How long till medication works?

[briskate]

Hello,

Can anyone please tell me how long it takes to feel better the first time you go on thyroid medication?

Thanks,

Kate

[cjrsquared]

Hi briskate,

It might help if you posted your blood results and said what medication and what dose. Drs often start patients on a low dose of levothyroxine which takes up to 6 weeks to reach a steady state in the body, then ask for repeat bloods and increase the dose with repeat bloods at 6 weeks and so on, until the blood results reach 'normal range'. Whether you then feel relief of symptoms at this point is very variable and will also be influenced by vitamin, mineral and iron levels. So the short answer is it depends.

I hope you feel some improvement soon.

[briskate in reply to cjrsquared]

Thank you for your reply.

My blood results are actually appearing as normal but I have all the symptoms of a thyroid problem (plus I had radiotherapy too which I think can cause thyroid problems)

Does anyone know if GPs ever give medication based on symptoms, even if blood test results are normal? As a trial to see if it helps?

Thank you for your help.

[greygoose in reply to briskate]

Not in my experience they don't!

'Normal' is meaningless. Get a copy of your results with the numbers and the ranges. Could be that they are very low in range. Post them here, and someone will explain.

[TupennyRush]

Hi there

If you've been hypo for a while it can take around a year to get back to normal. You gradually feel better month on month once you're on the right dose.

So, assuming you're on the right dose (and you have your vitamins and minerals at the right levels too) you may have to wait a while. If you've been on the right dose for 6 months and feel no better than you did before treatment then it's worth looking at whether you need to take something different.

So, how long have you been on the right dose? Do you feel some improvement? Have you had ferritin, foliate and D checked and were they in the upper ranges?

If not suggest you post asking which should be tested as a separate post as there's others who are better with that side of things (Clutter/Grey Goose for eg)

[SonSwinburne]

Hi I started to feel less tired after 2 weeks but it's took me 6 months to properly feel better I still have the odd symptom but was hypo for a long time without knowing so hopefully by Christimas Il be totally symptom free touch wood. I take a multi vitamin, cod liver oil and evening primrose and a vitamin C everyday my ferritin, magnesium etc have been checked and all came back as fine so it's best to get them all checked too good luck hope you get sorted and feel better soon xxx

[briskate]

Tupennyrush - thanks for your reply. I haven't started any medication yet, I was just wondering if I did how long it would take to show an improvement if I did. My results seem normal as (see below) but I have been unwell for months with symptoms that match a thyroid problem. I've been off work for 3 months now but unwell for 11 months & can now barely leave my bed I feel so unwell. I'm only in my thirties & shouldn't be like this! I was wondering if I could try thyroid medication on the chance it could help? Just to see?

22nd Oct - TSH 0.63 (range 0.27-4.20)

3rd may - (retested) TSH 1.1 (range 0.27-4.20)

11th May Free T4 - 14.7 (range 12.00-22.00)

18th May Free T3 -5.60 (range 3.10-6.80)

Thanks very much for your help.

[TupennyRush in reply to briskate]

Hi there

I had 'normal' tsh and low ft3 and ft4 (below or bottom of the range) with what was described as classic symptoms by the gp that made my diagnosis.

My symptoms - cold, exhaustion (sleeping 12-15 hours a day and waking up still knackered), hormonal migraines, brain fog and hair loss including eyebrows, hair on side of head plus legs and arms.

Look up secondary hypothyroidism and print out the NICE guidelines. Take to the docs and see whether this might be the issue. Unfortunately this is a relatively rare form so doesn't get picked up by the tsh has to be over 10 brigade. Ask for a trial of levo (I got one at 25 mcgs), take it for 2 months and see if you feel any better.

If you don't get any joy you may want to think about self treating to rule it out (or not) but strongly suggest you try and get it via GP first

[Treepie]

You need to have checked your B12,D3, ferritin and folate.

[briskate in reply to Treepie]

Yes checked all of those. I've had b12 injections and supplements for vit D, ferritin and folate. Still no change. Thinking still a chance it could be thyroid problem with all the symptoms.