Hypothyroid and swaying pink??

[Turning the page]

Hello all-
I have been lurking in the shadows for several weeks now, reading and researching nearly every sticky and post for TTC pink. I have a question for any who may know...
Some background first: I have hypothyroidism, which was discovered during routine labs drawn when I found I was pregnant with my first (DS--18 mos now). I've always been in a healthy weight and a runner, so this surprised me. My MW's started me on low-dose Synthroid, which kept me in the low-normal range, and I had an uneventful and enjoyable pregnancy. After pregnancy, however, things went haywire, and long story short, my thyroid completely kicked the bucket. My dose of Synthroid was raised over and over, from 25 mcg to my present dose of 100 mcg daily. While my levels are now "normal", they are hovering very low (which conversely means 'high' TSH) in the normal range. I have read some data suggesting that low thyroid levels (aka HIGH TSH) can result in a shortened follicular phase. I noticed this myself, with my normal 29-30 day cycles shortening to around 26 days right before conceiving and same way now (O'ing on day 12-13 on average, vs. 15-16). Luteal phase remains consistent around 13 days. And my BBT is on the lowish end (96.5 pre-O to 97.5 post-O).
So my question (finally, sorry): Should I aim for a higher thyroid hormone level (still in the normal range, of course) to lengthen my follicular phase and possibly raise my BBT? Or is this theory of swaying pink hogwash? No reason to stress myself and raise my testosterone if it doesn't matter--lol! My endocrinologist is game for whatever.
Thanks in advance, ladies, for your opinions.

[Butterfly Spirit]

I'm SO glad you posted this thread!
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism when I was 19.

Last year when my postpartum period returned I was ovulating on day 16 which was normal for me, but soon my ovulation tests were acting weird, and I would not ovulate until around day 23 of my cycle therefore shortening my luteal phase. I had a super nurser at the time though so I didn't really think anything of it. Then in February my opks did the weirdest thing they have ever done they were shooting multiple positives, and ended up doing 8 +opks in a row. After a couple months of that, I learned that my egg was having a problem getting out of the starting gate and I heard about a wonderful herb called Vitex that was helping women to conceive, and battle pcos as I started to think that I had that. So I decided it was time to try Vitex. With my very first cycle it moved my +opk to day 15! I was just amazed, and I got pregnant that cycle on April 21, however I still had multiple opks so I was still confused. Before I got my positive BFP I was bleeding on April 17, and the following Mon I went to the doctor and I had my thyroid checked along with my hcg. I found out that my TSH was screaming at my thyroid to make more hormone... it was 20. something!!!!
He put me on 100 micrograms but It was too late, and I had no idea.
I just miscarried my baby yesterday, and now I know it was my thyroid. The more I think about it, the more it ALL makes sense, and with your post you put together the pieces of my BIG puzzle.
My advice is stay within the normal range and if you need Vitex to legnthen your luteal phase, it is a great way to go.
If you take it, take it from the first day of your period to the first positive opk you get. Then stop.

Go ahead and ask some ladies and do some internet research, but I will personally recommend it to anyone.

You can buy it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Way-Vi...3&sr=8-1-fkmr1

[PeonyPrincess]

Butterfly, I just read that you had a m/c yesterday. That's awful. I hope you can get your thyroid under control and the next baby has no problems along the way.

Turning the page, sorry I don't know the best advice to answer your question. I was found to have a borderline case of hypothyroidism early in this pregnancy, so have been put on thyroxine just to be safe. GL with your upcoming sway.

[Butterfly Spirit]

Thank you Peony sweetie! I feel SO much hope for my next little one, and that she will come FAST!
I've been given such wonderful advice from Atomic and Mocha, and I am now on my way!
It really is possible to get pregnant like a month after miscarriage. I found a couple ladies on youtube that did. One of them kept getting her hcg levels checked and I guess she fell pregnant before she knew they went to zero. When it was time to determine gender, her and her hubby were absolutely positive it was a boy, and then she showed the ultrasound and I saw the skull onthe youtube video and said "nope!"
*giggle* then she and her hubby had the gender party SHOCKED it was a GIRL!!!!
I have to go so fast before DH realizes what happened again hehe I'll try to convince him that I can't get prego for a few months Problem is, he's already dragging his feet on his supplements because it's "too early".
With me my levels dropped from 543 to 50 from Sun to Wed, so I'm pretty sure that I'll be zero pretty darn quick here.

