Should I increase my dose?

[Henson1980]

Hi, my names is Lauren, Im 37yrs old, I have joined this community hoping I can get some good advice. I was diagnosed with borderline underactive thyroid a year ago, I was put on 25mcg a day, I have since had blood tests to check the levels and they are now normal, however, I feel extremely tired everyday with brain fog, my hair has thinned and my scalp dry, I feel low and have put on a little weight. My dog said I could increase to 50mcg if I wanted to, I did give it a try but I gave up after the first week as I was getting a few palpitations, is this normal? should I have just carried on until the symptoms dissapeared?? So frustrated!!!

[Henson1980]

My TSH level is 6.97? Not sure if thats normal or not!

[Lisas_tired in reply to Henson1980]

What the ranges???

E.G. Mine is 0.35 (0.30-4.40) people will comment then..... so 6.97 would be way too high for my ranges xxx

[Lisas_tired in reply to Henson1980]

Also have you had everything tested? Vit d, t4, ferritin, b12 etc??

[Henson1980 in reply to Lisas_tired]

Hi, yes im also vit D deficient, im taking supplements for this.

[greygoose in reply to Henson1980]

It's much too high. It should be one or under.

Palpitations can be a symptom of under-medication. It would have been a good idea to carry on with the 50 mcg for the full 6 weeks. 25 mcg is such a low dose, you can't expect it to make you feel any better.

If you find the 50 too much, try taking 25 one day, and 50 the next, until you get used to the dose, and then go up to 50 a day.

[Henson1980 in reply to greygoose]

But without having the ranges only the TSH reading of 6.97 is this still high regardless? Or could it be deemed normal if my ranges were ok? Sorry, Im new to all this so it's not making much sense.

[greygoose in reply to Henson1980]

A TSH is always a TSH, no matter what the range. The ranges are always too high, anyway. A healthy person, with no thyroid problem would have a TSH of around 1. Your TSH of 6.97 is much too high, and means that your FT4 and FT3 will be too low. And low T3 is what causes symptoms.

[Henson1980 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks Greygoose, Im frustrated that my doc is telling me this is normal, I finding it difficult to concentrate and the tiredness is ridiculous! Im tempted to increase to 50 and see if it improves.

[greygoose in reply to Henson1980]

You most certainly should increase it to 50! Your stupid doctor should have started you on 50 in the first place! Then, he should have tested you after six weeks, and increased again by 25 mcg. He obviously knows nothing about thyroid.

If I were you, I would write a letter of complaint to the practice manager. Leaving you on a sub-starter dose for a year, is negligence!

[Henson1980 in reply to greygoose]

I have lost all faith in them to be honest! Underactive thyroid runs through the whole of my mums side of the family with my mum also just being diagnosed, they are all on a sufficient dose, im the only one on a starter dose and still feeling awful! Thanks for your comments you have been very helpful!

[shaws Administrator in reply to Henson1980]

25mcg is below a starting dose which should be 50mcg.

[Henson1980 in reply to greygoose]

Hey, my doc has increased my meds today, thanks for your helpful advice!

[greygoose in reply to Henson1980]

You're welcome. Happy for your increase!

[Avidreader in reply to Henson1980]

I agree with Henson1980 - I've spent 25 years on levothyroxin- never feeling any better - GP Just says levels are normal- But only takes bloods TSH = 0.9 & T4 = 13

But I'm now asking her to take a T3 ? Not sure if she will. All this "Guess work" is exhausting. What we need is the names & areas- (eg. London, Kent, etc ) of some approved & proper DR. Who will look at the whole picture please? When you're cognivitally exhausted (brain Fog) & bodily exhausted & trying to hold down a job... - All this can be overwhelming? I never knew that there were alternatives to Levothyroxine until I read that Daily Mail article! Now I feel there's hope, but who to see? Also, at what financial cost if the NHS won't look into Thyroid adequately?

[MrsDG in reply to greygoose]

I still haven't got my Levothyroxine dose right but had extremely low Vit D. My Dr put me on 10,000iu per day for two months. Palpitations and irregular heartbeat stopped! Maybe that's your problem.

[shaws Administrator in reply to Henson1980]

Your TSH is not 'normal' it is high because your dose of levothyroxine is too low. 25mcg is an incremental dose and the initial dose is 50mcg with blood tests every six weeks with an increase until you feel much better. Not when the TSH is somewhere in the range. It should be 1 or lower.

I'd ask for a new blood test now and then increase your dose to 50mcg with a blood test in six to eight weeks and hopefully other increases will follow.

[Henson1980 in reply to shaws]

Thank you, Im going back to the docs tomorrow to try and get this sorted out.

[Henson1980 in reply to shaws]

Would this explain the brain fog and feeling down? my memory is shocking

[Hidden]

A clue worth noting: if any doc or Endo starts discussing the so-called "normal" ranges, excuse yourself from the room and don't go back to them. Anyone at all informed about thyroid will only use the term "optimal" within the context of thyroid disease. So droning on about "normal" ranges does nothing but reveal to us the extent of their ignorance.

[foxrabbit]

Hi Lauren, whenever I increase my dose I get palpitations every so often for about 7-8 weeks but then it settles. I get lots of others symptoms too, like weakness, shaking and aches in my muscles. These are all over-treated symptoms but it's just your body settling in to the new dose. It takes time for your body to adjust to each dose increase, even if it is desperately needed, so persevere. I'm 9 weeks in to dose increase and am finally coming out the other end feeling better for it. Stick with it and always get copies of your blood results for your records. I also have bad brain fog and poor memory, it's improved a little since my increase but there's definitely still a way to go on it, so hopefully yours will improve too. Good luck

[Henson1980 in reply to foxrabbit]

Thanks so much for your reply, it's good to know this is just a temporary side effect, I can't wait to start feeling better again, I'm starting a new job next month so I need my brain to be operating on all cylinders 😊

[arpinsandie]

Hi there your post could of been me writing it I used my dose and a year on my hair has gone at the front Im tired all the time Something is wrong and gp's refuse to look at it Where do we go from here Just to say you are not alone. Chin up Sandie

[Henson1980 in reply to arpinsandie]

Hi Sandie, have you had a blood test done recently to check your levels? Mine have gone high so they increased my dose yesterday, I'm hoping my hair starts growing back and I my energy levels rise! Fed up with feeling so tired all the time! Get back to your docs and demand they look into your symptoms you deserve answers xx

[arpinsandie]

Hi my next bloods are in a week but I have to practically beg I was however referred to a dermatologist after pestering my GP with hair loss I was told it will come back in time Which is not a positive thing to say and I think the more your concerned you become the stress doesn't help your loss I think I maybe coming aranoid as being on Levothyroxone 50mcg now with nothing beneficial I can see I have twice put them in my mouth gone to swallow them to find they taste of nothing whereas medication usually has a bitter taste Could it be Om on a placebo Last week because I was finding it hard to swallow I had the camera nothing was found thyroid not even mentioned as my Go thought it could of been due to an enlarged goitre. I am heartened by this site not because people suffer but because I know it's not just me Weather not being kind either Down in the dumps but putting on a brave face - or trying too 🙄 Stay strong