Extreme exhaustion (X Posted in April DDC)

[adoremybabe]

I've been posting about this in my DDC but decided that I needed to jump over here to get more input.

My TSH level is 2.95 (normal for mainstream standards) and my iron level is 13.9 (apparently normal). I am pretty much always tired to the point of wanting to lay down and take a nap. If I am able to shut my eyes for a bit I still wake up tired and remain tired. I've been going to bed at a decent hour becaue I have to wake up at 5:45 for the start of our day. It's almost 8:45 and I've been tired enough to go back to sleep for over an hour.

If my levels are normal I don't know what else to do. I am a bit over 14 weeks along and I just can't keep feeling this way for very much longer. I have 3 kiddos and a household to take care of. DH helps a bit but he can only carry so much of the load.

Does anyone have any other ideas as to why I am feeling this way? Or am I just one of the unlucky ones? I was never this tired during my other pregnancies.

[skerries]

A TSH of 2.95 is barely normal, as the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommends a maximum of 3.0 as "normal."  My TSH went just a little above 3.0 during the end of my first trimester and the beginning of my second trimester (when it's normally treated to just below 1.0) and I couldn't get off the couch all day.  You might want to investigate further, especially if your TSH is typically lower when you're not pregnant; a check of the actual hormone levels (free T3 and free T4) might give you some more information about whether your thyroid could be making you feel so crummy.

[birdhappy85]

I started out my pregnancy at a 4.75-ish TSH and was tired as heck, but I really don't think it was just my thyroid making me sleepy. I think it was pregnancy exhausting me. The hormone increase made me more stressed out in general and I think that contributed to things. My TSH was about 2.4 when it was checked last month, and I was still just as tired as when it was higher. I've been tired throughout my pregnancy, although my 2nd trimester was way more tolerable than the 1st or 3rd. My doctor increased my Levothyroxine to try getting me below a 2.0 TSH and I'll find out this week if it worked. No matter how much my thyroid has been tweaked, though, it hasn't changed how I feel. My T3 and T4 levels were good too, and my iron has been perfect. All of my labs and everything pregnancy-wise has been spot-on.

I've found it harder to get quality sleep during pregnancy. Maybe that's the key to it all? Are you sleeping through the night? I have a very interrupted sleep pattern myself.

You might want to talk to your doctor about getting your TSH below a 2.0 anyway. There are new standards that came out and it's recommended in pregnancy to be below that level. I've had an OB, midwives, and endocrinologist all express concern about that. I wish I had been more aggressive in lowering mine earlier in the pregnancy but I didn't know at the time. They said everything is likely fine, though, so I don't worry about the "what ifs". I'll just be more vigilant in the future!

I hope you start feeling better.

[adoremybabe]

Originally Posted by skerries 

A TSH of 2.95 is barely normal, as the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommends a maximum of 3.0 as "normal."  My TSH went just a little above 3.0 during the end of my first trimester and the beginning of my second trimester (when it's normally treated to just below 1.0) and I couldn't get off the couch all day.  You might want to investigate further, especially if your TSH is typically lower when you're not pregnant; a check of the actual hormone levels (free T3 and free T4) might give you some more information about whether your thyroid could be making you feel so crummy.

Thanks so much for this validation. I have a call in to my Naturopath to see if she can help me with my Thyroid. I think that I will also try to find a reputable article concerning the newer guidlines..... any recommendations? I want to bring this up with my OB.

[AfricanQueen99]

My Endo is a top-of-the-line, nationally-known guy and he suggests between .1-1.0 for TSH.  He is *obsessive* about having mine checked through pregnancy (weeks 0-24 had blood draws every 3 weeks and weeks 25-40 are every sis weeks).  Now, part of that is not wanting the cancer to grow back, but the large part is for fetal development.