Having a baby and hashis?

[climbergirl]

Hi,
My husband and I are thinking of having a baby in the next year and I was wondering what experiences women here have had with their pregnancies/ hashis. I'd love to hear any advice or comments. My endocrinologist was pretty relaxed about it when I asked her. She said that I'd just have to check my TSH every two months. I don't even need to see her unless there is a problem. She also said it shouldn't affect my ability to get pregnant.

Right now, my TSH levels do fluctuate up/down but are usually between 0.8-1.0, (ref range: 1.0-4) without any medication. I was diagnosed with Hashis a year and a half ago after a bout of subacute thyroiditis (the abs levels were conclusive, according to two endos). Aside from having to take beta blocker meds for the initial hyper episode when I was diagnosed, I have not been prescribed any meds to treat my hashis.

Thanks!

[NastyHashi]

I can tell you from our own experiences, we had our first child back in 2001 and everything went well. After the baby my wife started gaining unexplained weight. Ironically, I was diagnosed with Hashis and Graves several months prior to her getting pregnant and I did a lot of research so I knew a lot about it.

Aftewr baby 1 we tried for baby 2 starting about 6 months later. We ended up having 3 miscarriages in a row which seemed odd to us since we had no trouble whatsoever with baby 1. I told her to get checked out and I actually ordered a TSH home test kit for her suspecting a possible thyroid problem and sure enough her TSH came back in the 9 range, which is pretty high. We went tot he doc and they did blood work and confirmed hashi's.

Wife was put on meds (Synthroid) and 4 months later after she stabilized, we got pregnant and now have a healthy 1 year old. Wife's TSH was monitored for changes throughout the pregnancy. Once she was stable we were able to conceive and hang on to the pregnanacy for the full length. So yes, it is my opinion at least that your thyroid should be at least stable before getting pregnant. I do not think it needs to be perfect, but it should not be fluctuating wildly.

[Deedah]

Hi Nasty Hashi,
First of all I want to say "Oops, sorry" .... The last time I wrote to you I assumed you're female, and now I see that you have a wife..... I should've noticed the male figure next to your name. I'm so preoccupied with myself, I failed to see what was right in my face. Can I blame my numbed brain power on thyroid levels?

How did you go about learning so much about thyroid conditions?.... you seem to know it all. I'd like to become more aware of everything that pertains to my circumstance.

I was under the impression that since I had thyroid cancer (papillary carcinoma), surgery and RAI would clear it up, and life would go on as before I was diagnosed. After reading these boards, I think otherwise.
Will I always have to be aware of everything my body feels?

I'm still very new to all this. We've spoken before but I'm thick headed, and it takes a while to get through.- Self defense mechanism I guess. My Oct 11 surgery took my thyroid, part of the para, and some lymph nodes. I thought I'd have to be medicated for the rest of my life..... and that's that! It's now starting to look like I have a long confusing/depressing road ahead.

While looking around last night, I noticed that you and Deda-girl have been speaking on and off for years. Are we all fated to consistant thyroid problems? If so, I want to know how to take control of my condition, by being aware of what my body feels, and what it all means.

Any advice is welcomed, and appreciated.
Deedah

[mw6280]

I am also trying to fall pregnant and am concerned that my Hashi's may be to blame for not falling pregnant so far. I have pretty normal thyroid levels (due to taking 100mcg Thyroxine daily for 14 years) but my anitbodies are WAY over the normal level and always have been.

I have always questioned the doctors about this and asked if there is anything that can be done to get them down, but they have always replied that it just confirms that I have Hashi's. I've never been satisfied with this answer but don't know what else to do. I have been recently been reading alot of stuff about sticking to a gluten free diet and taking selenium supplements to lower your antibodies. I think I will try this and see what happens....

One thing I am interested to know is if my thyroid antibodies can pass onto my baby? Will he/she be more at risk of having Hashi's?

[Andros]

I am also trying to fall pregnant and am concerned that my Hashi's may be to blame for not falling pregnant so far. I have pretty normal thyroid levels (due to taking 100mcg Thyroxine daily for 14 years) but my anitbodies are WAY over the normal level and always have been.

I have always questioned the doctors about this and asked if there is anything that can be done to get them down, but they have always replied that it just confirms that I have Hashi's. I've never been satisfied with this answer but don't know what else to do. I have been recently been reading alot of stuff about sticking to a gluten free diet and taking selenium supplements to lower your antibodies. I think I will try this and see what happens....

One thing I am interested to know is if my thyroid antibodies can pass onto my baby? Will he/she be more at risk of having Hashi's?

Welcome to the board. TSH must be kept at around 1 or less for successful fertilization. Do you know where yours is at?

And yes; genetically inherited autoimmune disease is often if not always passed on to the off-spring.

Also, keeping the TSH suppressed would keep the antibodies waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down in "most" cases.

[mw6280]

Welcome to the board. TSH must be kept at around 1 or less for successful fertilization. Do you know where yours is at?

And yes; genetically inherited autoimmune disease is often if not always passed on to the off-spring.

