Thyroid & Fertility? a little long

mchupie

Hi ladies, my doctor ordered me a thyroid test (TSH) when I told her that my hair was falling out a bit more than I would expect, and I got my results yesterday.  I was relieved to see it was normal (2.66, the lab's reference range is 0.5-4.66).

But then I started looking it up online, and found a number of doctors who say that a healthy level is between 1 and 2, and that women could possibly have impaired fertility at levels higher than 2.  Also, people with a value of 2.5 or higher will likely have some hypothyroid symptoms (i.e. hair falling out, fatigue, dry skin...which I have).

I'm planning on calling my doctor to ask about it, but I was wondering if anyone else has had their thyroid tested.  If so, were your results normal or abnormal?  It it was abnormal, how are you being treated?  I never realized that your thyroid can cause infertility, so I'm just trying to learn as much about this as I can.  TIA!

kofmkg

Thyroid problems run in my family, so my doc has tested me annually for this.  The nurse told me that my b/w results for TSH and 2 other hormones was "excellent."

I'm glad your results came back normal, but I can understand your concern, too.  Good luck.

j_luvs_r

I have hypothyroidism (underactive, so my levels are always slightly elevated).  I take medication daily to regulate it.  Not sure what my numbers were the last time though.  Sorry.  My symptoms were fatigue, minimal hair loss (but more than normal), dry skin, and weight gain.

chuleysnackety

I've had some thyroid issues and the Dr said it is what caused my m/c (but my thryoid was 38 at the time ).. Very recently the levels were lowered from about 1-5 being normal to about 2.5-3 .. so you are just about borderline and because this change is recent, not all drs are going by these numbers ( or labs for this matter).. I have kind of the same concern. I went from a 38 to a 2.8 in one month on synthroid (100mcg) so thankfully it is a easy problem to fix.. HTH GL!

huddlstn

I have Graves Disease, which is basically hyperthyroidism.  I took radioactive iodine to kill off some of my thyroid, making me hypo, and I'm now on thyroid med. 

Anyway, my RE wants to see me around a 2 for TSH, maybe even lower (I was at 0.5 when I was last tested, and she said that just fine for TTC).  If you are having some symptoms, then you might want to start a low dose of a medicine like levoxyl (I have no side effects on it).  When I do get pregnant, I will need to instantly increase my medication, since I don't have much of a thyroid left to do it for me, and thyroid levels are supposed to increase during pregnancy.  So even if you go on medication now, I'd also suggest getting your TSH tested again as soon as you get pregnant, since hypothyroidism in pregnancy can cause a lot of problems.  Good luck! 

5de5

My level was also 2.66 which the lab and my regular doc said was "normal." My symptoms were weight gain despite exercise, dry skin and really long cycles (all over 45 days).  When I started to see an RE he wants me down to around 2 because we are TTC.  I take armour thyroid which is dissected pig thyroid (I know it sounds gross). I've been on it for a little over a month and my level is now 2.2.   However you should be warned that even if your doctor agrees with the new numbers, your insurance may not. It's been a battle with my insurance because they consider me "normal" and won't pay for the prescription.

mchupie

Hi ladies, thanks for the advice!

Luckily, my doctor's office is a co-op (meaning my insurance company and doctor's office are one and the same), so I don't have to worry about the insurance company middlemen.