Alternative dosing- advice please...

[Sarahlouise1980]

Hi, I’m currently taking 137.5 mcg of Levothyroxine daily by alternating 125/150 mcg doses. This was reduced down from 150mcg as I felt slightly over medicated. On the 137.5 mcg tests are showing and I am still feeling slightly over medicated. Now I’m stuck.... at 125 mcg I was under medicated with a Tsh of 10.6 and T4 just above bottom of the range and had symptoms such as fatigue and hairloss etc. My question is considering Levothyroxine is only available in 25, 50 and 100 mcg tablets what is the way forward? I wanted to try 130 mcg daily but how?

[Clutter]

Saralouise1980,

If TSH was 10.6 on 125mcg you were almost certainly still undermedicated on 150mcg. What symptoms did you have to make you think you were overmedicated?

Please post the results and ranges for the tests you had while taking 137.5mcg.

[Sarahlouise1980 in reply to Clutter]

On 125mcg my results were:

TSH 10.6 (0.38-5.33)

Free T4 8.6 (7.0-16.0)

Symptoms of extreme tiredness and increased hairloss.

On 150mcg

TSH 0.022 (0.38-5.33)

Free T4 15.6 (7.0-16.0)

Free T3 5.4 (3.8-6.0)

Feeling overheated, sweating lots. Loose bowels increased acne.

On 137.5mcg

TSH 0.005 (0.38-5.33)

Free T4 15.3 (7.0-16.0)

Free T3 4.9 (3.8-6.0)

Symptoms now are still feeling overheated, loose bowels frequently and increased acne. Hairloss has subsided on the higher doses however.

Help! Before the test that showed I was under medicated I had been on the same 125mcg dose for around 15 years! I feel lost....

[Clutter in reply to Sarahlouise1980]

Sarahlouise1980,

Wow, hard to believe that 25mcg can make such a difference.

How long have you been leaving between dose adjustments?

If you want to average 130mcg daily reduce dose by 50mcg one day per week.

[Sarahlouise1980 in reply to Clutter]

Thanks for replying clutter, yes I’m surprised too! Over the last 10 years or so my TSH result has always been around 2 (same range) and I’ve felt well on the 125 until it increased to 10.6. I didn’t put the symptoms I was experiencing down to my thyroid until the doctor rang and told me to increase my dose!

Now I feel it’s a balancing act. I just hope I can find my sweet spot so to speak!

[Sarahlouise1980 in reply to Sarahlouise1980]

Forgot to mention I’ve left at least 6 weeks between dose changes and testing. I have a blood test on Monday so will see what the results are!

[Clutter in reply to Sarahlouise1980]

Sarahlouise1980,

It's weird how levels that have been stable for years suddenly go haywire.

You're doing the right thing by making very small adjustments now because it would be easy to under or over shoot your 'sweet spot'.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Have you had vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 tested plus thyroid antibodies as suggested in all your previous posts?

Low vitamins significantly affect thyroid uptake

If you have Hashimoto's (high antibodies) then levels vary.

Gluten free diet often helps with Hashimoto's