Elevated TSH/hypothyroidism

[shanny]

Hi all,

I'm just getting onto this board so here's a little into then question.

I'm from California, I have a one year old daughter, and my husband and I are starting TTC for #2. I still haven't gotten my period back yet and my doctor decided to order a TSH test for me. It came back slightly elevated (4.84). She suggested to recheck the levels in a month and said it's important when getting pregnant to have a thyroid that is working well. I'm getting pretty bummed out and nervous. My TSH was 2.5 last year when I got checked after the baby was about seven weeks old.

Anyone else dealing with high TSH/hypothyroidism?

[emilie]

welcome!

a lot of us here are hypothyroid (including me). 4.84 isn't bad but it's likely at the level where it should be treated. most doctors/labs say that the ideal TSH for TTC is between 1 and 2. even if you were to get pregnant quickly, a sluggish thyroid can increase your chances of miscarriage, so it is important to get your levels in a good place.

did your doctor run a full thyroid panel? when you're first being treated for thyroid issues, it's important to test beyond just TSH - your doc should be testing your free T4, free T3, and thyroid antibodies as well to get a full picture of what's up with your thyroid and what might be causing your issues. if your doc doesn't seem up to speed on this stuff, ask for a referral to an endocrinologist.

also, don't be bummed! thyroid issues are very common, especially with women, and quite treatable (you just take a pill of thyroid replacement hormone every day). you might have to play with the dosage for the first few months to get your levels in a good place, but you should be able to find a dose where things stabilize. I don't know if you have any hypothyroid symptoms (hair loss, fatigue, dry skin, random weight gain) but generally treatment can relieve these symptoms as well.

best of luck with #2, and glad that you're here!

[shanny]

Thanks emilie! All the numbers are gibberish to me now so it's good to know what the ideal levels are for TTC. Doctor just ran the TSH, I think just to see if there were concerns and then to go from there. I think for the recheck next month, she just wanted to do TSH again to see if it was a fluke? I can ask before then if it'll be the other ones too.

I actually have had some weight loss so I was surprised to come up with elevated levels as opposed to decreased levels, however, I have been training for a half marathon that's this Sunday too. I definitely have been tired all the time and chalked it up to the baby, but I seemed to feel more tired than others I know!

Has thyroid medication helped you? Any side effects? What's your story in all of this? (Sorry...I'm on mobile so I'm not super able to check if you've answered this all before in different threads.)

[Deleted]

Welcome!
I'm also TFAS and recently dx with hypothyroidism. My levels were at a 31 when it was noticed.
Good luck figuring this whole journey out

[penguin129]

I'm dealing with this as well. I will be tfas soon and have the same concerns. I will write a longer post when I get to my laptop later. In all the research I've done it seems tsh levels closer to 2 are best for ttc. I will share the links later for you.

[emilie]

Oct 16, 2015 18:14:52 GMT -5 shanny said:

Thanks emilie! All the numbers are gibberish to me now so it's good to know what the ideal levels are for TTC. Doctor just ran the TSH, I think just to see if there were concerns and then to go from there. I think for the recheck next month, she just wanted to do TSH again to see if it was a fluke? I can ask before then if it'll be the other ones too.

I actually have had some weight loss so I was surprised to come up with elevated levels as opposed to decreased levels, however, I have been training for a half marathon that's this Sunday too. I definitely have been tired all the time and chalked it up to the baby, but I seemed to feel more tired than others I know!

Has thyroid medication helped you? Any side effects? What's your story in all of this? (Sorry...I'm on mobile so I'm not super able to check if you've answered this all before in different threads.)

You probably lost weight from all that running

I don't feel super different on thyroid meds, though my skin is less dry and I have more energy.  The one bitch of a side effect is hair loss.  This either could have been from the hypothyroidism, but could also be from the meds, as it can be a side effect of both.  I probably lost a good third of my volume of hair when I first started Synthroid, but it did (and is still) growing back.  I remember last year being in a meeting where I had my hair up - I stepped out to use the restroom and saw that there were a million little baby hairs sticking up all over my head and hairline.  So yeah, it grows back.  And that doesn't happen to everyone who takes it.

[penguin129]

I lost weight before being diagnosed as well. I was told the symptoms present differently in different people.

[Ray]

There is also a thyroid check in on this board (bi-weekly? penguin129) that you can check out also.

[joy]

I started with a TSH of 13! I'm down to 1.8 with synthroid. All is well.