11 weeks pregnant with low tsh levels

Posted , 3 users are following.

Hi, I started to get sick since last August. Symptoms were weight loss, stomach ailments, mood swings, irregulaf periods, temperature changes (sometimes feeling very hot and then feeling extremely cold, nervousness, increased appetite and the list goes on. My GP did some test and it turned out i had tested high for H Pylori and i also my tsh levels were very low and he diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. He treated me for both problems. The second round of blood tests show that the h pylori was negative and the thyroid was normal but on the low side after being treated with carbimazole 5 mg daily. These treatments started  this year in February right on into July after being stopped and placed back on meds. I stopped taking the caribimazole in July. I never gained back weight i moved from 144 to 105 1bs. I stopped the meds because it was making me very sick. Now, i found out last month that i was pregnant  and the blood test confirmed that my tsh levels again were very low- of a range of 0.38-4.31: my tsh is 0.24. Again the other levels are normal. My pregnancy is terrible... i cant keep any thing done and i am freezing all the time. The doctor placed me on Propylthiouracil 50 mg and three days after taking it i developed a nasty flu and i am so weak and pale. Can someone please help me? Do u think my body is rejecting these meds because of a different problem other than hyperthyroidism?

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • Posted

    You need to become an empowered patient and in order to do this, you need to always get a paper copy of your lab tests, learn what the tests mean and keep your own file on them.  Your doctor should have done a thorough investigation for the cause of your hyperthyroidism.  It most often is caused by autoimmune diseases like Graves disease or Hashimoto's thyroiditis or a combination of both diseases as well as it could be caused just by a thyroiditis caused by a virus in which case it would be short-lived and will pass.  This can also be caused by thyroid nodules.  He should have tested you for Graves antibodies TSI and TRAb or in some cases TBII is done instead of the TRAb, as well as anti-TPO and TGAb for Hashimoto's.  Graves disease is an autoimmune disease where the antibodies attack the TSH receptor and Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disease where the antibodies attack the thyroid directly.  Also the usual lab tests to follow progress of treatment are TSH, Free T3 and Free T4.  I know many doctors do not do this but they should and this is what they do in Canada where I live.  If you have Graves disease, medication should not be discontinued until your antibody levels normalize, not just your thyroid lab tests.  In my case, I have been on antithyroid meds since 2007 decreasing levels as my labs improved and maintained on a low dose of meds.  The reaction you have to meds is common, especially if the dose given is too high.  The Propothiouracil drug you were currently given is the one approved for use in the first three months of pregnancy.  I believe after 3 months, they can switch to Carbimazole.  I found a combination of low dose of antithyroid meds plus added supplements helped me to go into remission.  Research studies have found that hyperthyroid patients often are low in carnitine levels (carnitine is an amino acid found in the body that helps with metabolism and levels are often low when patients are running hyper as they lose this from their muscles thru urination).  As well, vitamin D is extremely important as is Magnesium.  You can take suggested doses of these supplements to start. I asked my doc to test my levels in Total and Free Carntine, Vitamin D and Magnesium and I was deficient in all of these and used supplements.  The research study done on L-Carnitine and thyroid patients suggested a dose of 3,000 to 4,000 mg a day but I started at a low dose of 500 mg and raised it when I noted no ill effects from taking it.  If  you have Hashimoto's, you will control your levels best with the L-Carnitine and will only need a very minimal dose of antithyroid meds if at all.  One lady who posted to this Board was finally able to get control of her Hashimoto's disease with mostly the L-Carntiine alone.  If you have Graves, however, you will require at least a low dose of meds.
    • Posted

      Please can you advise where to buy the L Carntine from? Lucy
    • Posted

      thank u Linda. This is really a wealth of information that i need to work on. Greatly appreciate the interest shown!!!
    • Posted

      In Canada it is available at all Health Food Stores.  Or you can get it over the Internet on EBay and I believe also on Amazon.  This is the Regular L-Carnitine, not Acetyl-L-Carnitine.
    • Posted

      Thank you.

      Can you buy it from health food shops. I am in London.

    • Posted

      You should be able to buy it from Health Food Shops.  However, after giving this some thought, I would check with either your doctor or a Naturopath about the safety of using L-Carnitine in pregnancy.  A naturopath should know more.  I think it would be okay but if it were me, I would want to make sure.  I just looked it up on the Net and it said that doctors DO NOT recommend the use of L-Carnitine in pregnancy so I would reserve its use until after your pregnancy if your hyperthyroidism is still a problem then.  For now, the drug PTU (for short) that you were given is the drug of choice.

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.