Is Thyroid giving you infertility?

By Dr. Shweta Goswami 

Infertility as we all know is the inability to conceive after one year of regular intercourse without contraception. It is one of the medial, social and psychological burdens in the world. The thyroid hormone regulates cellular function; abnormal thyroid function can affect your fertility. 

According to Indian Thyroid society about 70% of women with PMS have low thyroid levels, which make the ovaries less able to produce progesterone leading to PMS symptoms. 

Having trouble getting pregnant? Your thyroid could be the problem - and your doctor may not even know it. Standard blood tests miss up to 80 percent of cases in which low tissue thyroid levels are causing or contributing to infertility. 

What are the factors affecting your Thyroid health? 

Your thyroid levels can be affected by a variety of reasons such as: 

• High stress levels 
• Nutritional deficiencies, if you are not taking proper balanced diet 
• Immunity disorders 
• Excessive levels of estrogen and prolactin in the body 

Under active thyroid (hypothyroidism) is a condition in which the thyroid gland doesn't produce enough of certain important hormones. For women, there is a link between hypothyroidism and infertility. Low levels of thyroid hormone can interfere with ovulation, which impairs fertility. In addition, some of the underlying causes of hypothyroidism — such as certain autoimmune or pituitary disorders — impair fertility. 

Since standard thyroid blood tests are not sensitive enough to detect low ovarian tissue levels the majority of the time, Women must find a knowledgeable physician who understands that standard tests will often not be useful in detecting low ovarian thyroid levels. 

Let’s look at the symptoms of developing thyroid: 

The symptoms of hypothyroidism can be of many types. Some patients show no symptoms, while others show some marked symptoms. The symptoms usually depend on the severity of the hormone deficiency and the rate at which it develops in the patient. The symptoms are usually milder at the beginning but develop gradually as the condition deteriorates.

• weight gain 
• fatigue 
• constipation 
• muscle and joint aches 
• sluggishness 
• intolerance towards cold weather 
• abnormal and irregular periods 
• sleeplessness 
• skin may turn dry and thick 
• hair may become coarse or thin also at times eyebrows disappears and nails become brittle
• depression,
  
  feeling of anxiety
• excessive sweating 
• reduced sex drive 
• increased appetite
• irregular menstrual cycles and  
• Enlarged thyroid glands are a few symptoms of an over-active thyroid known as hyperthyroidism. 

Diagnosis:

If you feel the above mentioned symptoms immediately go for TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test, Chest X-ray, T4 or thyroxin test and consult a good gynecologist or infertility expert. 

It’s Treatment: 

Hyperthyroidism can be treated in many ways. However, a doctor chooses the line of treatment on the basis of a number of variables like the underlying cause of hyperthyroidism, the age of the patient, the size of the thyroid gland and the presence of coexisting medical illnesses. 

If you are found to have hypothyroidism, thyroid hormone replacement is very effective in restoring fertility. It may take 1-2 months to normalize your thyroid hormone levels with medication; and once you start medication, you must check your TSH levels to confirm they are in the normal range. You will usually need to continue the medicines for the rest of your life and recheck your thyroid function every 6 months or so. 

Follow these simple tips to overcome the problem: 

• Get proper diagnosis 
• Loose weight 
• Take Adequate sleep and omit stress 
• Go for regular exercises 
• Do not ignore early symptoms 

Infertility is a major health threat due to thyroid and many other conditions that are often the direct result of undiagnosed and untreated thyroid conditions. In order to lead a healthy life I would recommend that all patients who recognise any of these symptoms should go for a TSH test.