# Thyroids



## Debellis (Mar 13, 2013)

Not sure I am in the right section, but I am going through Egg Donor with The Lister, my monitored cycle went great and I had all my blood tests but they have mailed me to say my Thyroids are slightly elevated and that I need to take medication before I start treatment! because I went through hell last year with the NHS I was very worried about this, mine is 3.27 and needs to get to 2.5 or below...I need to take a tablet called Thyroxin, has anyone taken this


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## Pudding34 (May 13, 2013)

Hi Debellis

I am in the same boat as you, my thyroid test came back at 3.47.

I'm  sorry to highjack your post with no info to offer but I would be very interested in replies that you receive so wanted to bookmark this!

Pudding
X


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## Thursdayschild (Oct 19, 2013)

Yes, me too! 
I take levothyroxine every morning and feel loads better for it. I don't notice any side effects. Remember, never take your multivits anywhere near these meds, as they bind together rendering the thyroxine inert. I've followed advice to take the pills with water an hour before any food/drink, and I take my multi vit in the late afternoon or evening with my meal.

Make sure you get regular checks so that you can be on the correct dosage as too little won't get your numbers down and too much won't be too good either. My GP won't test more often than 6-8 weeks which I find F*** annoying but there we go. I managed to keep my TSH steady around 1 while I was getting ready for IVF, but it shot up as soon as I got preg (mc at 3 months sadly) - maybe because of the estrogen in the drugs (which affects it) or the pregnancy hormones themselves. Most fertility people advise that you up your dose (by 30-50%) as soon as you get a + preg result, but better if you can have regular blood tests to be sure as probably everyone's a bit different.

I was a bit freaked out when i first heard I'd have to take a medicine for the rest of my life... but i don't care now. Your levels aren't too bad, so if you don't feel symptoms at that level, once you are done with TTC/IVF/Preg/etc then you could see if you still need to take them. 

Good luck!! xx


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## Pudding34 (May 13, 2013)

Hi Thursdayschild

I hope you don't mind if I ask a couple of questions!

Before your diagnosis and starting treatment did you experience any symptoms? Excess weight or fatigue?

Did the drugs make any difference to this if you did?

I seem to gain weight a lot round my waist and find it hard to lose it, the IVF drugs haven't helped that! I have also experienced fatigue and when I asked for thyroid tests a couple of years ago unconnected to fertility I was told all was fine and I was Vit D deficient!

Pudding
X


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## starfish2013 (Oct 27, 2013)

Hi Debellis 

I'm also on levothyroxin and take 50 mcg every morning. My doctor discovered my thyroid levels around 2.9 when I was having other blood tests done and he said it makes it harder to conceive if levels are over 1. 

My levels are now around 0.8 and I get it checked every 3 months to make sure it hasn't crept up again.

I had no symptoms at all and wouldn't have known I had a thyroid problem unless I had had the blood test picked up on by my doctor.

It only took a couple of months for my levels to drop so don't worry it should happen soon for you once you start the medication.

Oh I started on 25 mcg then got upped to 50 mcg as needed to drop more.

Am going to get it tested again this month as I start ivf at the beginning of Feb and want to make sure am still under 1 as this is optimal to conceive.

Starfish


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## Thursdayschild (Oct 19, 2013)

Hi,

No, I don't mind at all answering qus about thyroid - i hope more people become aware of it! Most of the GPs I have seen don't seem to think it's a problem if it's right at the top of the range (4.5), let alone above 2.

Actually, I did think I might have a thyroid problem about a year and a half before I was tested. I mean, the symptoms I had didn't start then, it's just that I read something online about thyroid and thought - that matches ALL my symptoms! But I felt like such a massive hypochondriac that I didn't say anything to my doc until after my first miscarriage when we were looking for reasons why.... I just asked - has my thyroid been checked and she said, oh it should have been... but no, it hadn't. Ever. (Grrr).

So, when I was first tested my TSH was up at about 4.8 I think. I never put on that much weight really until the miscarriages (ie Jan 2012 onwards). I seemed to gain a bit while preg, then not really lose it so easily (and i only got to 8wks, 9wks and 13wks but i was v v hungry all of those times!) Plus the IVF I've had twice now didn't help. I guess I'm about 11 stone now, and I used to be 9 stone a few years ago. Gulp. 9.5 would be about right for me now I think. But I do like chocolate 

When I am hypothyroid, i tend to feel really chilly - deep in my bones, and I just can't get warmed up. When I take too much Levothyroxine (or enough to get me down to TSH of below 1 ish) sometimes I start to feel a bit too hot - notice that I'm sweating more easily, and wandering around in t-shirts where before I'd be the one in a duvet jacket in late Spring. I also get very fatigued when I'm hypothyroid - a special kind of knackered. (I'm actually feeling this way now, so I wonder if i've knocked back my dosage by too much now). I also notice that my hair does not need washing when I'm hypo. I just don't seem to make much oil or sweat, so it doesn't get dirty. Similarly, i have less B.O. if hypo compared with hyper (from meds). Funny things like that. My skin is the same - more oily if on higher meds, drier when not on enough.