Also, keeping the TSH suppressed would keep the antibodies waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down in "most" cases.

Thanks for the welcome Andros :)

The last TSH test I had was at 2.4 about three months ago. I was living in a very isolated area and the doctor didn't know much about Hashi's so didn't test my Free T3/T4 and antibodies. I have just moved to a new town and have a new doctor and had all my levels tested this week....just waiting for the results now.

I have noticed that my TSH has been climbing for the past few years. It was 0.55 about 4 years ago and has steadily increased to 2.4 without any change to my meds. I have started putting on weight lately and have felt very lethargic as well as starting to wonder why I haven't fallen pregnant, which has prompted me to get my levels checked.

Should by Thyroxine be increased to get my TSH down to around 1? Do you know where I can get some reliable literature about this to show my doctor?

Cheers,
Mel

[Andros]

Thanks for the welcome Andros :)

The last TSH test I had was at 2.4 about three months ago. I was living in a very isolated area and the doctor didn't know much about Hashi's so didn't test my Free T3/T4 and antibodies. I have just moved to a new town and have a new doctor and had all my levels tested this week....just waiting for the results now.

I have noticed that my TSH has been climbing for the past few years. It was 0.55 about 4 years ago and has steadily increased to 2.4 without any change to my meds. I have started putting on weight lately and have felt very lethargic as well as starting to wonder why I haven't fallen pregnant, which has prompted me to get my levels checked.

Should by Thyroxine be increased to get my TSH down to around 1? Do you know where I can get some reliable literature about this to show my doctor?

Cheers,
Mel

Hi Mel.......................I found this...........

Some infertility specialists believe that for optimal fertility, the TSH level should be 2 mIU/ml or less, and will treat patients with thyroxine in order to do so, though this is still controversial.

http://www.drmalpani.com/thyroid.htm

And there is so much more on the net. Just put TSH range for fertility in your search engine and you will turn up a lot of info.

Bear in mind that if you do get pregnant, the fetus is at a high risk and you must have a specialist who knows how to manage your prenancy.

And yes, titrating the thyroxine upward in small increments is the way to go under the care of your doctor and labs.

Good luck and keep us informed.

[mw6280]

Hi Mel.......................I found this...........

Some infertility specialists believe that for optimal fertility, the TSH level should be 2 mIU/ml or less, and will treat patients with thyroxine in order to do so, though this is still controversial.

http://www.drmalpani.com/thyroid.htm

And there is so much more on the net. Just put TSH range for fertility and you will turn up a lot of info.

Bear in mind that if you do get pregnant, the fetus is at a high risk and you must have a specialist who knows how to manage your prenancy.

And yes, titrating the thyroxine upward in small increments is the way to go under the care of your doctor and labs.

Good luck and keep us informed.

Hi Andros,

Just got my most recent blood test results:

TSH - 2.5
Free T3 - 3.6
Free T4 - 15.3

So it seems my TSH is a little high?

I also asked the doctor to test my thyroid antibodies because I have Hashi's. Seems she asked for my Anti-Nuclear antibodies (which were neg) to be tested rather than Microsomal and Thyroglobulin antibodies. I find this annoying! Shouldn't she have known what to test for??!! I feel I shouldn't have to tell her exactly what test I need, she should tell me! I told her I had Hashi's and I wanted my thyroid antibodies to be tested....might be time to try another doctor!

Is a TSH of 2.5 enough to warrant me feeling so tired or is it all in my head?

Cheers,
Mel

[Andros]

Hi Andros,

Just got my most recent blood test results:

TSH - 2.5
Free T3 - 3.6
Free T4 - 15.3

So it seems my TSH is a little high?

I also asked the doctor to test my thyroid antibodies because I have Hashi's. Seems she asked for my Anti-Nuclear antibodies (which were neg) to be tested rather than Microsomal and Thyroglobulin antibodies. I find this annoying! Shouldn't she have known what to test for??!! I feel I shouldn't have to tell her exactly what test I need, she should tell me! I told her I had Hashi's and I wanted my thyroid antibodies to be tested....might be time to try another doctor!

Is a TSH of 2.5 enough to warrant me feeling so tired or is it all in my head?

Cheers,
Mel

Yes; in some cases a TSH @ 2.5 could warrant that but the caveat is the antibodies. That is why it is so important to have these tests. If they are raging, you will feel very sick and tired no matter what your TSH says. The Free T4 and Free T3 are important as well.

AACE here in the U.S. recommends TSH be @ 0.3 to 3.0; Canada recommends less as the top of the range. Either way you look at it you are creeping up there.

The lab tests listed are helpful when it comes to sorting things out.

TSH, FREE T3, FREE T4, TPO (antimicrosomal antibodies), ANA (antinuclear antibodies), TSI (thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin) and Thyroglobulin Ab.

You can look all of the above up here so you know what they are for........
http://www.labtestsonline.org/

And by the way, if you don't have any ANA (antinuclear antibodies), that does not mean you are well and that does not mean you don't have antibodies indigenous to the thyroid such as the ones listed above.