newly diagnosed

[JESA200]

i was diagnosed with under active thyroid around 5 weeks ago , they have put me on 25mg of levothyroxine at first i felt great but now im back to feeling tired and sluggish and aching joints etc, when will they do another blood check ?

[greygoose]

They should retest at the six week point. So, in a week's time. Just go back and ask for a test, then.

[JESA200 in reply to greygoose]

fab thank you

[greygoose in reply to JESA200]

You're welcome.

[shaws Administrator]

You need blood tests every six weeks and 25mcg is a supplemental dose not a starting dose unless you are very frail with a heart disease. 50mcg is usual with 25mcg increments every six weeks.

Blood tests have to be at the very earliest, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24 hours between hour last dose and the test and take it afterwards. This keeps the TSH at its highest and prevents doctors wrongly adjusting dose. (TSH drops throughout the day and is from the Pituitary Gland).

[JESA200 in reply to shaws]

thank you ,, my heart is fine so dont know why i have started on so little ?

[shaws Administrator in reply to JESA200]

Many Doctor's don't appear to know the starting dose is 50mcg. In fact they know so little that's why there there are 67,000+ members and all with a very similar stories. i.e. they feel awful and have lots of symptoms but remain undiagnosed due to a TSH not being towards 10. (in UK) Or kept 'in range' so don't have sufficient hormones to drive their metabolism.

Or - as they know no clinical symptoms - are apt to prescribe something for the symptom instead of an overall optimum thyroid hormone.

In other countries we're diagnosed if TSH is 3+.. Or we are kept on a low dose to keep the TSH 'somewhere' in range when we need it to be around 1 or below. They rarely test patients Free T4s or Free T3's especially when patient is still complaining.

Also B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate have to be optimal too. Deficiencies cause symptoms. So if you've not had these request them.

[JESA200 in reply to shaws]

That's really helpful thank you