A little "level" advise please ! TSH 0.05 T4-19 g.p wants to reduce levo ..

[hera123]

Hi 49 yrs old with thyroid problems for over 20 years , initially swayed back & forth then hypo for the last 15 years , Ive been on levothyroxine at 150 dose per day but Doc wants me to reduce as latest results show serum TSH 0.05 & says could be over medicating ... thing is ive only just started to lose weight very very slowly with careful food planning ,,after years of struggling with it (need to loose 3 -4 stone ) and really dont want to rock the boat ! Is 0.05 dangerously low ? is anyone else ok with similar ?

my free T4 level is 19pmol/L

calciums levels all within range

TSH 0.05

T3 is not on the test results

I would be very grateful for any advise , although ive been on thyroxine for 20 years ive never got my head around results etc ! I have other health issues inc M.E /CFS , hypermobility syndrome, spinal surgery , slow bowel transit , depression.

[Clutter]

Hera123,

My endocrinologist was trying to raise my TSH from <0.01 to 0.05 but agreed I wasn't over medicated because FT4 and FT3 are within range.

TSH 0.05 isn't unduly low and FT4 19 isn't high so there's no need to reduce your dose. Read Treatment Options in thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_... Email [e-mail] if you would like a copy of the Pulse article to show your GP.

[cc120]

Ask him for a FT3 reading to see that you are converting T4 well before you agree to a reduction. But of course Clutter's answer is correct.

[Glynisrose]

DON'T reduce your meds based on blood tests in isolation demand a full physical examination. Doctors too often go by TSH and it is wrong.

[Hidden]

My TSH is 0.05 and the doc are perfectly happy with it. Mind you, I am on That NDT and they know what an earful they would get if they were to offer me any of their misguided "advice".

Just be firm and tell them you are perfectly happy with what you are getting now and have no desire to become ill on account of their inadequate knowledge of thyroid afflictions.

[Hidden]

Do you have Hashimoto's disease (autoimmune hypothyroidism)? If so, you may very well need a really low (below 0) TSH in order to keep the antibody levels under control. I had a GP who kept me on TSH suppressive doses of levo for years for this reason (before I switched to NDT), and I felt so much better on that than on doses that merely kept my TSH in range. Please don't lower your dose if you feel fine, without any hyper symptoms, and especially not if your free Ts (especially your FT3 levels) are in range!

[hera123]

Thanks for your replies , all very useful , I have made a g.p appoint to ask for T3 test but not sure they'll test this .

I seem to have a mixture of hyper & hypo symptoms at the moment , nightsweats , sleep problems , few palpitations , bit agitated , but also fatigue, aches , constipation , flaky skin , so not sure what's going on.

I don't know if I have hashimoto anna69 , I was never told why my thyroid played up really .