Have you been diagnosed with autoimmune hypothyroidism, or Hashimoto’s? If you know you have hypothyroidism and haven’t had your thyroid antibodies tested you need to now. Especially if you’re trying to get pregnant. You may have Hashimoto’s and have very few symptoms, or no symptoms at all, besides infertility.
There are over 200+ symptoms we can relate back to thyroid function, so it is something we look into with all our women trying to get pregnant.
More posts will come in the future about thyroid health and fertility, but for now we wanted to give a brief review of a study done in women with Hashimoto’s, who are being medicated with levothyroxine, or synthroid, and how it improves their AMH levels.
AMH, or anti-mullerian hormone, is expressed by granulosa cells in the ovary and works at a basic level it helps limit follicular development, so your body ends up recruiting one awesome follicle to mature and continue through to ovulation. As the follicle develops, AMH decreases, and FSH increases to speed along the maturation process.
AMH once was used as a level for ovarian reserve, but recent research has suggested it is not necessarily helpful when it comes to estimating the amount and quality of eggs available. As we age, AMH tends to decrease with fertility.
When it comes to thyroid health, it’s important for fertility that your TSH, or thyroid stimulating hormone, is kept below 2.5uIU/mL, and that your thyroid antibodies aren’t elevated. Any autoimmune disease will have a negative impact on your fertility. If your thyroid antibodies are elevated, even if your TSH is below 2.5, your thyroid is still impacting your chances of conceiving.
This study did not go on to assess how many of these women got pregnant. But improvements in any fertility marker is a bonus, in our opinion. Managing Hashimoto’s prior to TTC or undergoing fertility treatments is vital for success.
If you’re curious about your thyroid health, or aren’t sure if you should be worried about your thyroid. Click here to download our top lab tests for fertility freebie. This goes into a bit more detail in terms of thyroid testing that are necessary, plus some other really important lab tests that can help get you answers.