When I had my second beta drawn on Thursday my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was elevated. Not off the charts elevated, in fact it was still within therapeutic range, so not horrible, but concerning just the same. Since the prescribing physician is not my RE, they are requesting that my PCP (the prescribing physician) monitor and manage my thyroid care. Thankfully I was able to make an appointment for Tuesday to check in with my doctor and see where I need to go from here. I'll be five weeks tomorrow and hope the changes in medication will take effect quickly. When I started thyroid medication last year within 4 weeks my level had nearly cut in half and within 8 weeks it was less than 1/4 of what it was when I started, so I'm feeling pretty confident that we caught the rise early and it will quickly be remedied.
When I consulted Dr. Google on the matter I read all kinds of scary things, but I also read that high levels of HCG (hello 889 @ 11dp5dt) and increases in estrogen (2036 @ 9dp5dt) can elevate TSH. My RE reduced my estrace dose down to 2mg /day from 4mg/day starting last Wednesday, so that too could help improve the levels. We'll see.
The moral of this story? Even if you don't have thyroid issues pre-pregnancy it is a good idea to have your levels checked early in pregnancy. It isn't something my clinic tests right away, so I had to ask to have it done and I'm SO glad I did!
I'll be sure and update tomorrow after the appointment!
2 comments:
When I saw my endocrinologist, he told me that if I had a positive pregnancy test that I should take one extra pill a week until I could get in to see him. The half life or absorption rate of thyroid meds is 7 days so he told me that you just need a little more medication during that whole time. He also said that the first trimester is the most important time to have your thyroid levels right because that is when the baby's brain is developing.
I hope that info is helpful, but I look forward to hearing what your doc says.
Hoping things turn around for you quickly!!! My thyroid specialist told me the same thing: elevated estrogen from early pregnancy and estrace almost always cause a dip in thyroid function (and thus an elevated TSH level). Even though we had increased my medication, my thyroid function still dipped, which terrified me a little! It came back under control pretty quickly and all is well! :)
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