Thryoid affecting fertility...
- Thread starter Nikki K.
- Start date
Actually i wouldn't mind knowing the answer to that. My thyroids just dont' work at all (not under or over...jsut dont' work). I started taking tablets to regulate it, but kept forgetting. I'm now forcing myself to remember....keep them with folic Acid.
I haven't been diagnosed with thyroid problems, but am having tests at the moment.
The main fertility problem associated with thyroid problems (hypo or hyper) is a lack of ovulation. If you don't ovulate, you can't conceive, simple as that. A secondary problem is that the thyroid is involved with hormone production, and if the thyroid is not working properly, the hormones can be a bit wonky, leading to irregular menstrual cycles and/or short luteal phases (Hara, take note!). There's no real effect from irregular menstrual cycles, as long as you're aware of what's going on - the main issue there would be timing intercourse accurately. The short luteal phase is more of a problem, in that if you have <c.10 days between ovulation and your period, you may fertilise an egg but not have enough time for the fertilised egg to implant before the lining disintegrates.
The first thing you should do is work out whether or not you are ovulating. OPKs (ovulation predictor kits) will show you when you have a surge of luteinising hormone (severe thyroid conditions may suppress LH production) but the only way to know for sure whether or not you have ovulated is by charting, and observing a temperature rise at the time of ovulation. See my FF link below. The other thing about charting is if you have hypothyroidism (which your low TSH levels suggest may be the case), your body temperature will be on the low side. My doctor didn't believe my charts at first, so took my temperature in his office, and then said he'd never seen anyone with such a low temperature outside a hospital. That's when he looked again at the irregular cycles and the fact that at that point, I hadn't had a +OPK or a Peak on my monitor for 3 months, and said it was time to do thyroid tests. This cycle - the cycle of the tests! - the temps are higher than they've ever been and the OPK/monitor has been totally normal - sod's law, I guess.
As well as TSH, I'm having a test for prolactin - that's the hormone produced by the pituitary gland, directly affected by the thyroid, and which affects fertility. If you haven't been tested for that, it's worth asking.
So in summary, the most important thing is to establish if you're ovulating. If you're not, you should go to your doctor. If you are, that's the biggest barrier overcome. The next stage is to establish your luteal phase - you really need at least three cycles to do this, and you take an average of the length of time between ovulation day and the first proper day of your period (full red flow, not spotting). If the average is <10 days, go back to your doctor. If more, there is no (thyroid-related) reason why you can't conceive and carry a pregnancy. The next stage would be to time your intercourse accurately, especially if your cycles are irregular. The best time is the day of ovulation and the two days before.
Hope that helps, but maybe somebody else will have more info for you!
The main fertility problem associated with thyroid problems (hypo or hyper) is a lack of ovulation. If you don't ovulate, you can't conceive, simple as that. A secondary problem is that the thyroid is involved with hormone production, and if the thyroid is not working properly, the hormones can be a bit wonky, leading to irregular menstrual cycles and/or short luteal phases (Hara, take note!). There's no real effect from irregular menstrual cycles, as long as you're aware of what's going on - the main issue there would be timing intercourse accurately. The short luteal phase is more of a problem, in that if you have <c.10 days between ovulation and your period, you may fertilise an egg but not have enough time for the fertilised egg to implant before the lining disintegrates.
The first thing you should do is work out whether or not you are ovulating. OPKs (ovulation predictor kits) will show you when you have a surge of luteinising hormone (severe thyroid conditions may suppress LH production) but the only way to know for sure whether or not you have ovulated is by charting, and observing a temperature rise at the time of ovulation. See my FF link below. The other thing about charting is if you have hypothyroidism (which your low TSH levels suggest may be the case), your body temperature will be on the low side. My doctor didn't believe my charts at first, so took my temperature in his office, and then said he'd never seen anyone with such a low temperature outside a hospital. That's when he looked again at the irregular cycles and the fact that at that point, I hadn't had a +OPK or a Peak on my monitor for 3 months, and said it was time to do thyroid tests. This cycle - the cycle of the tests! - the temps are higher than they've ever been and the OPK/monitor has been totally normal - sod's law, I guess.
As well as TSH, I'm having a test for prolactin - that's the hormone produced by the pituitary gland, directly affected by the thyroid, and which affects fertility. If you haven't been tested for that, it's worth asking.
So in summary, the most important thing is to establish if you're ovulating. If you're not, you should go to your doctor. If you are, that's the biggest barrier overcome. The next stage is to establish your luteal phase - you really need at least three cycles to do this, and you take an average of the length of time between ovulation day and the first proper day of your period (full red flow, not spotting). If the average is <10 days, go back to your doctor. If more, there is no (thyroid-related) reason why you can't conceive and carry a pregnancy. The next stage would be to time your intercourse accurately, especially if your cycles are irregular. The best time is the day of ovulation and the two days before.
Hope that helps, but maybe somebody else will have more info for you!
Thanks Kittykins. I have to say that i've started my thyroid tablets again the other day, and it didn't take long to bring my thyroids up to a level that was satisfactory.
Will see how the cahrt goes this month and for the next few months and will know from there i guess..
thanks again for the info.
Will see how the cahrt goes this month and for the next few months and will know from there i guess..
thanks again for the info.
you're welcome, sorry it's not very detailed! Forgot to post this link:
http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/fertilitythy.htm
It had some recommended reading on there somewhere.
http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/fertilitythy.htm
It had some recommended reading on there somewhere.
I never realised thyroid problems could affect fertility! My sister has an underactive thyroid, diagnosed from 2 days old, but she always takes her tablets religiously. I hope it doesnt affect her fertility. It's a hireditery thing ( i think) my aunt has it, and my sis has it, so there is a chance my baby will have it too. I dont know if it's affected my aunt because as far as i know she's never tried to have children, shes a commitment phob (at 50 lol) and has a bf but they dont even live together even though they've been together longer then my parents lol
