Feeling Down

Re: Feeling Down

• ttc3y member

  July 2022 edited July 2022

  @strongwarrior I’m so sorry to hear about your delay. That really sucks. Thyroid issues can be so pesky at times and can sometimes be related to autoimmune issues that can make things in your body go zany. Have you sought help with a functional medicine provider or naturopath to see if they could help stabilize your thyroid and hormone levels? I had to use some functional medicine techniques to help reset my body between the egg retrievals and the transfer. I’m glad I did the work because it created a healthier environment to accept the transfer of the embryo. 

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• strongwarrior member

  July 2022

  @ttc3y I booked an an acupuncture appointment so far. My doctor changed my Synthroid dosage  so I won’t be in an hyperthyroid state during embryo implantation. So many thoughts going through my mind. We had such a successful retrieval and embryo quality and now I feel as if I took three steps back.☹️ Trying to stay positive and keep myself busy. I have blood work in four weeks so we’ll see then what happens. We’re Most likely looking at a September transfer. Tsh can take up to eight weeks to stabilize. 

  
  

  What measures did you take in between retrieval and transfer? How are you feeling so far? I am so excited for you! When is your due date and have you told anyone you’re pregnant yet? Do you know the sex of your baby? ❤️
  

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• ttc3y member

  July 2022

  @strongwarrior I think it’s great that you booked an appointment with an acupuncturist. Acupuncture has been one of the cornerstones of supporting my fertility journey in all of the different phases. 

  
  Have your doctors tested you for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis? It’s a blood test that looks for Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies. If they haven’t, you really should. It will help connect the dots better with your health. Especially if your TSH is yo-yo-ing like that. 
  
   I have hypothyroidism too but tested negative for Hashimoto’s. If you read or follow any of Izabella Wentz’s work though, Hashimoto’s is deeply related to food sensitivities and gut health. I had discovered food sensitivities a year prior to my hypothyroidism diagnosis. By the time my TPO’s were tested and resulted in a negative, I was already addressing my food sensitivities at that point. It has taken 4 years to fully heal my gut and I’ve reintroduced most foods back into my diet. However, looking back, I think I was having signs of subclinical hypothyroidism when the food sensitivities were happening. I did levothyroxine at first too but didn’t tolerate it well and I’m much happier on NP Thyroid. Apparently, levothyroxine has lactose in it and I’m lactose intolerant and at one point, I had a food sensitivity to dairy too.  So synthroid/ levothyroxine was never a good option for me.  Another viable theory for my hypothyroidism is toxic exposure to an unknown substance but that is a hard one to prove for or against at this point since I’m years away from the time of diagnosis. I also have low grade PCOS which is tied to hypothyroidism but modern medicine really doesn’t know why it’s related. But I’ve been fortunate, my TSH has remained relatively stable. But I also worked on my diet and food sensitivities that also may have helped it. 
  

  
  

  We waited over a year between our retrievals and the transfer, partly due to the unknowns with COVID and also because I wasn’t mentally ready. And at the risk of sounding woo woo, my astrology chart was not supportive for me to transfer in 2021. My chart showed that 2022 would be a more favorable time. And boy was my astrological chart was right. My DH and I had to clear out a family estate last summer and long story short, I got exposed to mercury during the clean out. So when we returned home, I went to a naturopath who specialized in heavy metal detoxification. We tested for Arsenic, Cadmium and Mercury. She confirmed in fact that I had a high enough levels of Mercury in my body that necessitated an oral chelation treatment that took 3 months complete. Because of the chelation, I wasn’t ready to do the transfer until March 2022. But between the timing of my period and my Fertility doc’s schedule, the transfer didn’t happen until June.

  
  

  I did acupuncture twice a week a month prior to the transfer and then hired another acupuncturist to do the Paulus protocol pre and post transfer onsite (which actually has good scientific data to support its use with IVF). I still see my regular acupuncturist now to help me manage my first trimester symptoms which I believe is helping me manage through my nausea and fatigue. I have nausea but I’m not wrenching at the toilet. In spite of my aversion to food (particularly meat) and low appetite, I’m able to keep food and beverages down and I’m still eating 3 meals a day. 
  

  
  

  According to UpToDate, the ideal TSH prior to transfer is less than 2.4 and some experts say it should be closer to 1.4 or less. The TSH can start changing as early as 5 weeks of pregnancy and typically stabilize around the 12-16 week mark. So make sure to test your TSH early on in the pregnancy. 

  
  

  My TSH was 2.4 prior to the transfer. And by 6 weeks of pregnancy, my TSH was already 3.6 and I was noticing all of the hypothyroid symptoms - more hair loss and cold hands and feet (in the middle of summer nonetheless with indoor temp of 75!). I’m glad I advocated to test my thyroid at the 6 week ultrasound. My fertility doc wants my thyroid below 3.0 and they have upped my thyroid dose. I’m already feeling better with the dose change in less than a week. 

  
  

  I definitely encourage you to stay positive and practice gratitude. Thinking of at least 3 things to be grateful for everyday can really help boost your mood. They have to be specific and they have to be different each time. You can even download a free gratitude journal app to help you. The practice only takes 5 minutes out of your day. 

  
  

  My way of mentally coping through the wait in between the retrieval and transfer was enjoying and appreciating my lifestyle with no kids and not being pregnant. I enjoyed eating my sushi and some unpasteurized cheese. I drank a little wine. I enjoyed the fact that I can rest and be in quiet when I wanted to. I appreciated having the resources and time to pursue the hobbies I love and the small luxuries I can still afford. I enjoyed that I had flexibility and mobility to travel and live life without a routine. I am grateful for the time my husband and I have had to build a strong relationship and marriage. And I told myself regardless of the outcome of my IVF journey that I would live a very full life with or without kids. But I knew I would regret not at least trying everything in my power to create a family.

  
  

  I’m grateful that I’ve had nearly 2 decades of my adult life to find myself, heal, and know who I am. And now I’m grateful to be pregnant with the prospect of building a family. My husband and I have been transparent about our IVF journey and so our inner circle of friends know and my parents know about our pregnancy. We are also not very good liars (lol). Our baby is due on February 24th next year but I know that is just a ball park date. We got to see our baby’s heart beating at the 6 week ultrasound which was incredibly reassuring. And we have an appointment to see our little one today at nearly the 8 week mark. We could know the sex of the baby because of the genetic testing we did prior to the transfer. But honestly, our ttc journey has had so little romance and mystery and in many ways very clinical that I like the idea of waiting of finding out on the day our child is born. Regardless of sex, our baby is deeply loved and wanted. For me, that is the most important part. 

  
  

  @strongwarrior I so very much wish you the very best on your journey and I’m here to cheer you along the way and to send warm fuzzy thoughts on the hard days to let you know that you are not alone. I know your time will come and I pray that you will be successful. Be patient and take care for yourself. You are brave and strong. Hopefully by sharing parts of my story, it will help you too. ❤️

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