125mg to 175mg t4 not really risen?

[dawnuk]

Do not understand why my t4 has not risen much with the extra 50 a day. any ideas

Results on 125mg

Tsh 0.13. (0.27-4.20)

T4 12.3. (9-26)

Results 175mg

Tsh 0.02

T4 12.7

[dawnuk]

I'm actually thinking it's the pituary gland as my lh is also very low

[greygoose in reply to dawnuk]

Even if it were the pituitary gland, the T4 should still rise with the addition. Was it increased by 50 mcg in one go? That's too much, should be 25 mcg. How long after the increase did you get the test?

Do you have digestion problems? Are you taking PPIs or any other medication that might block absorption?

[dawnuk in reply to greygoose]

Was six weeks from the rise, I'm worried it's a pituary tumour

[greygoose in reply to dawnuk]

OK, so worrying isn't going to help! Do you have your results from when you were diagnosed? They will give a better picture of your pituitary.

I very much doubt you have secondary hypo. It's very hard to get a diagnosis when you have that, because doctors have no idea what it is. You cannot go by your TSH once you are on thyroid hormone replacement. The TSH test is not a reliable guide because so many things can affect it.

If you truly think you have a tumour on your pituitary, ask your doctor for a scan, and explain your reasoning. But, you'd better bone up on it a bit before, if you want him to take you seriously.

[dawnuk in reply to greygoose]

Medication I take is fluxotine

[greygoose in reply to dawnuk]

Do you take that well away from your levo?

Do you take your levo on an empty stomach, with just a large glass of water, and wait an hour before eating or drinking anything but water?

[dawnuk in reply to greygoose]

Yes they 12 hours apart, levothyroxine take in morning without eating anything

[greygoose in reply to dawnuk]

OK

[Anthea55]

And of course they haven't measured your free T3. That's the one which is relevant.

Were your blood tests taken at the same time of day? Some of these levels are variable.

[dawnuk in reply to Anthea55]

Yes same time, they checked for thyroid levels and menopause

[Bodil333]

TSH has dropped from 0.13 to 0.02. This means your own thyroid is stimulated less to produce its own thyroxin.

[Eddie83]

Your body could be converting it to rT3 (bad) or T3 (good). You won't know unless your doc will run the full panel that includes rT3 and FT3.

175 micrograms is a really hefty dose. There are many docs, who don't know what they are doing, who put patients on these huge doses because they don't know how to use T3. If 175 is significantly over the Abbott T4-only full replacement of 1.7mcg/kg body weight, then you would likely be better off on a smaller dose.

[dawnuk]

He has now put me on 200 a day, but I think it's the pituary at fault so scared it's a pituary tumour