Just like to ask....

[Anna982]

How long will it be before I am completely well again? I feel like I am waiting a lifetime. I take a lot of supplements, taking levothyroxine exactly as I should be. I should be feeling well if I am taking the levothyroxine but I am not.

[shaws Administrator]

Anna982,

It takes years for us to finally be diagnosed as hypothyroid. It also takes a longer time than we would have imagined to recover our health, be free of clinical symptoms and get back to a normal life. We begin on levothyroxine and have blood tests every six weeks with an increase in levothyroxine until we are free of clinical symptoms.

It is not like taking a paracetamol which acts quickly. Our thyroid hormone receptor cells are deficient in T3, and this causes clinical symptoms. T4 (levothyroxine) is an inactive hormone and has to convert to T3, so the dose has to be raised slowly until our symptoms resolve and we feel well. It could take longer than you could imagine. Hopefully you have a knowledgeable doctor (there seem to be only a few) that can help you by allowing your levo to be increased and Free T4 and Free T3 be towards the top of the range and TSH 1 or lower. The Free tests are rarely taken.

Thyroid hormones run our whole metabolism, from head to toe and heart and brain need the most.

Ask GP to also test B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate as deficiencies can also cause symptoms.

Always get a print-out of your results with the ranges for your own records and post if you have a query.

[Mary-intussuception]

Anna

" . . I take a lot of supplements "

Do you take any multivitamins /multiminerals?

For example : are you taking iodine supplement or is there any iodine in a "multI -" type of supplement you're taking?

[greygoose]

Just the fact of taking levo won't make you well in itself. You have to take enough, for long enough.

How much are you taking?

How long have you been taking that dose?

Do you know your blood test results?

How high is your FT3?

Did you get tested for deficiencies before you started taking supplements?

What are you taking and how much and how are you taking it?

There are so many things you need to know about your own health before you can possibly guess how long it's going to take you to feel well. But, if you can answer all those questions, then we'll be able to help you.

[Mary-intussuception in reply to greygoose]

Hi greygoose, there's a lot more info on an earlier post. For example:

TSH is HIGH

and FT3 is 3.7 (3.1 - 6.8)

[greygoose in reply to Mary-intussuception]

Well, that just goes to prove my point, then, doesn't it.

[silverfox7]

It is a slow process and patience is needed. I was deficient in vits etc that I needed to reverse my bad conversion and it took 5 months though that is dependent on how low you are but I got there and once supplementing you still need to continue with a maintenance dose. I expect a lot of us rattle!

[SilverAvocado]

Hi Anna982, it looks like, from your blood tests another member posted, you are on the wrong dose of Levothyroxine. As long as you are on the wrong dose, you'll never get improvement.

The first step is to stay on that does for 6 weeks, have a thyroid panel blood test, and adjust the dose based on that. If your going with the NHS they will likely have you wait longer than 6 weeks, but the same principle applies. After adjusting, do the same process. Stick for 6 weeks and test again.

You're aiming for a freeT3 in the top part of the range. On Levothyroxine only, you will likely need your freeT4 quite high, maybe over the top, to achieve that.

With vitamins, get a complete set of tests, ferritin, folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin D done. You may have to go private if your GP won't do them. Make sure all these are optimal.

The time it takes depends on how diligently you are doing all these things, and how lucky you are with your health. It could be as little as 6 months or a year, but it could be a lot longer. I've been self medicating for two years now. I'm a lot better than I was, but still far from 100%