thyroid medication

[savvanah]

how long should I give new dose to work my doctor said during a routine check in feb that my count was low so put my thyroxin up from 100g to 125 and said give it 3 months before checking again felt very very low energy could not be active for more than two hours so went back 2 weeks early now she says its too high suggests taking 125 every second day or just going back to 100

[greygoose]

Savvanha, normally it's six weeks. Three months is too long.

As to whether or not your doctor is right about you being on too much - and they very often are! - we would need to see the results. Do you have them? If so, post them here. If not, ask for them. It's your legal right to have a print-out.

[savvanah in reply to greygoose]

have just rang surgery to ask for my actual results I got a test in feb and tsh was 10.4 which doctor said was low and put thyroxine up from 100 to 125 and said retest in 3 months this one done in end april was 0.11 she then told me it was to high so take 125 every other day or go back to taking 100 every day so I am taking 125 every other day as she said it was low when taking 100 before taking your advice am getting tested again on 21st june

[greygoose in reply to savvanah]

OK, so your doctor doesn't even know the difference between up and down.

A TSH of 10.4 is high, not low. A TSH of 0.11 is low, but not too low. In fact, it's totally irrelevant. Once your TSH gets below 1.0, she should be looking at your FT4 and FT3, and taking into account your symptoms.

3 months is far too long to leave before testing after a dose change. It should be 8 weeks maximum, 6 weeks ideally. And dosing by the TSH is the worst possible thing she can do. That way, she is guaranteed to keep her patient sick. So, all in all, your doctor knows about as much about thyroid as my dog (who is hypo). You really, really need a doctorectomy!

A good level of TSH - or even a low level - does not guarantee that your T3 is high enough to make you well. It is low T3 that causes symptoms, not TSH. So, if your doctor will not test the relevant hormones, I suggest you do it yourself, privately. Otherwise, you are just going to go on forever increasing and decreasing your dose due to a highly unreliable test that can vary due to so many things - including the time of day. Do you always get your tests done early in the morning, fasting, and leaving 24 hours between your last dose of levo and the test? If not, you cannot compare them.

And, whilst you're getting tested privately, you might as well get your vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin tested. They are extremely important for your body to be able to use the hormone you're giving it.