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Hi, Gis!
Your sister is very lucky to have such a caring family! She really needs the support and encouragement right now, which you seem willing to give. Searching the BB by subject should help you find some info about pregnancy and Graves’ disease. Through the years there have been many stories from people who have had successful pregnancies and healthy babies, in spite of Graves’. However, I’m not sure how much info there is about infertility and fertility drugs.
I don’t have personal experiences to share, but I can tell you what the books say. Thyroid conditions can cause infertility. However, once treated a person should be able to conceive, barring other medical problems. “The Thyroid Sourcebook,” by M. Sara Rosenthal says this: (pp. 109-110)
“About 30% of all female infertility is caused by hormonal factors, of which only a tiny segment is due to thyroid disorders. It’s also crucial to note that you may have other factors contributing to your infertility in conjunction with a thyroid problem. If you’re having difficulty conceiving, make sure your doctor rules out other causes before your problem is blamed on a thyroid condition alone. It’s important to remember that infertility is always temporary when it’s caused by either hyper- or hypothyroidism. As discussed above, because both hyper- and hypothyroidism interfere with the menstrual cycle, ovulation is affected as well. Generally, infertility occurs when either a hyper- or hypothyroid condition is severe and remains undiagnosed. Thyroid problems are usually caught, however, before infertility becomes a problem, and even women with severe cases of hyper- or hypothyroidism can still get pregnant. In other words, just because you’re hypo- or hyperthyroid doesn’t mean you won’t get pregnant, so if you normally practice contraception, you should continue to do so throughout diagnosis and treatment of your thyroid problem. If, however, infertility is a side effect to your thyroid problem, it clears up as soon as you’re treated and normal thyroid function resumes (presuming no other barriers to your infertility).Another problem with hyper- or hypothyroidism which can block pregnancy is that your desire for sex can be diminished. Because of the exhaustion or fatigue that sets in, you might find that you simply don’t have the energy or desire. Again, this is a temporary problem that clears up when your thyroid problem is treated.
Primary ovary failure is an autoimmune disorder – like Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis – caused by proteins and white blood cells that attack protein in your ovaries. This leads to a shriveling of the ovary, failure to ovulate, premature menopause, and infertility. Sometimes these autoimmune ovarian problems coexist with hypothyroidism, but this is very rare. In this case hypothyroidism might originally be suspected as the cause of infertility. However, further tests would discover primary ovary failure, a condition that exists independently of the thyroid problem.”
Wishing you both health and happiness,
Debby
Online Assistant Facilitator, NGDF -
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