In the dim and distant past though, i think i had periods of highs and of lows. Mostly I was the coldest person in the room. But I can think of times when I would describe myself as 'high' almost (ie hyperthyroid but also wired and ... well, high!) - and all the other symptoms matched being hyper rather than hypo. But I've read about Hashimotos (which is what I think I have) and it seems that your body slowly destroys the thyroid (with antibodies) and you get bursts of high levels of thyroid hormones leading you to feel 'high'/hot/oily/sweaty/wired etc and then after that a sort of slump where you don't make much thyroid hormone so you feel 'low'/cold/dry/constipated/sluggish/tired. So I guess (*guess!) that's what's been going on for some while now.

By the way, just for general interest maybe - I found that as soon as I got pregnant (and in fact when I went on the pill years ago - but I never thought about it till now) my hair & skin went very dry, i felt cold and tired, and all traces of body odour disappeared. Until... I upped my levo dosage (in the second 2 pregs - wasn't on any in 1st as was undiagnosed), then things went more back to normal. I've read recently that estrogen (in IVF but also other hormones in preg) effectively mops up thyroid hormone, so you end up being a bit thyro-deficient in high-estrogen situations. Just seems interesting to me that I could literally have mapped my thyroid levels by symptom-spotting if I had been inclined to note everything down. Wonder if anyone else noticed this. And maybe, if you are newly preggers and are reading this, and are feeling those things, ask for your thyroid to be checked. (The problem is, so many symptoms can be put down to pregnancy itself: tiredness, constipation etc).

And Starfish - get your levels checked every 4 weeks if possible when you start your IVF (and as soon as you get a BFP - maybe your clinic will do it more often if you pay them?) as mine shot up really quickly so I had to really up my Levothyroxine to keep up with demand. (When I miscarried I suddenly needed less levothyoxine, so I appeared to be 'over dosed' on the levo,- my TSH was a bit too low, about 0.11).

Hope this is useful. xx


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## starfish2013 (Oct 27, 2013)

Hi Thursdayschild

Was interesting to read your post about the symptoms that you got when at different thyroid levels. Come to think of it I was always really cold previously and always had really cold hands and feet and that has definitely improved since my thyroid levels have improved. Think I thought it was the acupuncture that I had started around the same time that was making me warmer as well as eating warmer foods which the acupuncturist advised - hmmm so it could actually be my thyroid levels. Apart from the temperature think don't think Ive noticed any other symptoms like you did though. 

Thanks for the tip about checking thyroid levels every 4 weeks when I hopefully get pregnant - will definitely make sure I do. You'r right, so hard to convince the docs to keep testing it, don't think they understand how worried we are about it all. Really sorry to hear about your miscarriage.

Starfish x


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## Thursdayschild (Oct 19, 2013)

Hmmm - interesting, Starfish - could be the meds rather than the accupuncture, who knows. But also interesting how Chinese medicine/philosophy groups things together in the same way that thyroid makes you feel: Yin: cold, darkness, passiveness, conserving energy (Hypothyroid?) and Yang: heat, brightness, activeness, expending energy (Hyperthyroid?) (said the non-chinese non-expert in chinese medicine haha!) 
Cor, my feet are freezing and I've actually been wearing thick ski-style mohair socks AND sheepskin Ugg type boots inside my house all day long ... and I've been ready for bed since about 4.30pm,... hmmm I should be better at reading the signals by now  Or maybe it's just winter out there (tick) and it is the evening (tick) so being cold and tired would be normal... (tick). Maybe it's time to eat some hot spicy chinese 'yang' food  
Good luck with all your thyroid-tracking and medicating, ladies. BTW, I think eating enough selenium is important (eg brazil nuts) as it helps you convert T4 to T3 which is the form of thyroid hormone we actually need in the body, and to get enough iodine maybe add in some extra yummy seaweed (I do, in miso soup when I make it at home) if you like it. Good excuse to eat in Itsu every day! I would if i lived anywhere near one...


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## Debellis (Mar 13, 2013)

Hi ladies

I was told my levels are supposed to be 2.5 or below before I start my treatment I have been taken them am hour before food but not drink will do that tomorrow ... I get retested in 2 weeks ... 4 years been trying for a baby so getting desperate now xx


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## Debellis (Mar 13, 2013)

Ok so this is the latest 7 days late boobs hurt metallic taste in mouth , and 5 positive pregnancy tests I don't know what to think wondering if the throyxine is causing a false positive?


