Hi everyone,
I am hoping for some help as my doctors is not inspiring confidence, I have two question, I have been on 100mcg a day Levothyroxin for the last 8 weeks, I haven't been tested for a T3 I did have a B12 test which was normal.my results today are
Serum TSH 0.14 (range given 0.27-4.2)
Serum free T4 level 21.6 pmol/L (range given 12.0-22.0)
I feel no different to when my TSH was 12.5 6 months ago, tiredness and lack of motivation is my main symptom I not sure if I should be pushing for other tests, some general thoughts on my current levels would be so helpful, are my results considered Hyperthyroidism?
The doctor wants to bring me back to 75 Levothyroxin per day, as the 50 pills do not contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (which I try to exclude) I am going to take 3 x 50mg pills every 2 days (on doctors advice) Do you think that is ok to do?
Many thanks in advance for reading, tara x
Hello Tiaram:
My name is Shelly and I am a nurse in the USA. I have Hashimoto's thyroid disease.
Your lab results look like Hyperthyroiism, but at 100 mcg dose it can make you look like that.
At 0.14 you look like Hyper or too much thyroxine. So the TSH can change when you have too much or too low. It should be 0.45 -4.50 or in about that range or your ref. range above.
Your doctor seems to want to level you out, so he wants to lower your med by 25% to 75mcg. I agree but I would do it differently. His way is 3 50mcg tab's and every 2 days, seems kind of a big dose and may make you feel Hyper and cause your heart to race. Your T4 is high or near the top level now!
You could do it his way or you could take ONE 50mcg tab and then cut ONE 50mcg in half. Take one half with a 50mcg every other day for 2 weeks. The TSH should change over 6 weeks and it will help bring you up to say 1.0 to 3.5 where doctors want you to be. After 2 weeks take 75 mcg each day.
Now also get some minerals and vitamins checked. Sodium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, Calcium, selenium, ferritin, and iron. Along with Vit D which many of us with Hypothyroidism are low in Vit D being low can make you feel really awful. It is importan to have it tested.
It would also be wise to have a T3 and T4 plus Ft3 and Ft4 tests, along with a new TSH in 6 weeks or so.
Doctor's sometimes have to adjust our meds after a period of time. This goes along with having our blood levels drawn.
Keep us posted and go slow in lowering the dose down.
Regards,
Shelly
Hi
You are on too much levothyroxine. Best to reduce this as can cause problems if you are on too much. Like you, I was overreplaced and still shattered.
It may be that you don't convert the t4 levothyroxine to t3 properly. Get your T3 tested as this is the only way you will know for sure.
If this is the case, speak to your Gp about a combo of t3 and T4. I found t3 was the "get up and go" hormone! But I had to come off it due to a pounding heart. There are various options for t3 meds in the UK it's usually liothyonine is where they would start. This isn't generally given out willingly and if they refuse take some literature to Gp from thyroid UK website or ask to be referred to an endocrinologist.
Hi tiaram, as your TSH was 12.5 six months ago, assuming the same range as your current test, that would indicate you have hypothyroidism (unless you were being overtreated with medication for hyperthyroidism).
From your current blood test levels of T4 = 21.6 (range 12-22) and TSH = 0.14 (range 0.27-4.2) it looks like you are being over medicated with levothyroxine i.e. the dose is too high. Hence the reason your GP wishes you to reduce it. However where I differ from your GP is that I personally would take 75mcg each day by taking one and a half 50mcg tablets. I would also avoid the sudden decrease by chopping a 50mcg tablet into eighths and decreasing the dose by one eighth every two days (difficult to do do, but I hope you get the idea) this way you will avoid the effects of reducing the dose too quickly. You would be down to 75mcg after 8 days. Note I'm not medically qualified, I'm just saying what I would do in the hope that it gives you some ideas. I personally find it takes me 12 weeks of being on a dose before the blood test reflectsthe dose accurately.
If you get to the point where you have been on a dose for 12 weeks that the blood tests indicate is in range but you still have hypothyroid symptoms, then further investigation is needed into whether you are converting T4 to T3 properly.