Went along to the Surgery ready to fight my corner as to why I felt I needed to go back up to 125 of Levo from 100. Please, please could I have another blood test. He listened quietly and then wrote a prescription. Perhaps now I’ll be able to do the ironing without needing to sit down after every second item.
It takes 7-10 days for a Levothyroxine dose increase to be absorbed before it starts working and it will take up to six weeks to feel the full impact of the dose. Symptoms may lag behind good biochemistry by several months.
You should have a follow up thyroid test 6-8 weeks after increasing Levothyroxine. Arrange an early morning and fasting (water only) blood draw when TSH is highest, and take Levothyroxine after your blood draw.
Do you know your FT3 level ? I see you have posted about your heart issues on another forum. They could be linked to LOW T3 - check out the book on Amazon - Thyroid and Heart Failure - see link below ....
Hi Marz Thank you for the link. I was ready to ask for a full thyroid function test when he said fine. I have no idea of my FT3 levels. Another doctor tried to get them tested twice this year and the lab refused. Am 95% gluten free after reading everyone on here, but am just assuming I have Hashis as I have had an under active thyroid for so long.
Are you able to have Private Testing done through Thyroid UK - that way you can have all the correct tests done to bring you health
Yes labs refuse to test FT3 if the TSH and FT4 are in range. Ask your GP to write on the request form - Taking T3 only - that could work !!
Are you on pills for your heart ? - some could be working against the thyroid meds ....
EDIT : Just read your Bio and can see you are on lots of meds for the AF. Statins do not save lives and there is no research to say it helps women at all.
Checked out the link, hope the library will order me in the book at that price.
Will have a private blood test done once I get over the Christmas hump in my bank account.
My GP certainly wrote something about T3 on my blood form twice and this last time I never even got my FT4 tested only TSH which was 1.
The doctor today also doubled my Nabivolol so hope that won’t have an interaction. The statins were prescribed when my cholesterol was always 6.9. Another side effect of an under active thyroid I think. They immediately brought it down to 4.3. So I decided to come off them for a 6 week trial. Back at 6.9 in a fortnight.
Yes in the early 70's before thyroid testing was a regular feature - anyone with raised cholesterol had their thyroids treated. !! I believe statins are contra-indicated with Levo. Homocysteine is a better marker for heart issues and strokes than cholesterol - but rarely tested ....
The book I linked is a medical book full of research papers about the links between cardiology and endocrinology. T3 is the star of the show. Most can be found on PubMed
Cholesterol is something we need for our brains and for good hormone production. Dr Kendrick - link above - has written 43 blogs about the cause of heart disease. He also wrote the book - The Great Cholesterol Con.
I had raised Homocysteine which when lowered also lowered the cholesterol 😊
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.