Thyroid blood levels dropping despite levo, is this common?

[dotster]

You may remember my gp started me on a 3 month trial of levo as clinically I am classic hypo with a strong family history although bloods on the cusp. I know she went outside of protocols to do this and told me the dose may be stopped or reduced at 3 month check up. Went back today to be told that my levels had only risen by .2 despite levo which effectively a drop so dose has been increased, she said it fully justified her decision and that she was prepared to trial it as she is hypo and suffered terribly, anyone else experienced it? At least now I have a diagnosis.

[greygoose]

How much levo did she put you on to begin with? It's a common mistake that doctors make, to start people on too low a dose. Was it 25 mcg? The problem there is that that dose is enough to lower your thyroid's natural production, but not enough to compensate for the drop in production. So, you end up with less thyroid hormone than you had before. 50 mcg is a better dose to start on, for the majority of people. But the same thing could possibly happen, even on 50.

[dotster in reply to greygoose]

She started me on 50 mcg but has now upped it to 75 mcg

[Kitten44 in reply to greygoose]

Hi, sorry to highjack Doster's post.

Greygoose, your posts are always so knowledgeable and comprehensive, thanks for that! I am what the NHS considers "subclinical", but just this week found a GP open minded enough to acknowledge my multiple symptoms are down to an underactive thyroid, so put me on a Levo 25mg trial for 3 months. From what you are saying, such a dose is probably not enough to have an impact on wellbeing, but may be sufficient to amend the blood test numbers in a way that may be interpreted as "in range". So, what is your advice to push for a higher dose/continued treatment and, if an end to the "trial" is suggested, challenge that decision?

[greygoose in reply to Kitten44]

Kitten, please post your own question in a new thread. It isn't fair to dotster to tag on to her thread like this. And, you'll get much better replies, and it will be less confusing. Just copy and paste that question into a new question. OK?

[Kitten44 in reply to greygoose]

Hi Greygoose, thanks for this. I actually posted yesterday. healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[eeng]

You seem to have a knowledgeable and kind doctor. It is normal to need an increased dose of Levothyroxine after the starter dose (normally 50mcg). If you have thyroid antibodies you may well need regular dose increases (every year maybe) until your own thyroid stops producing anything, at which point you will be on a 'full replacement dose' and not need further increases. The aim is to get your TSH reading down to 1 or below. You should also get your iron, ferritin, Vit D, B12 and Folate checked because people with dodgy thyroids are often low in these and need to have healthy levels (not just within the normal range) for their thyroid medication to work properly.

There is lots of really useful information on this forum which may help you.

[dotster in reply to eeng]

Thank you eeng I have had all the above tested and all are within very healthy ranges but thank you, I guess I just expected the level to rise on levo, amazing what you learn