I am so happy that they screened your thyroid during your pregnancy! Make sure not to take it with any food an hour before you take it, and don't take your prenatal or other supplements any less than 4 hours from your medicine. With my last pregnancy I was VERY lucky because I took it in the am when I was at work ALONG with my prenatal and folic!!! And that is BAD! It's a pain in the neck to space the meds out so I forgot to take it a lot in the past few months.
I never dreamed it would cause me to miscarry, and I never want that to happen to anyone like it happened to me!

[PeonyPrincess]

You are sounding really positive which is great. I'm sure it will all work out well with that attitude.
Yes, I do take it well before food in the morning...drives me crazy as I wake up hungry! And at the very beginning I didn't realise I had to take it separately from my prenatal, but I soon clued on, and have been doing that too.
I asked to get tested as soon as I got the BFP as my mum has hypothyroidism and last year when I was checked it was borderline.
I hope your body recovers quickly and starts to prepare to make a home for your new little bean! Take care.

[Turning the page]

Butterfly--I am so sorry to hear about the m/c. I hope things are going as smoothly as can be expected, and I'm glad to hear you're jumping back on the wagon! And thank you for sharing your experience...I think I'm gonna get my doc to nudge up my dose a little and start Vitex a couple of months before our attempt (probably not for 4-5 months, unfortunately). We'll see how things go.

[atomic sagebrush]

PLEASE do not mess with your doses of medication for swaying. I do not think there's anything solid to the temps theory and if your temp is low because of your thyroid, that would not indicate anything helpful for swaying anyway (because the temps theory is about HORMONES, not about your temps. The temps indicate what the hormones are doing, there's nothing magic about temperatures, it's what they tell us about the hormones that matter...if indeed they matter, which they probably do not.)

That having been said, we've noticed that you may have a better pregnancy outcome with higher levels of TSH - low normal may not be ideal for sustaining a pregnancy. So that reason alone may be reason enough to increase your dose - not to scare you, but I know of a couple people with low-normal TSH who had second-tri losses that then went onto have successful pregnancies when their meds were increased. If you ever go onto InGender, Minerva's Mommy is an expert in thyroid issues because she went through it herself, and she can help better than I can.

[Turning the page]

That having been said, we've noticed that you may have a better pregnancy outcome with higher levels of TSH - low normal may not be ideal for sustaining a pregnancy.

Thanks, Atomic. I've read similar articles in the past suggesting that "higher-normal" thyroid hormone levels are optimal for pregnancy, especially in those who have suffered m/c in the past. In any case, I would never screw around with my thyroid just to sway. I've felt slightly sluggish for the past couple of months (which is why I had labs with my doc several weeks ago), and that's when we discovered I was on the very low end of normal. We've already bumped Synthroid up to 100 mcg, and I'm having repeat labs in about two months. So, we shall see. I was concerned more about my hypothyroid status causing a shortened follicular phase (higher, more intense rise in estrogen due to elevated FSH causing earlier-than-normal LH surge). I'm a research nerd! Thanks for a great site, by the way. I was on IG for a while, but I appreciate your no-nonsense, evidence-based approach much more!

[atomic sagebrush]

I wouldn't worry about the shortened follicular phase swaying. We've been finding that both oddly short and oddly long cycles (exception - long cycles due to PCOS = more boys) seem to be associated with more girl conceptions, while very regular average cycles seem to be associated with more boy conceptions. Please understand, it's very unlikely that short or long cycles CAUSE more girls than boys to be conceived, it's that short/long cycles seem to coincide with some sort of hormonal situation that makes you more likely to conceive girls. No one needs to panic if they have regular cycles - the hormones are what matter, not the cycle lenght. It's just that oftentimes odd cycles seem to go hand-in-hand with more pink conceptions.

Research nerds are ALWAYS welcome here!!!

[Butterfly Spirit]

Butterfly--I am so sorry to hear about the m/c. I hope things are going as smoothly as can be expected, and I'm glad to hear you're jumping back on the wagon! And thank you for sharing your experience...I think I'm gonna get my doc to nudge up my dose a little and start Vitex a couple of months before our attempt (probably not for 4-5 months, unfortunately). We'll see how things go.

Thank you Turning. I am feeling a lot better than I was a week ago. Things are looking up! Hey, you and I are on the same dose! I'm taking levothyroxine, because for some odd reason synthroid makes my hair fall out.
I wish you luck sweetie! Keep in touch!