Emi, how are you feeling?
Yes, your fictitious should know what size you’re on. Perhaps your dose was on a different computer screen than your test results so she just asked (?)
Right off, your antibodies are very high. This tells you that your immune system is actively triggered. Any chance you had your antibodies tested before the meds? What were they? If you have antibody tests prior to starting meds, you can identify or rule out the meds as a trigger.
Next, notice that your T4 is a tad above normal range and your T3 is roughly midrange. Your medication is T4 only, so your going to get the T4 sort of high-ish in order to get the T3 in the midrange. Most people feel best when both numbers are midrange or higher.
How long have you been on this dose? If it’s less than three months, it’s likely your mumbers will still increase a bit, in which case, you’ll need to lower your fosafe a tad. If it’s been a while, I’d say this is probably as good as your numbers are going to get. As, you can’t increase your dose any more because your T4 will be too high. It’s ok if it’s a tad above normal range.
Keep in mind yheee are normal ratios of T4/T3. Since you’re only taking T4, your ratios will not be normal. This incorrect ratio can result in thyroid symptoms. So you can see how it would be extremely difficult to get the perfect dose. You raise your dose. Cause you have dympypms associated with low T3 and you get high T4. So you wind up with both hypo and hyper symptoms at the same time. Constantly changing the dose cannot solve this problem, as it is inherent in the medication that your ratios will be out of whack. This often results in anxiety, hair loss and other symptoms.
Meanwhile, the belief is that TSH levels are determined by T3 values: as your T3 increases, your pituitary gets a signal and reduces TSH production. This is one reason T4 only is a preferred mode of treatment. Also it is believed that T4 only is less likely to cause heart palpitations. However, you can see from your results that your TSH is decreasing more proportionally to your T4 levels than your T3 levels.
For some people, the TSH tends to zero out before the medications are effective, as yours is approaching. This is unhealthy, as it tells you that your pituitary thinks you are hypothyroid, so the pituitary responds by slowing TSH production. Since we only look at thyroid numbers, we really don’t know what sort of effects the slowing of the pituitary’s TSH production has on the rest of the endocrine system. It is very likely that slowing the pituitary’s TSH production also affects other pituitary functions. This would result in other areas of your endocrine (hormonal) system being affected, which of course, is undesirable.
Again, I’d say your numbers are probably in the sweet spot now. If you lower to 50, it will likely your T3 will be towards the bottom range or below, which often feels like crap. You could try alternating, 50 one day and 75 the next. But my experience is that’s a flippin’ roller coaster that really confuses your body.
Since the side effects of this medication include autoimmune disease such as fibromialgya and arthritis, as well as bone density loss and other horrible side effects, it’s undesireable to have your dosage too high. The side effects are proportional to dose- higher dose means increased side effects.
You really have to consider how you’re feeling on the medication.
I had similar lab work as you on the Levo: at best, T4 in the high end, T3 towards the midrange, TSH very low or undetectable. Not so good was T3 in the low range, TSH still low and T4 in the midrange. In the US and my TSH numbers didn’t much ever show once they were below 1, so I’ve long suspected our labs use a less sensitive TSH test than what you’ve got in England. The really good endocrinologists and experienced docs were familiar with the TSH going to zero and treated base for on symptoms and thyroxin levels, essentially ignoring the TSH. The less experienced doctors freaked out when the TSH was low.
In the end, I tried to get the dose right for over two years and was unsuccessful in actually treating my symptoms with this medication. I wound up far worse off due to the side effects of levothyroxin, which will take years, if I ever recover from them. I have severe advanced thyroid disease and feel better without the meds, using only diet and supplements.
I share my experience in the hopes of saving you from the same. This medication doesn’t work for many people. You need to ASK YOURSELF, does it seem like it’s working for you or not? Are your symptoms improving enough to risk the known side effects of this medication? Since you’ve been on the medication, do you feel like your health is getting better, worse or the same? Are you prepared that there may not be a medication that works for you? If you go off this medication, what will you do to treat your thyroid disease? There are other medications out there. Do you feel you should try a different medication? If so, what is a reasonable amount if time to try these medications?
These are important questions to think about. I know it’s overwhelming and it’s probably all you can do to think about today. But given your experience so far on this medication, what do you realistically think you’ll feel like tomorrow, and the next day, and in a month or a year from now? I’m not asking what you’re hoping for, I’m asking what you realistically feel this medication can do, given your experience thus far.
