Re: Clair-Questions

[Guest guest]

Hi Clair-

I missed this one when we were gone.

You might have to eat the cost for IVF even if you do pay a lot of money for

insurance if you go that route. We pay $670/mo for an HMO which pays a

minimal amount for infertility (and nothing for IVF and any drugs or

injections, doctor visits, U/S, or hospitalization associated with it).

Once we stopped fighting with the insurance company to pay for some of it,

it took a big stressor off of me. Although we did have to go into debt to

pay for our babies, it was a relief not to struggle and fight with people

that didn't care whether I had a baby or not.

Your pregnant cousin will understand if you cannot be around her if she had

to resort to IVF to get pregnant. I had trouble being around any pregnant

woman for 4 years regardless of how she got that way (even a dear friend

that had to go through IVF-she understood completely). After my

miscarriage, it was even worse (and a miscarriage isn't as hard as a

stillbirth). I would cry reading this list when other women that had

trouble getting pregnant were successful and I wasn't. It wasn't that I

wasn't very happy for them, I was just so sad for me (so don't feel like

there's something wrong with you if you delete any pregnancy posts). During

this time, you need to avoid anything that might hinder you in your quest to

get well and pregnant. That's your priority right now.

About the BRT. I forget why you're going that route. Is it to get your

levels stable as fast as possible? If so, there might be some fluctuations

while you do try to get on a minimal dose of PTU and off the Synthroid

(which I think they'd want during pregnancy). Your dose of PTU isn't very

high, so I wouldn't think it would take that long to come down (they like

100 mg of PTU during pregnancy although they'll consider up to 300). There

is no real time frame for remission and I haven't seen any studies

contrasting BRT success with ATD use alone with regard to the time it takes

to get stable (if anybody out there has, please feel free to pop in).

You don't have to wait til your thyroid antibody levels are down although it

seems that it's easier to get pregnant for many people if they're gone. The

antibodies that cause infertility aren't the same ones that cause thyroid

disease but the thyroid antibodies are believed to be an indicator that the

others are present as well if the patient can't get pregnant. Then they

test for the others. In other words, if the antithyroid antibodies go down

then the ones related to infertility go down too usually. If your antibody

levels are up, the treatments for infertility will be more expensive and you

might not be as successful.

I wish I could be more helpful. I don't think there are any clear answers.

Take care,

dx & RAI 1987 (at age 24)

> Hi everyone. Well, I am getting better after a nasty cold hit on

> Thursday. I went home on Friday at noon and basically slept until

> the next day. And that, of course, caused me to miss 2 doses of

> PTU. I could kick myself. Saturday I was OK and got back on track

> with my PTU. Sunday I was in a rage. Thankfully it calmed, but it

> ended up turning into depression. But I am smack in the middle of

> PMS. I am having a very hard time dealing with this again. Well,

> really, I'm coming up on the 2 year anniversary of my daughter's

> birth and death (12/14). Plus seeing my dad and sister and brother

> is always hard because inevitably I have to leave. And as much as I

> try to put on the damn cheerleader face, I am really beyond pissed

> that I have to deal with Graves after 20 months of trying to

> conceive. With a pregnant cousin expecting twins in Feb., this

> couldn't be harder. Love her. Love the babies. But don't see how I

> can be involved in any of it at all. How close to the edge can you

> come before you just fall. Sometimes I want to let myself lose it so

> I can go to a nice cushy institution for a while and get pumped full

> of drugs that will make me lose my senses. Because I think if I let

> up or gave in just a little, that's where I'd end up. And I know how

> sick it is that that's sounding like a viable and GOOD option.

>

> Well, now that I've ranted a little, I have a question. Supposing

> the dose of PTU I'm on lowers me to a good level, when can I actively

> start trying to conceive again? Do I have to wait for the antibodies

> to be gone? Do I have to wait until my dose lowers (I'm on 150mg

> now)? Do I have to wait to add Synthroid to the mix? All I want is

> to get back in the baby game. All I want is to make use of this

> insurance I pay way too much for so I can have infertility coverage.

> I want to make use of UCLA medical center, the same group that got

> said cousin pregnant with those twins (IVF). I've been on hold since

> September. It's not easy. So if anyone has anyt insight on protocl

> concerning BRT and conception, I'd much appreciate it. If I know

> about how long I need to wait or what I need to do, I'll feel a lot

> better.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Clair

> Diagnosed with Graves 1995 (at age 19)

> Remission for 5 years following BRT

> Relapse diagnosed 10/02, possibly from pregnancy

> Going with BRT again, 150mg PTU

> Desperately want to get better to have a baby