More Evidence That Auto-Immune Diseases Suck

One of the scariest things that I have been pondering lately is that my lovely envoy of doctors won't be able to find anything wrong, won't be able to pinpoint a cause for miscarriage. Remember how my Curly Haired Lady Doctor admitted that it is a possibility that my auto-immune problems* could be a cause, but that there was a) no way to tell if that was the case and b) no way to treat it? It's true. The bad news is that if you have thyroid antibodies, you're more likely to miscarry.

Stethoscope on Book by Gualberto107; freedigitalphotos.net

I recently found a site called Hypothyroid Mom! Posted there they have a series of articles. The one that sticks out to me is a post by another hypothyroid Mom (well, duh, I guess) who blames hypothyroidism for her miscarriage--Have You Suffered A Miscarriage? Your Thyroid Could Be To Blame. In the author's story, her doctors reassured her that there were no links between hypothyroidism and miscarriage (wrong!) and didn't adequately check and treat her hypothyroidism.

More evidence that hypothyroidism and thyroid antibodies could be to blame:

"The results showed that compared to normal pregnancy or spontaneous abortion, recurrent miscarriage was associated with a significant increase in the number of CD5+/20+ positive cells ...These women were also found to have a higher incidence of thyroid antibodies, with four out of the 11 patients being positive for thyroid microsomal antibodies. These results suggest that there may be an association between autoimmunity and recurrent miscarriage."

Another study found a "clear association between the presence of thyroid antibodies and miscarriage was found...This association may be explained by a heightened autoimmune state affecting the fetal allograft, of which thyroid antibodies are just a marker."

And here: "In the case of infertility, although the clinical relevance of TAI [thyroid auto-immunity] is somewhat controversial, when all available information is considered the results strongly suggest that when infertility is due to well-defined female causes, autoimmunity is involved and TAI constitutes a useful marker of the underlying immune abnormality, independently of thyroid function disorders. In the case of pregnancy loss, the vast majority of available studies clearly establish that TAI (even with no overt thyroid dysfunction) is associated with a significant increase in miscarriage risk."

Oh, joy! This study found that: "Thyroid dysfunction has been related to obstetrical complications such as premature delivery, gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and placental abruption."

Although maternal thyroid antibodies have been associated with pregnancy loss, universal screening and possible treatment with exogenous T4 cannot be recommended because evidence is insufficient that such treatment lowers miscarriage rates. - See more at: http://www.jwatch.org/wh201208300000001/2012/08/30/management-thyroid-disease-during-and-after#sthash.LElk1di1.dpuf

Although maternal thyroid antibodies have been associated with pregnancy loss, universal screening and possible treatment with exogenous T4 cannot be recommended because evidence is insufficient that such treatment lowers miscarriage rates. - See more at: http://www.jwatch.org/wh201208300000001/2012/08/30/management-thyroid-disease-during-and-after#sthash.LElk1di1.dpuf

Although maternal thyroid antibodies have been associated with pregnancy loss, universal screening and possible treatment with exogenous T4 cannot be recommended because evidence is insufficient that such treatment lowers miscarriage rates. - See more at: http://www.jwatch.org/wh201208300000001/2012/08/30/management-thyroid-disease-during-and-after#sthash.LElk1di1.dpuf

Although maternal thyroid antibodies have been associated with pregnancy loss, universal screening and possible treatment with exogenous T4 cannot be recommended because evidence is insufficient that such treatment lowers miscarriage rates. - See more at: http://www.jwatch.org/wh201208300000001/2012/08/30/management-thyroid-disease-during-and-after#sthash.LElk1di1.dpuf

Although maternal thyroid antibodies have been associated with pregnancy loss, universal screening and possible treatment with exogenous T4 cannot be recommended because evidence is insufficient that such treatment lowers miscarriage rates. - See more at: http://www.jwatch.org/wh201208300000001/2012/08/30/management-thyroid-disease-during-and-after#sthash.LElk1di1.dpuf

More on placental abruption: "Antithyroid peroxidase antibodies are...associated with a threefold increase in the rate of placental abruption. However, this increase in placental abruption does not currently warrant routine antithyroid antibody screening during pregnancy."

The good news is that there is some evidence that treating a woman who is positive for thyroid antibodies with artificial thyroid hormones can decrease the risk of miscarriage:

"The study clearly showed the benefits of levothyroxine administration in pregnant women with AITD [auto-immune thyroid disease] not only to correct maternal thyroid function but also to reduce markedly the rate of undesired obstetrical events and lower their prevalence down to that found in healthy controls. There is no reason to believe that levothyroxine administration played a role in altering underlying autoimmunity."

But apparently not enough evidence:

Like here: "Although maternal thyroid antibodies have been associated with pregnancy loss, universal screening and possible treatment with exogenous T4 cannot be recommended because evidence is insufficient that such treatment lowers miscarriage rates."

So, as I stare down another month of various tests, part of me hopes that there is something else 'wrong' besides my auto-immunity. Something more 'fixable', more 'understood' by the medical community. Whatever the case, it's out of my control and, well, "He's got the whole world in his hands...", so I might as well relax. Or at least try. :)

*I've helpfully (sarcasm intended) hyper-linked lots of terms in this post because I've been writing for so long about various issues, I think some people who are currently reading might not know what I've been through or even what an auto-immune disease is. The Internet to the rescue!