Advice on conceiving post thyroid cancer anyo

Hi

I'm not a member of this group and haven't had the treatment that you've had so don't have any personal experiences to draw on to answer your question.

That's great news that you had the all clear in January this year and that you want to try for a baby. Have you thought about asking your CNS the question about when it's safe to start trying? Another alternative is to post your question in the ask a nurse section of this site and one of the specialist nurses will aim to reply within 2 working days.

Wishing you all the best

x

Hey latchbrook, 

Not everyone gets a CNS, in fact it is quite rare to get one for thyroid cancer. It very much depends on which hospital you go to and how busy they are. 

Also, there is no point asking the nurses here about thyroid cancer. Every question I've ever asked them their answer has been to ask my Dr. So there's no point in wasting time there.

Heya Gem, 

Good to see you again and I'm pleased to hear that your scan didn't show anything of note! That's awesome! Sorry it's taken me a couple of days to get back to you, but I've been in hospital. Stupid body I've got! Lol

The official line is that you need to wait 6 months before trying. That's because the RAI stays in your body for 6 months, doing its thing on any remaining thyroid tissue. So you don't want any radiation left around a developing foetus! So as from the end of this month/beginning of next month, you should be good to start trying. 

As for your medication, you shouldn't need it adjusting before you're pregnant. Only if you've been trying unsuccessfully for a while might they try reducing your dose to help, as being suppressed can affect some people negatively. However, you're not as suppressed as most, so hopefully you won't have any issues conceiving. 

However, after you are pregnant, you'll need bloods done every 2 to 4 weeks, different endocrinologists like to do things on different timescales. This is because the baby will need to use your thyroid hormones until it develops its own thyroid, so you'll need extra to make sure there's enough for you both. 

So def tell your Dr's that you're planning to try and conceive, then once you are pregnant, let them know so they can start close monitoring to keep you both healthy! 

There have been a couple of people having babies after thyca. If you search the group then you should find their threads and posts. I just can't think who they were at the moment I'm afraid! 

My fingers are crossed for you! The absolute best of luck when you start trying! 

Lass

Xx

Hi Lass

Sorry to hear that you've been in hospital recently. I've just had a look back through some of your recent posts and hope that they've got on top of your pain, etc.

Thanks for letting me know that thyroid cancer patients don't usually have a CNS assigned to them. I have to admit that I naively thought all cancer patients had some sort of specialist or key worker.

x

Hey Lass

Thanks for your reply, and for you wealth of knowledge as always - really helpful to know that’s the standard guideline and about monitoring during pregnancy. I also emailed my nuclear med doctor in the end who told me different centres vary from 4 months to a year that you have to wait after treatment, but that they (Barts in London) go with 6 months based on current UK guidance. 

Im sorry to hear you’ve been in hospital again, I was thinking if you just the other day - I hope things improve soon xx

Hi Latchbrook

Thanks very much for this - I ended up emailing my old nurse specialist and the nuclear medicine team, and also requesting to bring my next appointment forward. 

Gemma

Hey Gem, 

How's it going? Did you manage to see your docs and get some answers? 

Lass

Xx