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## jane29 (Aug 11, 2013)

Hi! I think you might actually be pregnant i've never heard of thyroxine making a pregnancy test say positive!!xx


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## Debellis (Mar 13, 2013)

Jane I am so nervous!!!! I have all the symptoms but going to doctors tomorrow x I don't think the tabs can give me a positive test .... Hope I am would be a dream come true


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## jane29 (Aug 11, 2013)

Well keeping my fingers crossed and i'm pretty sure its defo a congratulations after 5 positives!! miracles do happen!! good luck you sound like you deserve some great news and how fab that you get it at the beginning of the year! what a fab start! xx


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## Debellis (Mar 13, 2013)

I am with the lister Jane we are number 12 on the list , finished my monitored cycle last year, only been in throyxine for a week, calling lister tomorrow and seeing my doc will let you know x I spike to my acumpunturisy who deals with Ivf and she said there are hardly any drugs that give positive falsely ! I have no period etc so fingers crossed x


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## jane29 (Aug 11, 2013)

Fingers crossed I honestly believe you must be pregnant, the only things i'm aware of that give false positives are some fertility drugs and the trigger shot! How exciting!! xx


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## Debellis (Mar 13, 2013)

Spoke to Lister this morning and they said that the drugs I was on would not cause a false positive, they believe I am pregnant also, so going to the doctors today I am still in shock!!!
x


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## Thursdayschild (Oct 19, 2013)

Hi Debellis 
I've been away on hols so wasn't reading FF threads for a while and missed out on the latest news ... so.... What did you find out? Are you + + + ?  Keeping my fingers crossed for you!! xx


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## Debellis (Mar 13, 2013)

Hiya,

Yes I am pregnant, I am 7 weeks on Monday, going for a scan on Tuesday with the LIster and also to get my blood levels, it is stress going through Fertility treatment then you worry everytime you go to the toilet, every pain, but feeling sick, back pain, tired and boobs hurt, I would not change for the world....hope everyone else is well


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## Pudding34 (May 13, 2013)

Congratulations Debellis what a wonderful surprise!

Stories like yours give us all hope!

Pudding
X


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## Thursdayschild (Oct 19, 2013)

Oooh wow  Congratulations, Debellis!!! 
So, hang on, were you just taking the thyroid meds this cycle or were you on any fertility regime (ivf/iui/clomid..?) Was this just a totally unexpected natural pregnancy 
Please keep a really close eye on your thyroid levels throughout your pregnancy. They can change quickly (with all the estrogen  & hcg and so on floating around your system which mops up TSH). You might have to increase your thyroxine for a while, if your TSH drops. You'd most likely go back to a lower dose later on. My GP's surgery will only test thyroid levels again after 8 weeks usually but I managed to beg them to do it after 4 weeks while I was preg, but even in that time my levels had changed a lot - dunno if that is just me, or if other people had the same sort of thing happen. 
Good luck, anyway - hope you have a wonderful happy and healthy pregnancy!
xxx


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## aRainbow (Oct 24, 2013)

Congrats on your pregnancy!  

My thyroid is 5.2 and GP said she is not bothered with this and doesn't think it is a cause for concern.  I do though!! Xx


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## jane29 (Aug 11, 2013)

Massive congratulations on the pregnancy!!

aRainbow - your GP should be concerned with that your thyroid reading should be between 1 and 2.5. That sounds like you are a lot under active. I hate some GP's some of them are so incompetent. I've recently moved surgery and my new GP is great, i've now got my thyroid under control with Thyroxine and the added bonus is that I can now get free prescriptions so its not all doom and gloom! xx


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## aRainbow (Oct 24, 2013)

It's so frustrating when I know I will never get pregnant with TSH level but GP isn't bothered! I have been referred to fertility clinic now though. Do you think they will help me to contol it? xx


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## jane29 (Aug 11, 2013)

I would have thought the fertility clinic might sort this out but if your GP isn't helping you I personally would find a new surgery and go in and sign up to join them, its a really quick simple process and won't affect anything with your hospital appointments if its in the same area. Life's too short to stick with a GP who doesn't listen or help you. You could also write a short letter saying that you feel that it is unacceptable that your thyroid is clearly out of the 'normal range' and you are experiencing some very unpleasant side effects from it including anything that might be troubling you including anything you might be experiencing right now like like fatigue, dry skin, depression, constipation, infertility etc. and that you have done a lot of your own research and believe that Thyroxine will help improve these side effects and that it is not helping you by ignoring these symptoms and you feel badly let down by the surgery xx


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## hilly35 (Feb 14, 2012)

I cant agree more. After 9 months on thyroxine my levels are back to a helathy 1.03 from 7.26- however my consultant advised me to continue with the tablets to avoid my levels causing issues. My GP is still prescribing for me as she knows about my IVF treatment and my concerns. Plus I now have a medical card as a result (bonus). So do keep pushing them - if they dont listen move to someone who will. Good luck x


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## aRainbow (Oct 24, 2013)

Thanks Jane and Hilly. My GP is a generally great so am reluctant to change. I think I will mention it to the clinic and see if they can prescribe anything for me. If not, then I will defo do what you said Jane. Good idea


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