Millions of people, who have thyroid problem, do not realise that it is the source of other health problems they face. Infertility is a major health threat due to undiagnosed and untreated thyroid. The grim reality is that about 18 to 20 per cent of couples in the reproductive age are infertile.
The thyroid hormone regulates cellular function; abnormal thyroid function can affect your fertility. Undiagnosed and untreated thyroid disease can be a cause for infertility or frequent miscarriage.
According to the Indian Thyroid Society, about 70 per cent of women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) have low thyroid levels, which make the ovaries less able to produce progesterone leading to PMS symptoms. In India, 25.6 per cent of the population has thyroid dysfunction and possibly resulted infertility.
Your thyroid could be the problem and your doctor may not even know it. Standard blood tests miss up to 80 per cent of cases in which low tissue thyroid levels are causing or contributing to infertility.
Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) is a condition in which the thyroid gland does not 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.
I can recall a case of my patient Payal Mehra, 29 and a working professional, whose world came crashing down when she learnt that she cannot conceive.
Payal was diagnosed with thyroid but she ignored and did not go for regular maintenance check ups. After one year when she underwent thyroid-stimulating hormone blood test she got to know that she is suffering from hypothyroidism due to which she is now unable to conceive.
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.
What are the symptoms?
The general symptoms are weight gain, fatigue, constipation, muscle and joint aches, sluggishness, intolerance towards cold weather, abnormal and irregular periods, fatigue, and sleeplessness. The skin may turn dry and thick. The hair may become coarse or thin. At times eyebrows disappears and nails become brittle.
If you feel the above mentioned symptoms immediately go for TSH ( test, chest x-ray, thyroxin test. 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 have hypothyroidism, thyroid hormone replacement is very effective in restoring fertility. It may take one or two months to normalise 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 six months or so.
Few tips help to overcome the problem are:
Losing weight is of utmost importance for a thyroid patient as it could directly impact your fertility. So consult a dietician or join a gym. Address your stress level for the proper functioning of your adrenal glands so that it couldn’t harm you much. You can try yoga or practice breathing exercises.
Five minutes walk in your pencil heels or office shoes also counts. It would be great if one can take out 30 minutes time from your routine to go for a walk. Take stairs instead as in life these small things also matters a lot.
If you found the early symptoms such as losing or weight gain, fatigue, constipation, muscle and joint aches, sluggishness, and intolerance towards cold weather, abnormal and irregular periods, fatigue, brittle nails, hair fall, skin blackening, and sleeplessness etc please do not push yourself back from seeing the doctor. Immediately go for the proper check up.
