo and hyper. I also have trouble with T3/T4 conversion, so armour helps with that, too, since it contains both.

[tigerlynx31413]

Thanks for all the personal feedback ladies. I'm expecting a call back from my Dr on something else when he is in the office tomorrow so I'll talk to him and then schedule with my MFM

[hormonesavage]

I have been on synthryoid for about 9 months now, 3 of which I have been pregnant. I don't go to an endocrinologist, but my doctor/OB watch my levels every month, or every 3 when not pregnant. I have had no issues/problems with my dosage and my thyroid levels have been just fine since I started. They occasionally tell pregnant women to take 1 pill for 5 days, then 2 on the 6th, and then no pill on the 7th, or some variation of this if they need to balance your levels.

[hjhmomma]

Jan 21, 2015 22:51:13 GMT -5 tigerlynx31413 said:

I believe my level was just above 4. I think when I call to schedule my appointment with MFM I'm going to see if I can ask them about the medicine. This dr is new to me and just seemed like he wanted to put me on the medicine to cover his butt, but wouldn't give me any straight answers on why letting everything go would be bad for my pregnancy.

So I guess maybe I'm not looking for the pros and cons of the medicine so much as what affects/effects having a messed up thyroid has on pregnancy. I'm going to ask my Dr, and I googled a lot of this stuff when I tested prior to bfp and I know a lot of it worried me. I'm going to see what dr Google says and hope it's not as bad as I remember.

I learned so much about this through my fertility journey.  My RE wouldn't even start cycling me until I got my TSH down to 2.5 and I started at 4.6.  He explained to me that studies are showing a slight delay in development in children who had mothers with subclinical hypothyroidism during pregnancy (I believe the study is still ongoing?).  I take 88mcg of Levothyroxine (Synthroid) daily and did with DD as well.  I would say go ahead and start the medication just to be on the safe side.  Odds are if your TSH is above 4 the MFM will probably start you on the same medication as well.  I hope this helps!

[laurie12820]

Ok, am I the only freak of nature here who is on Levoxyl instead of Synthroid?

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's in 2005 (hypothyroid), had a total thyroidectomy in 2010 and have been on Levoxyl since '05. Needless to say, thyroid medication is totally safe while PG. The biggest concern is low levels in the first tri because that's when baby is developing most.

I know this is going to sound stupid but, are you tired, cold all the time? Taking the medication might actually restore some of your energy because a low thyroid level zaps your energy. Although your T4 level doesn't sound too bad.

[junejuly]

My doctor put me on synthroid during my first pregnancy. He also kept on sending me for growth scans to make sure the baby was keeping up. He claimed that it's standard practice to do this because I was on meds/had thyroid issues.

[Deleted]

I also have Hashi's and I'm also on synthroid. Agreed with hjhmomma, a TSH at a 4 is above the levels any RE would want to see for pregnancy, ideally they want you under a 2/2.5. The synthroid should work well and is totally fine to take during pregnancy, as you can see by many of us on it.

I would take the medication. I fought to get Synthroid as my levels are borderline, but there are a lot of studies relating thyroid antibodies to miscarriage (and studies showing that in women with antibodies on Synthroid, their outcomes were improved significantly, albeit not to control non-AB levels), and after two, I wanted to control every possible variable that could be interfering with a successful pregnancy.

Granted it sounds like you're hypothyroid without necessarily having an auto-immune issue like Hashi's, but if I were in your shoes, I would take the meds.

Speaking of, did they also test your antibody levels to see if there is an auto-immune issue happening as well? I might ask them to do that as well, as it might change how you want to approach it. For example, my TSH was still at a 2.1 even with the Synthroid, but when I switched to a gluten-free diet at my doctor's recommendation, it went down to a 1.1. But I think that sort of dietary switch would only be helpful if your hypo is caused by Hashi's and not just random pregnancy wonkiness.

Also, people shit on baby center all the time, but they have some very helpful boards. For example, these women were very helpful when I was recently diagnosed. community.babycenter.com/groups/a3695/thyroid_issues_concerns


kristhegirl Brief thyroid tutorial. There are two types of thyroid dysfunction hyper and hypo, as well as two corresponding auto-immune issues that could cause you to go either one - Graves for hyper and Hashimoto's for hypo (there are two thyroid antibodies that they can test for to determine if it is an autoimmune issue). Most doctors will diagnose based on levels of TSH as mentioned by PP, some will also look at T3 and T4 levels (two main thyroid hormones are T3 and T4). TSH is Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. If it's low, it's because presumably your body has a lot of actual thyroid hormone, so the body isn't telling your thyroid it needs any more. If it's high, it's because you don't have enough circulating, so your body is telling your thyroid, make more! If your TSH is under a certain level (I think .7, but not sure of the exact) then you're hyperthyroid, meaning you have too much thyroid hormone circulating. If it is over a certain level (used to be 5 for non-pregnant or TTC women, now 2/2.5 for pregnant women and TTC and I think 3 for everyone else) you're hypothyroid, meaning you have too little thyroid hormone circulating. Synthroid is a common thyroid replacement medication, it is synthetic hormone. It is a synthetic version of T4 that your body should convert excess into T3, but some people prefer Armour (natural thyroid hormone) if they find their T3 levels don't actually improve on Synthroid.

[kristhegirl]

@officedronette amen! I've been reading all about it and my regular doctor was hilarious and drew me a chart on the paper that covers the exam table to explain the TSH-T4-T3 feedback loop. It was great. My mom just had her thyroid removed two years ago because of thyroid cancer, so when I developed what turned out to be a complex cyst on my thyroid I was pretty nervous. No cancer for me (hallelujah) but now I get monitored. My obgyn was not overly concerned but now I get my levels checked every month along with my urine to make sure I'm not taking too many illicit drugs.

You've mentioned piecing together the bread crumbs for your fertility struggles; were your thyroid troubles part of that? I was especially concerned when I found the cyst because it was right after we'd stated trying to conceive and the internet was pretty dire about thyroid issues and pregnancy. (I'm sorry if that's too personal, I don't mean to offend or pry.)

[Deleted]

Jan 22, 2015 13:53:39 GMT -5 kristhegirl said:

@officedronette amen! I've been reading all about it and my regular doctor was hilarious and drew me a chart on the paper that covers the exam table to explain the TSH-T4-T3 feedback loop. It was great. My mom just had her thyroid removed two years ago because of thyroid cancer, so when I developed what turned out to be a complex cyst on my thyroid I was pretty nervous. No cancer for me (hallelujah) but now I get monitored. My obgyn was not overly concerned but now I get my levels checked every month along with my urine to make sure I'm not taking too many illicit drugs.

You've mentioned piecing together the bread crumbs for your fertility struggles; were your thyroid troubles part of that? I was especially concerned when I found the cyst because it was right after we'd stated trying to conceive and the internet was pretty dire about thyroid issues and pregnancy. (I'm sorry if that's too personal, I don't mean to offend or pry.)

Not offensive at all.  Especially with fertility issues, I think the more open we are, the more good we do for one another.  Yes, my thyroid issues were part of that.  I didn't have any trouble TTC but lost both pregnancies prior to being well-established on the thyroid meds (and a whole host of other interventions).  I think my main issues were auto-immune (and my thyroid stuff would go under that umbrella but isn't the only piece).  I did know other friends though that had repeated miscarriages, and their thyroid function was the only thing "off" - Synthroid was all they needed to carry to term after multiple early losses in the 5-9 week range.

I wish your mom (and you!) good health.  A friend had thyroid cancer in college and got half her thyroid removed.  She has been doing fine for the last ten years, and her fertility is good as well, though not an issue for your mom I'm betting.