Levothyroxine

[jojojowilts43]

Hi. Once on the correct dose of levothyroxine, does your TSH stay at the same number or what?. I'm just curious as I've been Told I'm within range now (( tsh 5)) range 0.3-6.3 so I'm I stay on 125mcg...

Just curious

[Clutter]

Jojojowilts43,

TSH 5.0 is high in range. Most people feel better with TSH 1.0 or lower with FT4 in the upper quadrant of range. Read Treatment Options in thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_... Show your GP the article when you request a dose increase.

[puncturedbicycle]

My last test showed tsh 5 and my gp said it was far too high for someone being treated. Such a strict interpretation of 'within range' is for people on no treatment (pre-diagnosis). She said 'We use a different calibration if you're on meds.'

As Clutter says, you want to be closer to 1.

You may need to be on something like 150 or 175 to get there.

How do you feel? (I feel absolutely as rough as w my tsh this high!)

[jojojowilts43 in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Hi I don't feel too bad too be honest thanks. I am also meant to be on hrt patches but I've not had one on for over a month or so and since not wearing it I've felt better..

I was meant to be talking 150mcg levothyroxine but I wasn't feeling too great on it so decided to take 125 instead and I've not felt too bad. What symptoms r u having ?who says it needs to be around "1" ??

[puncturedbicycle in reply to jojojowilts43]

It doesn't need to be around 1, but most of us feel better when it's closer to 1 than 5, unless there is some compelling reason to leave it higher. Some people find their symptoms are only relieved when the tsh is quite low (1 or under). The Pulse article by Dr Toft will explain (you can get it from Louise I believe).

If you feel better on 125 than 150 then it seems reasonable to leave it there, but you may continue to have some hypo symptoms (high cholesterol for example).

[jojojowilts43 in reply to puncturedbicycle]

When first told ,my tsh was 11. Started on 25mcg and by next test it had risen to 16.. I was first told I was borderline under when it was at 11.. I get very tired though from time to time but I am overweight .

[puncturedbicycle in reply to jojojowilts43]

Your metabolism will be slowed because you don't have an ideal amount of thyroid hormone in your system, which can account for being tired and overweight (and I retain a lot of fluid when undermedicated, which can make you tired and heavy). I think 11 is more than borderline. Nine or 10 might be considered borderline for diagnosis, but you can be extremely symptomatic.

[jojojowilts43 in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Also can a higher dose make u feel crap to start with? As as soon as I tried going from 125 to 150mcg I don't feel too great ..

[puncturedbicycle in reply to jojojowilts43]

Yes it can make you feel crap if it doesn't agree with you. In what way did you feel unwell?

[seekinganswers6 in reply to jojojowilts43]

You might also consider gradually increasing to somewhere between 125 and 150. Your body might just be reacting to a sudden increase. I was supposed to go from 100 to 150, which ended up making me hyper. So I cut back to 125, but that still hasn't enough. Now I take 137.5 mcg, which is perfect for me. I do it by taking a 100 mcg pill and half of a 75 mcg pill every morning. It is a bit more laborious than just one pill a day, but totally nothing compared to experiencing persistent symptoms!

[Hidden]

Hi all,

A year ago I was lost in the system and my thyroid level was T4.9 and at that time the hospital was told that is was quite high and it to be re-tested by my GP in 3weeks time. Sadly I had lost my father and I'd forgot about my thyroid and after a year I felt really unwell and my hair had fallen out so bad that now I feel to embarrassed to go out. (Apart from having APS dwhich is known for hair loss), I found out that my under active thyroid has a part of this too. I went to see Dr Cohem at UCH for APS but also she also found that my thyroid levels was way off the scales. So somehow I was lost in the system because of my GP and I had another PE back in March this year. I thought that my levels would have showed up then, but apparently is was not checked (which I don't believe). Obviously my thyroxine was put up and 3 weeks ago they were at T4.9. How long does it take to get back to a normal level, and when should the hair loss stop or even slow down. I think I've mentioned this on another site, but now know a bit more about levels and can't find an answer to my question anywhere on here. (But my iPad is playing up).

So could anyone help before I will have no hair at all?

Regards

Tina