UNDERACTIVE AND MALE

[John03]

Feel my GP really not taking me seriously. Currently TSH is sitting at 7.9 and on 150mcg of Levothyoxine with Dr thinking it will go up to 175mcg.....

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

I'm not quite sure what you are expecting or thinking should happen?

If you are on 150 micrograms, and TSH is 7.9 (and I'd like to see a Free T4, at least), then I too would think your dose will need to go up, to 175 as the next step and possibly further. However, I would also be checking things like:

You are taking your levothyroxine with water only, well away from food, other drinks,

supplements and medicines?

You are not taking other medicines that interfere with absorption.

And at each increment of dose,you do really need to allow time for it to have its full effect.

What is the GP not doing?

[Clutter]

John03, Not sure why you think your GP isn't taking you seriously, dose increment adjustments are usually 25mcg every 6-8 weeks until TSH is just above or below 1.0. It would be helpful to test FT4 in addition to TSH though.

[MariLiz]

Has your Doctor tested for Vits D, B12, ferritin and folate when doing your blood tests, as if these are low you will have problems absorbing and using the Levothyroxine? It might be worth getting those checked out if they haven't been tested yet. Best wishes MariLiz

[Gismo333]

Pushing more T4 into the body with a TSH of 7.9 is not going to help, if you can't convert it then it will sit in the blood. According to Dr Hertoghe a TSH of 2 is the maximum. I would suggest finding a doctor who will prescribe T3 with T4 and that understands that the tests are not accurate. I have some information on all this if you want to mail me. Thanks

[SlowDragon Administrator]

if not doing so already, try taking your Levo just before bed in the evening. Many people seem to find this better ( including myself - it gave me huge improvement) - can give significant reduction in TSH

I originally did so at my endo's suggestion but See more info here

thyroid.about.com/od/thyroi...

Also as others have suggested get your Vit D, B12, Folate and Ferratin levels checked - privately if necessary

Can improve Vit D by eating oily fish (salmon, mackerel etc) and getting out in sunshine as much as possible

holtorfmed.com/vitamin-d-au...