Is your Thyroid Happy?

By Cassie Everett | November 22, 2023

The thyroid plays a crucial role in fertility, hormone balance and pregnancy. Did you know that hypothyroidism is really common in women who have unexplained infertility, ovulation disorders and premature ovarian failure?

Even a very mild thyroid imbalance can increase the risks of miscarriage.

ThyroidWhen there are high levels of thyroid antibodies found in the body, the immune system gets ready to attack the thyroid. This is the most common cause of hypothyroidism.  

It’s understood that thyroid antibodies may contribute to miscarriage risk by reducing the ability of the thyroid to rise to the demands of making extra hormones during pregnancy. Even when the thyroid is functioning normally before pregnancy, thyroid autoimmunity may result in a slight decrease in the ability of the thyroid to work, which can be detrimental as soon as you become pregnant.

Researchers have found that the miscarriage rate is 69% higher in women with an underactive thyroid gland and abnormal hormone levels. Moreover, women with PCOS are more likely to have hormonal imbalances indicative of an underactive thyroid. Studies have found thyroid antibodies in 25% of women with PCOS.

How to know if you have hypothyroidism?

Ask your doctor to run tests for you. If you have a history of miscarriage, PCOS, unexplained infertility, an ovulation disorder, or premature ovarian failure, thyroid testing is essential.

Unfortunately your doctor will generally only test TSH levels. What’s important to know about TSH levels is when you are trying to get pregnant it needs to be between 1 and 2.5 even though the ‘normal’ range is much wider than that. This is because as soon as you get pregnant the thyroid has to work harder so you want space for the thyroid to ramp up further at that time.

I do recommend my clients get a full thyroid panel test done as that looks at the following hormones and antibodies and your doctor generally won’t test all of these:

  • TSH
  • Free T4
  • Free T3
  • Reverse T3
  • Thyroid peroxidase antibodies
  • Thyroglobulin antibodies

I like medi-check for these tests in the UK, they offer a full thyroid panel that includes all of the above plus they check your Folate, Vitamin D and Vitamin B12 levels, this test costs £86 normally but for black Friday they are charging £64.50. Click here for the link.

If your thyroid test results are out of balance I recommend the following:

  • Cutting out gluten and lactose from your diet. This is because you will then reduce inflammation in the body that may be exasperating the autoimmunity that causes poor thyroid function.
  • Having individualised homeopathic treatment to strengthen your thyroid, email me to find out more.
  • If your doctor doesn’t take you seriously I recommend seeing an endocrinologist so you can get their opinion on treatment. Thyroid hormone treatment can be helpful for some people.
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