This post is more for me to document what my lab results were than anything...feel free to skip it.
Test date: 7/15/08 (gave blood today that's why I have these numbers)
HGB - 13.2
B/P 110/80
Temp 98.6
Pulse 62
Test Date: 7/2/08
Glucose: 92 (normal is 65-99)
Total Cholesterol: 155 (100-199)
Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO): 485 (normal is 0-34)
Antithyroglobulin: 392 (norm is 0-40)
Thyroxine (T4) Free, Direct: 0.94 (normal is 0.61-1.76)
TSH: 4.117 (norm is 0.350-5.500)
Triiodothyronine, Free, Serum: 2.7 (norm is 2.3-4.2)
I faxed the results page to my RE, they are supposed to call me tomorrow.
I'm still spotting...requires a pantyliner now. I'm beginning to think I should postpone this cycle until I can get some answers on the Thyr0id thing. But I've waited over a year to move forward...it's so frustrating to be this close to starting again and having this crap thrown at us.
I've had more medical issues this year than I would have thought...abnormal paps, cervical dysplasia, HPV, arthritis, now this issue. UUUGGGHH! Someone please hit my "normal" button so that I can return to my "healthy" self!
12 comments:
But look how normal your temp is!
I hope your RE can help you figure it all out.
I'm interested in hearing what your RE has to say about your thyroid levels.
Ugggh! I hope the thyroid thing turns out to be no big deal.
Why cant we just all go to staples nd get the "easy button"
I tried, but your remote control seems to be missing its batteries :) Ok, bad joke...
I understand the not wanting to wait one more month...but on the other hand, if waiting one more month would equal even a slightly higher chance of obtaining the BFP it may be worth it...This coming from someone on a self imposed break...I know...assvice at its finest.
I wish I had a theory for your numbers as I did mine. Sigh...
Something is certainly going on there. I am always worried about my thyroid. Problems with it run in my family. I hope you can get some answers.
Hi. I'm over here from Lost & Found.
I'm a mom to one conceived on IVF #4, which was the only IVF I did after my thyroid problem was treated and diagnosed. While I'm not a doctor (and have no medical training whatsoever), I did a ton of reading and talking with a thyroid specialist to get my problem diagnosed and effectively treated. I now basically live to post information about thyroid conditions on the internet in hopes it may be useful to someone else. So here goes.
First, I would argue that your TSH is not normal. In 2003 (2003!!!), the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists issued a recommendation that the upper limit of this reference range be lowered to 3.0. You can read the Association's press release on this topic here: http://media.aace.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=4584
There is some disagreement over this recommendation (and as your experience shows, many labs haven't altered their ranges, and many doctors aren't aware of the change). If you're interested in why the disagreement exists, I can post more about that. But for now, just let me say that thyroid function is incredibly important to both conceiving and to pregnancy, and thyroid under-function (which is what elevated TSH indicates) is associated with a wide array of really unpleasant stuff, including miscarriage and pre-term birth.
Anti-thyroid antibodies (going beyond just thyroid dysfunction) are themselves correlated with increased risk of miscarriage. I too have wildly high ones. I am convinced, and I believe medical research is beginning to provide increasing amounts of evidence to support, that much of this problem relates to thyroid under-function, especially in women who need ART to conceive. Estrogen binds to the principal hormone made by the thyroid, meaning that high estrogen levels (such as those produced by Clomid or stims) stress the thyroid. If the thyroid is healthy, that's OK. But if it's not, it creates problems.
The good news is that thyroid underfunction (hypothyroidism) is easy to treat and can be treated safely and cheaply -- including while ttc/pregnant. In fact, if you need treatment, foregoing it is a really lousy idea and phenomenally dangerous to the pregnancy/embryo/fetus/baby. Basically, all you need to do is to take thyroid hormones in pill form (since your body cannot make enough of them) and to be monitored to make sure your dosage is correct.
Not only that, hypothyroidism is associated with a bunch of unpleasant symptoms, including (besides infertility) fatigue, low libido, depression, brittle nails, hair loss, dry skin, sensitivity to cold that typically respond well to treatment. So this is one of the few things we can do to improve our fertility that also makes us feel better. Woo Hoo!
If you want to read more about thyroid function and pregnancy, I'd recommend starting with this link on Mary Shomon's very good site (the main site is http://thyroid.about.com), which is the clinical guidelines for the management of thyroid problems in pregnancy and during the postpartum period (created by a group of endocrinologists from around the world under the leadership of the U.S.-based Endocrine Society) published in the August 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, and which can be found here:
http://thyroid.about.com/od/hormone
pregnantmenopause1/ss/pregnancyguide.htm.
Also, if you go to pubmed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez) and type "role of thyroid autoimmunity in fertility and pregnancy," you will pull up a link to the abstract of an article with that title that was just published and that provides a succinct overview of the issues facing women with thyroid problems who are trying to conceive with medical assistance.
Please let me know if you want more info.
Hi, I'm coming over from Lost & Found. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in January. More tests showed I tested positive for two thyroid antibodies (off the top of my head I can't remember them- sorry!). I now take synthroid every day. We're still playing with the dosage to get it exactly right, but I feel fine.
As I understand it, having thyroid antibodies can slightly raise your risk of miscarriage, as it suggests your body is more prone to attack itself. BUT, my fs really doesn't seem worried about it. (That said, I am just about to ovulate for the first time, so I have no helpful stories about carrying babies...yet.)
One other thing I thought I would mention is that there are new recommendations for the TSH now of 0.3 to 3.0, and most endocrinologists recommend your TSH be between 1 and 2 if you are trying to conceive. It's something to keep in mind if yours starts to climb any higher.
Yours isn't very high at all, so I wouldn't panic. But it is worth discussing with your RE.
Good luck! Give me a shout at my blog if you have any other questions!
Turia.
Hi there, came over from lost and found. I am pushing for my thyroid to be investigated also, because of family history. I am beginning to dig up more and more stories of thyroid issues and infertility. I hope you get some answers, let us know what happens!
Your RE is for reproduction. You need a regular endocrinologist specializing in thyroid. I STRONGLY recommend getting a referral to a endocrinologist. I just did because of higher thyroglobulin. I was diagnosed with hashimoto's and a nodule was found on my thyroid. It was missed by other people. Get a good endocrinologist, please. I am on daily meds for the thyroid now.
If your thyroid is messed up pregnancy is unlikely. your thyroid is important outside of pregnancy too.
good luck.
and they say that TSH should be between 1-2 to cycle.
Wishing you the best.
I have had thyroid antibodies. I had 1130 before my last thyroid surgery.
The only advice I can give is start taking selenium. Either a supplement or start eating a few Brazil Nuts a day. I did both, and it took a long time but my antibodies are down to normal now. Selenium is believed to be one of the only things that can clear the antibodies from your blood.
Good luck.
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