New to under active thyroid

[Cathcart]

Hi I have been under active thyroid for about 3 months started on 25 mcg Levo now on 50 mcg I am really tired all the time yet can't sleep at night. I am struggling to lose weight and losing lots of hair hoping things settled down soon and can start to feel like me again

[Hidden]

Hello Cathcart,

Welcome to our forum and sorry to hear that you are feeling so unwell.

Hair loss can be down to hormone or nutrient or iron deficiencies.

I would consider that 25mcg Levothyroxine is a very low dose and could even make a struggling thyroid take a rest. 50mcg is a more realistic dose and will hopefully make a difference.

Levothyroxine takes up to 6 weeks to initially saturate the body which will only tolerate small increases at any one time. Your doctor should retest your thyroid hormone levels 6 weeks after any dose adjustments. Leave 24 hours between last dose and blood draw and try to have the blood draw early in the morning whilst fasting (water only) when TSH is highest.

It is important to take your pill on an empty stomach with a glass of water, 1 hour before food, 2 hours before supplements and 4 hours before calcium, iron or vit D supplements.

Depending on how long your hypothyroidism has remained undiagnosed, your symptoms may continue for a while, but be assured that you should start to see an improvement once you are wholly medicated.

The goal of Levothyroxine is to restore the patient to euthyroid status and for most people that means TSH just above or below 1.0 but symptoms can lag behind good biochemistry by 6-8 weeks. If you wish members to comment you are welcome to post your results complete with ranges (numbers brackets) in a new post.

People with thyroid issues often have vitamin deficiencies and it is recommended that you have tests for B12, vit D, folate and ferritin as optimum levels are required to ensure thyroid meds are absorbed.

Don't try dieting to lose weight, it won't work while your TSH is high.

The main dietary advice is to avoid all forms of unfermented soy which are very bad for the thyroid. Otherwise make sure there is carbs, fat and protein in your diet to provide essential nutrients.

I hope you feel better soon

Flower

Hypothyroidism explained

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

This following link explains the importance of vitamins and where they may be obtained. This forum is supported by the charity ThyroidUK. You do not have to join the charity to benefit from this forum but by doing so you will be supporting the charity and also entitled to various discounts when buying supplements, as detailed in the link below.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/treatm...

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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

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[Ellie-Louise]

Hi Cathcart, have you tried taking your Levo last thing at night?

I'm on 50mcg too and couldn't sleep properly for years, then after joining T/UK I read that some members took their medication at night so I tried it and I have never looked back.

I'm out like a light these days. I hope you feel better soon.

[Cathcart in reply to Ellie-Louise]

Thank you give that ago do u take just before bed. I thought you had to take it on an empty stomach

[Ellie-Louise]

Well, I go to bed in the early hours but even if you ate dinner at 7:00 and went to bed at 10:00, you'd still be fine to take your Levo at bedtime because your food would have gone down by then I would imagine.

I'm a gamer and play with a friend in America who is 6 hours behind us so I'm never in bed before 2 or 3am. so I take mine when I go upstairs to bed.

Try it, but don't forget that you don't take it the night before a blood test you have to have the next morning.

[Ellie-Louise in reply to Ellie-Louise]

I still have the right hours of sleep though because I don't get up until gone 9:00am. Best of luck Cathcart. x