Tsh levels

[Tatty10]

Why and how does my tsh level fluctuate when i have no thyroid and have been on the same dose of levo for 3 months

[Clutter]

Longer summer days can affect TSH production, Tatty. TSH is produced by the pituitary gland not the thyroid gland.

How long since your TT? It can take up to 6 months for medication to settle the TSH output.

[Tatty10 in reply to Clutter]

Hi clutter had my tt last august and felt really stable on alternate days of 125 micro and 150 micro but my endo has reduced to 100 micro because he says my tsh is too low just within the lower range but he thinks it should be higher!!!!!!

[Clutter in reply to Tatty10]

Tatty, Arrrgh! It was in range and you felt well so the dose was fine. 100mcg is the full starter dose for people with a thyroid. It's rarely enough on it's own for someone without a thyroid. The fact that your TSH is fluctuating is your body is demanding more FT4 be produced and 100mcg isn't supplying the need.

I would see if your GP will raise your Levothyroxine to 125mcg with a view to 125/150mcg. Ideally, TSH will be just above or below 1.0 and FT4 and FT3 in the top 75% of range. If your GP won't increase your dose I'd recommend self medicating before you are floored with hypo symptoms.

[Tatty10 in reply to Clutter]

Hi clutter, i will not be reducing to 100 micro i feel the best i have felt for quite a few years so i am staying on my 125/150 alternate days, this year has been a roller-coaster of health problems for me and i am not going back there, whats wrong with these doctors why do they always seem to want to keep us under medicated and why will they not listen to our symptoms, i have also been told that all my future blood tests will be tsh only.

[Clutter in reply to Tatty10]

Tatty,

Diagnosis by clinical symptoms seems to be a thing of the past and blood tests determine whether or not we're ill now

I think it's shocking that TSH can be considered appropriate testing for someone without a thyroid or that medication should be dosed according to TSH.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Tatty10]

The TSH has nothing to do with the thyroid gland itself, as it is a pituatary hormone. You should be dosed until you feel well, not according to blood tests. Adjusting doses to theTSH can give the patients more problems but they don't realise this as they are not trained properly.

Read the first and second questions in this link:-

web.archive.org/web/2010103...

[Angel_of_the_North]

Also TSH has a daily and, I think I saw in one article, an annual cycle, so it should vary from hour to hour. In addition, if whole system is working correctly, TSH output depends on T3 levels, not T4, which are converted from T4 in the liver (and in the cells). I could be wrong about that. So it wouldn't be surprising to find that you sometimes convert (or need) more or less.