Increased Tsh

[Nisha9835]

Hi.. From Past 2 years am suffering from hypothyroid.. Having tablet on a regular basis.. 3 months back my tsh was 0.99 i continued having tablet thyronorm 50mcg. Recently checked my tsh and the reading was 8. Though the reading is 8, am having regular periods. Now my question is tablet of how much mcg should i have? Or Should i get my test done again? Please help me out..

[Clutter]

Welcome to the forum, Nisha9835,

I think you should increase to 75mcg Thyronorm and retest in 6-8 weeks.

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

[shaws Administrator]

I think your dose of 50mcg of thyronorm is too low as you have symptoms. Usually our dose is increased around every six to eight weeks after a blood test until we have no clinical symptoms and we feel much better. An average dose can be around 150mcg to 200mcg but it used to be a much higher dose we were given (before levothyroxine).

Get a new blood test and it should be the earliest possible and fasting (you can drink water). Also leave about 24 hours between your last dose of levo and the test and take it afterwards. This allows the TSH to be at its highest and might stop doctor from adjusting it unnecessarily

Always get a print-out of your blood test results and post on a new question if you have a query.

[Nisha9835 in reply to shaws]

Hi i got my new blood test done and my TSH level is 9.75 . Please suggest how much mcg dose should i take.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Nisha9835]

Clutter, above, has suggested you raise by 25mcg to 75mcg. Your doctor should have told you to increase.

When you get your blood test results always ask for a print-out and make sure the ranges are stated as it is helpful for responses to also state ranges

Blood tests for thyroid hormones should be at the very earliest time and fasting, but you can drink water. Leave 24 hours between your last dose of levothyroxine and the test and take it afterwards.

Your TSH is still highish and the aim is to get it to around 1. Some doctors mistakenly think anywhere in the range is fine and that might be around 4 or 5. We wouldn't feel better as it would still be high.

If your doctor hasn't tested B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate ask for these. We can be deficient which can also cause problems.

[Nisha9835 in reply to shaws]

75 mcg or 100 mcg which one would be the better option to reduce the level to normal ?

[RedApple Administrator in reply to Nisha9835]

Nisha9835, The usual approach would be to increase by 25mcg at a time. Therefore if your current dose is 50mcg, it would go up to 75mcg. But you need to discuss this with your prescribing doctor.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Nisha9835]

If you were already taking 50mcg the normal is increasing 25mcg every six to eight weeks until your TSH is around 1 or lower and when you have relief of all clinical symptoms.

Unfortunately, it isn't good to raise too quickly as it can backfire on us, so slow and steady is better, even though we still feel terrible. It has taken years for our thyroid level to drop sufficiently for us to feel unwell. and be diagnosed but sometimes doctors never think it could be hypo so the patient's ill-health continues to worsen.

My TSH, when diagnosed was 100, so I still had to do the 25mcg increase after the initial 50mcg start.

If you under the care of a doctor, change to another as you are on an insufficient dose.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Nisha9835]

You should have another blood test every six weeks and an increase in levo again (25mcg) until your TSH is 1 or lower. Many GPs don't understand and tell us we're on sufficient if it is around 4 or 5. We wont be well until it's lower.