Lots of Questions

[cecetate]

Hello everyone,

I have recently been diagnosed with hypoactive thyroid... my Levels were T4- 0.4, TSH-78.71... is on thyroid meds 150mg... not sure what to expect or think. I also have the Mirena and haven't noticed my symptoms disappearing. I haven't seen an ENDO my doc talks to the ENDO but I'm waiting 8 weeks of taking the medicine to retest. Is there any advice?

[shaws Administrator]

Welcome to our forum and am sorry you have a problem with your thyroid gland.

I think you have hypothyroidism which means your gland isn't working so well and sending out too few hormones.

Unfortunately, as we are dealing with hormones, increases cannot be rushed. You are taking 100mcg of levothyroxine (also known as T4) and it then has to convert T3 which is the only Active hormone required in our receptor cells.

It will take a while for your body to settle down when you are on a sufficient dose.

We have to read and learn and ask questions so that we can recover our health.

Hypothyroidism means we don't have sufficient thyroid hormones to run our body, from head to toe. Hyperthyroidism means our gland is producing too much.

When blood tests are due it has to be at the very earliest possible, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24 hours between your last dose of hormones and the test and take it afterwards. This helps keep your TSH higher and may prevent a reduction in your dose.

Ask GP to test B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate when you get your test as we can be deficient and if so also causes unpleasant symptoms.

Always get a print of your results with the ranges for your own records and you can post if you have a query.

[cecetate in reply to shaws]

Okay thank u for all the info. I will ask for that! I really hope it regulates. Because my body is still out of wack!!

[shaws Administrator in reply to cecetate]

It has probably taken years for us to be finally diagnosed, so it stands to reason it can take some time to reach a platau when you feel well with no symptoms. Thyroid hormones have to be gradually increased.

[greygoose]

Did your doctor put you on 150 mcg right from the start? That might have been a bit much! Usually, the starting dose is not more than 100 mcg - usually 50 mcg. So, if you start to feel worse, it might be that the dose was too high. How long have you been taking it?

[cecetate in reply to greygoose]

I started it May 8th and I did feel worse sometimes still do. I overly sweat still my weight is crazy and my body is all out of wack. I have now pneumonia out of nowhere! And yes started out at 150mg from the beginning

[greygoose in reply to cecetate]

You could try lowering your dose, see if that helps. But if you do that, you need to wait at least six weeks before getting retested. It takes that long for adjustments to be felt.

But, it's the hypo that makes you feel your body is out of whack - because it is out of whack! Thyroid hormone is needed by every single cell in your body. So, if there's not enough to go round, all sorts of things can go wrong.

[Saggyuk]

Yes, that's not normal procedure, normally you start on low dose and work up with retests every 6-8 weeks as can be a shock to your system otherwise but also because it takes that long to see the full effect of a dose. Most people are started on 25-50 mcg and then worked upwards in increments of 25 until levels are good. Giving you 150 at once may even make you hyper after a while so not sure who he's getting his information from.

I think maybe you need to show him the following NICE guidelines which they should be adhering too which state:

Initiation and titration

The dose of levothyroxine (LT4) should be individualized on the basis of clinical and biochemical (thyroid function tests) response. Treatment must be monitored regularly to determine an adequate dose and to avoid both under-treatment and over-treatment.

The initial recommended dose is:

For most people: 50–100 micrograms once daily, preferably taken at least 30 minutes before breakfast, caffeine-containing liquids (such as coffee or tea), or other drugs.

This should be adjusted in increments of 25–50 micrograms every 3–4 weeks according to response. The usual maintenance dose is 100–200 micrograms once daily.

For people aged over 50 years and people with cardiac disease or severe hypothyroidism: 25 micrograms once daily, adjusted in increments of 25 micrograms every 4 weeks according to response.

Once a stable thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level is achieved and an adequate dose determined, arrange follow up to check thyroid function tests (TFTs) at 4–6 months and then annually.

You can print off the full details on this link:

cks.nice.org.uk/hypothyroid...

[cecetate]

Omg! I thought so. Thank you I will look into this because now I swear horribly and my weight is bad and I'm tired yet energized it's so weird