Fertility Issues with Hypothyroidism

Hi, I have been trying to get pregnant for 4 years. I am seeing an acupunturist and she has told me that my TSH of 3.91 is high and that alot of fertility doctors want to see it at 2 to get pregnant. I have symptoms like cold all the time, sleeping too much, brittle nails and thyroid problems really run in my family. My kaiser doctor dismissed me 100% when I brought this up with her, saying you are fine.. and that the range of 1-5 is normal not the range of 1-3 which is newer that my acupunturist told me about.

Anyway my doctor won't treat me and I am convinced my thyroid is playing a role in this. I also had a free T4 test done and it was on the low end .9 and the scale starts at .7

Help! Does anyone know a doctor I can see at Kaiser or anywhere that will believe me and knows about this. Or a fertility clinic that will treat this. Or has anyone used natural supplements to bring their TSH level down and concieve.

Let me know!

I really suggest you call Dr. Buxton. You'll have to pay for it yourself, but if a pregnancy is the outcome then won't it be worth it? His office number is (415) 681- 7707. Jen

Your doctor is simply outdated. What's more, s/he should be more concerned that you feel bad than that your number is within range....There's reason #1 to find a new doctor. Good Luck

I married, joined Kaiser & wanted to be pregnant. I had several miscarriages and for 2 years begged Kaiser for thryoid. My TSH was a bit worse than yours- 4.9 (top of the range, meaning lower on thyroid) and my T4 was very low- (1 )- still the docs brushed me off, told me I was normal & they wouldn't treat out of range. ###Note: my mother and sister had trouble conceiving-trying for 7+ years each with multiple miscarriages- and both got pregnant the month after they began taking thyroid). Kaiser's infertility docs wouldn't give me thyroid either. Even after the fertility drugs failed.

Then, by chance, I had a drug reaction that was rare and I was able to convince my GP that this reaction was caused by low thyroid (it is indicated in the drug notes) - A blood test confirmed the reaction. Only then, and quite reluctantly, my GP gave me thyroid. [[[This drug reaction was a lucky break, so to speak]]]

I got pregnant my next cycle, did not miscarry and now I have a son! Once I was pregnant the Kaiser docs were very diligent about keeping my TSH normalized and even increased my levothroid dose. Today, I see a doctor outside of Kaiser who wants to keep my TSH closer to 2! Many private fertility clinics want your TSH closer to 2. ^^^^^^^So, if you want to be pregnant, just pay out of pocket to see another doctor for a ''2nd opinion''. I'd suggest a ''women focused'' practice (not just a gyno, but the whole body of the woman). & preferably one that is more progressive (biodentical hormones, acupuncture, etc.) and more likely to look at the newer data on thryoid levels.

Keep trying all the other fertility treatments available too- once your thryoid is fixed. It could be a combination of problems you have.

###Note 2: I was miscarrying nearly every other month (very early miscarriages!- late miscarriages too) I would take the ''first response'' pg tests before my period- and have a ''+'' result till my period was 3-4 days late, then I'd get my period. I had a blood test at Kaiser on at least 2 of these early miscarriages, that proved I had been pregnant To me, this showed I was ovulating pretty well, & that something was making me miscarry. Kaiser, however, felt it was just ''bad eggs''. Which makes sense- but the fact I got pregnant and stayed pregnant the first month after thyroid makes that assumption not so assured. done that

1) I got the book _Living Well with Hypothyroidism_ by Mary Shomon. Her website is: http://www.thyroid-info.com/. The book is incredibly helpful on many levels. I cannot recommend it highly enough. In the book is a list of every possible symptom of hypothyroidism. I checked off mine (18 of them), despite being on horomones and having a ''normal'' TSH of 5-6.

2) Next, I emailed my doctor a detailed list of each symptom, and I included references to the latest studies which showed that a TSH at 2 or just under was better for patients. The email was very long, and since Kaiser emails are limited, it took several emails, just to get the complete message across. Do bombard your doctor. She needs to hear it.

3) I was referred to an endocrinologist at Kaiser, Dr. Bashkir. He says that your TSH should be close to 2 as well. If you need to, I would include in your email to the regular doctor that you would like to be referred to an endocrinologist. The Kaiser endocrinologists have information the regular doctors do not have. (You should put this info in your email as well.)

I suggest that if emails do not get you a referral to an endocrinologist at Kaiser, switch doctors until you get this taken care of.

You must constantly push your Kaiser doctor to get an help with thyroid problems -- at least this has been my unpleasant experience. kiwi

1) For inspiration, here is a story of a woman who finally got pregnant by battling her doctors to get her TSH level to below 2.0.

http://thyroid.about.com/b/2009/02/26/pregnant-thyroid-fertilityhtm.htm

2) For information about the thyroid, here is a list of the top 10 thyroid websites, which are critiqued by patient advocate Mary Shomon:

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/basicinformation/a/keysites.htm

Good luck! Know what you're going through