For a relatively intelligent person, I have doubted the effectiveness of Levo on me and have taken a hit and miss approach to taking it.
Been on it since 1990 taking it or not taking it hasn't made any material difference that I'm aware of. I stopped taking 150mcg it for a couple of months. My GP revised my repeat prescription and a couple of months later the blood tests showed I was overdosing so my prescription was revised downward to 125mcg. I take it some days then other days I take double. I don't think anyone is going to be overimpressed with my attitude. The truth is I'm just not committed, so have tended to take it as and when I can remember. It is not part of my daily routine, there's a silent rebellion going on, hence my willpower is proving insufficient.
1-Has anyone had any similar experiences?
2- How long roughly will it take to get back on track (taking into account half life) starting from today as my blood test is already overdue.
(I'm on no other medication. The only other condition I have is a benign pituitary tumour.)
Thank you for taking the time to read this.x
Written by
Abestar
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Hello Abestar welcome to the forum. Levothyroxine has a long half life of about 7 days I believe therefore if you miss a day and double up the next you won't notice much difference but it's better to be consistent and get into good habits.
You need to take the same dose of levothyroxine for 6 weeks and then do a blood test and adjust your dose if you need to then retest 6 weeks later to check you are on the right dose. It takes about 6 weeks until levothyroxine has levelled out and got into all your cells.
Well you dont have to take the meds every day, if its t4. Levothyroxine, there have been experiments in once a week dosing which showed no adverse effects. academic.oup.com/jcem/artic...
The tsh test used by docs for dosage is based upon a pituary working well to put out the correct amount of tsh. If you have a tumour which may affect the pituary, then your doctor needs to dose you by measuring the free t4 and free t3 in your blood, and by assessing clinical symptoms. Otherwise he is guessing wildly.
You can take a weekly dose of levo. I think you'd have to start on a dose (if not having taken levo previously) and work up to an optimum.
Excerpt:
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS STUDY?
This study showed that taking weekly L-T4 can adequately treat hypothyroidism. Further, measuring FT4 2 h after the dose can help determine if any absorption problems exist. Weekly L-T4 dosing may be helpful for patients that have difficulty taking medications on a daily basis.
I have no thyroid and I have to keep TSH suppressed so I make sure to take replacement daily.
You need to allow six weeks taking 125mcg Levothyroxine daily or 875mcg weekly for FT4 and FT3 levels to respond and TSH to drop although TSH may be invalid test for someone with pituitary dysfunction. Don't take Levothyroxine on the morning of your blood test.
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