hi my tsh level was 17 free t4 was 11 my gp arranged a tpo test which was, so i was told greater than 500 my gp rang me and told me to start taking levothyroxine 50mcg for 6 weeks then have bloods repeated, during these 6 weeks my symptoms of feeling dizzy all the time feeling exhausted total mood swings hair brittle and breaking have not really subsided, in fact i have gained an extra symptom sice being on tabs which is weight gain ;-((. Just had bloods re taken and my tsh is 4.4 free t4 is 16 i was told these results by receptionist im waiting now for dr appoitment as it appears talets have worked as in blood results but i dont really feel any better. in myself just wondered if this is normal should i ask for an increase or keep going on the 50mcg and give them more of a chance
Hi
I am exactly the same, I first went onto 50mg Jan'14 and I am now on 100mg. My blood tests appear to be normal but I feel a whole lot worse. I certainly don't feel any better and have the same symptons and more. I feel awyful and the kind of dizzy spells scare me. My muscles ache like and I too have put 7lbs on for no apparent reason. I definetly think it's the medication and on other forums I've been on it seems to imply the same. I don't think GP's know enough and treat you as a number and not an individual. I have just contacted and Endocrinologist at a Cicle clinic in my home town of Nottingham. There was an email address and I've asked for a self referral due to the current anxiety and symptons I have. I think the best bet is to try and get to see and Endocrinologist as they are the experts. Thstr said it can take several weeks for things to settle down. But mine is now severl months and getting worse.
Hi Lyndsey,you have not been on the levothyroxine for very long yet so I would wait a little longer but having said that Levothyroxine is T4 only and does not suit everyone.T4 has to be converted to T3 by your body and some of us cant do that so we need T4 &T3 medication or as I do you can buy a natural Dessicated thyroid which i take and it has improved my quality of life a lot.Before you do that though you need to find out all you can about underactive thyroid because GP's are just that ,they have general knowledge of lots of illnesses but are not specialists in any.There is a very good book called Stop The Thyroid Madness that you can buy on Amazon which is written by a woman with Thyroid problems herself who learned everything she could about her condition & then wrote a book to help fellow sufferers,she is American but all she learned applies to us all.A very good group you can join on Facebook is Thyroid Problems uk they are very helpful give them a try, you may have to wait to join but well worth it,there are people on there that can tell you what your blood test results mean and suggest things to help,Its all a bit of a mine field when you find you have this but you will need to help yourself if you want to get as well as you can. Hope this helps a bit.xx
Hello Vivienne,please dont be done down if you get no help from the Endo as some of them will only prescribe Levothyroxine and as I said in the post above it just doesnt suit us all.I see you have been medicated since January which is really long enough to feel better if you are on the correct dose.I was the same and the GP was no help as he admitted he knew nothing about the NDT that I wanted to try because I was in a lot of pain still and asleep as soon as I sat down but awake all night.Although he knew nothing aboutNDT he agreed to do my blood tests and referred me to an Endo but she was not prepared to prescribe NDT even though my quality of life is lots better while taking it.I still take it even though I have to buy it myself,I am 69 and told the Endo I would rather have 10 more years of good life than20 years of how I was.We all have to take responsibility for our own health and you will come to the right decision for you.Read as much as you can and go to the Dr with knowledge of what can be done for you but be prepared because most dr's and Endo's do not prescribe anything other than Levothyroxine because its much cheaper than NDT they get it for about £4 which suits them fine.Its not about helping patients any more its about how cheaply they can medicate you.Good luck in your quest x