Newly diagnosed and so many questions

[Louiseb17]

Hi I was diagnosed 10 days ago with an underactive thyroid.. my TSH level is 91.40 and my T4 is 2.1 which I believe is extremely low.

Anyway I started on 25mg eltroxin and then on Friday went on to 50mg

I still have the following symptoms and just wondered when will I start to feel normal? I take the tablets on a empty stomach and at least 2 hours before food.

My symptoms are constantly Bloated, pressure on my throat, face feels swollen, fatique, sore joints, brain fog and low mood.

In your experience when did the symptoms start to disappear? I can live with some a little longer but would love the bloated feeling and the pressure on my throat to go

Any help would be great

[jimh111]

Often patients are started on a larger dose but given your very low fT4 I can understand your doctor being cautious. Now your are on 50 mcg you should notice some improvement within the next week. They usually allow six weeks before another blood test and dose increase but in your case they should be able to do it in about four weeks. It will take at least three to six months before you are back to normal but you should be reasonably OK within a month or two. It does take time to get better.

[Louiseb17 in reply to jimh111]

Thank you so much for the reply, i have lived with the symptoms for a while so a few weeks/ months I can wait!

I'm just concerned about the pressure on my throat, is that a typical symptom? Feels like it's closing up 😥 I may go back to my gp tomorrow if I can

[jimh111 in reply to Louiseb17]

When your thyroid is failing it gets whacked by high levels of TSH which causes it to enlarge which might explain the sensation of pressure. Only time will tell if this is the cause. As you are tolerating the increased levothyroxine dose you could ask your doctor to titrate it up a little quicker. It was prudent to start low initially (in your case) but now they can be a bit more aggressive.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

I see from your other posts that you recently quit smoking. Very well done on that, but it may be related to why you have recently become very hypo.

Smoking may be connected to Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid)

verywell.com/does-smoking-c...

Ask your GP to check for thyroid antibodies and also to check your levels of vitamin D, folate, B12 & ferritin. These are commonly low & may need supplementing to help your thyroid function

If you have Hashimotos then you may well find changing to a gluten free diet may reduce symptoms

[Louiseb17 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks, il ask for these to be checked tomorrow

Yes I gave up smoking over 4 months ago.. main reason was because I felt tired all the time but when that didn't improve, I finally gave in and went to the doctors.. my gp said the smoking may have masked the symptoms but that at my levels this was something that occurred over a number of years!

Thanks for the article, I shall read and learn