t4 levels ???

[loopylouise]

had a blood test done 6 weeks ago t4 levels 8.4 was feeling really rough on Monday had blood test done on Tuesday my results came back Friday my t4 had jumped to 49 doctor started me on levothyroxine straight away new to this when will I start feeling human again

[galathea]

Do you mean your tsh levels had jumped? T4 is the medication you take which should bring down the tsh level.

How much has the doc given you? Has he told you to come back in 6 weeks for tests and a possible dosage increase?

You could feel better within days, others take a little longer, some never feel better on thyroxine. Depends on lots o f other factors......

G

[loopylouise in reply to galathea]

yeah sorry tsh bit confusing taking it all in when I was in doctors,50 mg levothyroxine for 1st week then up it to 100 for next 2 weeks then to give her a ring to discuss how im feeling then see what she says xx

[PinkNinja in reply to loopylouise]

That's good that she is increasing reasonably quickly considering how high your TSH has gone in such a short time. That answers my question below

If you find you feel worse when you increase, check out your iron and ferritin levels. Low iron/ferritin can mean that you don't tolerate levothyroxine as well as you should do so is definitely worth looking into.

Carolyn x

[loopylouise in reply to PinkNinja]

iron levels really low too got hospital app for iron clinic they think there is a problem with my ferritin store xxx

[PinkNinja in reply to loopylouise]

You must be feeling awful! Thyroid and anaemia

When you take iron it is important to take it with vitamin C and vitamin B2 (riboflavin). It wouldn't hurt to take a good quality B vitamin complex. You may want to consider taking a B12 supplement as well. Methylcobalamin is the best form and you will likely need somewhere between 1000mcg and 5000mcg daily as you have an underactive thyroid.

I hope you get it sorted out soon.

[Hidden]

Hello loopylouise, look again at your blood test(s) maybe you meant to say your TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) went up?

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Take a look on above.

You may well feel a little better in a week but it can be slow. Depends on how long you have been under active, your vitamin levels etc.,

I suggest you keep notes on how you feel so that you can look back and see progress.

There is a lot of information you may need on the above website.

Wishing you a straightforward bounce back to health just dont take on too much when you start to feel well.

wyn

[PinkNinja]

I think you may mean your TSH level. If it is high it means you have an underactive thyroid. If your T4 was that high they would be putting you on carbimazole to get it down.

Your TSH has jumped up quite quickly so no wonder you are feeling so poorly

What dose did your doctor start you on? Make sure your dose gets increase every 4-6 weeks until you start to feel well. Your doctor needs to increase until you feel well. You may find that your TSH goes below range but this is nothing to be concerned about as the whole TSH thing doesn't work right in hypothyroid patients anyway, according to recent research. As long as your T3 is within range there is no problem with TSH being low so don't let this scare your doctor into thinking you are on too much thyroxine if this is the case when you get to the dose that makes you well.

Everyone is different, but you may notice some improvement in the next few weeks. Once you get to your optimal dose, you should feel pretty much normal. It may take a few months after that for all your symptoms to disappear completely as your body may need time to recover.

Most people do well on thyroxine but it can take time. You may read blogs and questions from people on here that aren't doing well but in many cases it's due to inadequate dose or other issues. I am one of those people but I have found an alternative that works for me

Just a few pointers now that you are taking thyroxine; always take it away from food or drinks other than water, many people find taking it at night works better than taking it in the morning, take it away from other medication and vitamin/mineral supplements.

It is also a good idea to check the following levels;

serum iron

ferritin (stored iron - best level for most is 70-90)

Vitamin B12 (should be above 500, not the measly 200 the NHS states)

folate

vitamin D

Deficiencies in the above are remarkably common in thyroid patients.

I hope that helps and hasn't bamboozled you too much.

You may want to look at the main thyroid UK website for further information. You should be able to find what you need on the menu on the left hand side

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/index....

Carolyn x

[loopylouise]

thanks everybody going to do a bit of reading up on everything if I can stay awake and take it in attention span of a goldfish at moment hopefully that will improve too xxxxx

[shaws Administrator]

Take your thyroid gland medication when you get up before breakfast with a full glass of water and wait about 1 hour before you eat.

Some people take theirs at bedtime - in that case you shouldn't eat for two hours before taking your meds.

Food an affect the uptake of levothyroxine.

[loopylouise]

quick update underactive thyroid tsh levels 49, anaemia and no vitamin b12 in blood and my hubby wonders why im tired