Should i postpone bloods till next week?

[Rmichelle]

Hi all i was going to get my next lot of bloods done today as i had my last lot taken 4 weeks ago, endo started me on titration dose of 10mgs of carbimazole instead of 20mgs 10 days ago, i was just wandering should i try and wait until next week so new dose gives a clearer picture how meds are working or go this week as it wont make any difference as i read somewhere you should wait at least 4 weeks to retest on new meds? Help. Thankyou.

[Karen321]

I have my bloods done every 4 weeks but would never change my dose mid way through. If you not paying for blood tests yourself I would get them done but it does take 4 to 6 weeks for a dose regime to show up in results

[Rmichelle in reply to Karen321]

Thanks karen321, you see my problem its been 4 weeks since endo tested my bloods but that was before titration dose was started, only started new dose 11 days ago, so wondering whether to try and hang out till at least another 10 days.

[eeng]

Telling you to wait 6 weeks between blood tests is usually aimed at people with hypothyroidism, because Levothyroxine takes 6-8 weeks to build up in our bodies. You are hyperthyroid, and I'm pretty sure Carbimazole acts much more quickly than Levothyroxine, so if I were you I wouldn't delay your blood test. You want to be on the right dose for you as soon as possible.

[Rmichelle in reply to eeng]

Thankyou but carbi takes around 4 weeks so im told. But feeling rubbish on this 10mg dose but you are right we esnt to feel great not rubbish. I have a thyroid scan tomorrow so may just get it done then.😊

[XDog in reply to Rmichelle]

Carbimazole can act quite quickly - I found that, when I took over my own treatment from my GP, I could test every 2 weeks and get a reliable result on which to titrate my dose. This let me get my dose right in 6 weeks after being made Hypo by my Dr for 6 months. I can't promise that would work for you but just thought I'd share.

[Rmichelle in reply to XDog]

Hi any advice is great, i was diagnosed in july and but on 20mgs carbi and 11 days results had dropped really quickly t3 and t4 are quite low now so endo said 10mgs which i feel crap on now but that could be hypo levels now ir still overmedicated. do you think if i stretch it out till fri next week it should give a better picture, how did you feel after your 1st titration, i think you notice a difference almost immediatley, i think i will be taking charge of my own dosage aswell soon or later. So did you change your dosage every 2 weeks till you felt better or every 4 weeks. Also whilst on carbi did you get your bloods done early morning before food and meds? i have been doing this. Sorry for alot of questions.😊😊

[XDog in reply to Rmichelle]

Initially my hyper results came down to hypo in about a month, then only small changes for the next 5 month. during that time I felt dire, but at the time I wasn't educated enough to know any different. As the swing from hyper to hypo was so quick, I had no idea that I was already over medicated, so still felt very ill. I took over my treatment using medichecks thyroid blood checks, and with any eye on clinical symptoms - which improved in literally days. during this time I also tested vitamins, which I fond to be low/deficient. I bought the best I could find on amazon and dived right in with very large doses for two weeks ( I also discovered that I had the homozygous MTFR gene and so had probably been deficient in B's all my life) so vits all came up to *optimum* levels ( not doctor normal levels), and fT's/TSH all came back to normal levels very quickly.

I am one of the luck ones as my Graves has gone into remission for now at least. and as I'm treating myself, I don't need to stay on a low dose of Carbimazole just because that's the way endos do it. I just take what I need which is nothing at all atm.

Antibodies are also coming down, particularly thyrotropin receptor stimulating antibodies, which is the main concern with graves.

If you have any more questions I'll do my best to answer.

Just reread your post and noticed a missed answering some points.

All bloods taken early morning, fasting.

Waiting till next Friday would quite likely give a slightly more accurate result, but as you say you already feel poorly I would guess you are already hypo, so getting the tests soon means you can take any necessary action sooner, and so potentially reducing you time feeling ill.

I changed my dose of Carbimazole every 2 weeks immediately after my test results showed that I was hypo (as my symptoms indicated)

[Rmichelle in reply to XDog]

Thankyou xdog rhat was very informative, so you reduced every 2cweeks until you felt better, so did you still get your bloods done every 4 weeks or 2 weeks? I suspect at the moment i am overmedicated still on 10mgs, what i can make out that its alot of time doing trial and error to see what doses suit you, did you buy a pill cutter or just use good old sharp knife? I had originally started to feel good around 2 weeks back and then bang!! And it all went down hill- i think im going to stretch at least to weds next week.😊

[XDog in reply to Rmichelle]

2 week intervals for blood tests and dose adjustments. I bought a pill cutter, just a few pounds. that meant I could adjust my dose by 5 or 2.5mg at a time.

The only real draw back to this frequent testing and self treating is the cost of the blood tests.

[Rmichelle in reply to XDog]

Yes i can imagine the cost is steep, i have mine done on the nhs and i know they will not allow me to get them done every fortnight so will have to drag it out till once a month. So i take it you cut out the docs and endo and went it alone??

[XDog in reply to Rmichelle]

Yes, I was feeling quite ill being over medicated for months. so I took matters into my own hands - I had a huge improvement in literally days.

[Rmichelle in reply to XDog]

Wow. Happy for you. Just alit fir me to take in at the moment for me because still new to this as only diagnosed in july and seen endo once. X off to hospital now for thyroid scan now, so catch you later if you are aroynd.😊

[Valarian]

Did the endo order both the change in dose, and the blood test ? If you’ve got an endo appointment coming up, they will want a recent blood test.

If you’re feeling rubbish, especially if you’re feeling worse than before, I’d get the test done anyway. If you’re fed up with being treated like a pincushion, or particularly worried about wasting NHS money, give the endo a call and see what they say.

[Rmichelle in reply to Valarian]

Endo changed dose which i started 11 days ago and he said retest in 4 weeks time but i eas due this week for another blood test as last test was done 1st october and my t3 and t4 levels were hitting hypo then and thats when endo said titrate dose, do feel rubbish and poorly at moment. Just wandered if a should leave it another week so new dosage is in my system so it gives a more accurate dose.

[Valarian in reply to Rmichelle]

If you’re still feeling rubbish, call him.

[Rmichelle in reply to Valarian]

Hes a waste of time. Id rather just get bloods done then call him when he has results, sooner or later i will titrate with different doses.☺