Levothyroxine Dosage

[sidneymark70]

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos some years ago and have struggled ever since.

Can an anybody please tell me if it’s possible to be prescribed Levothyroxine a dosage between 75 mg and 100 mg? 75 is too little and 100 is too much. My pharmacist told me it is possible in France (she is French).

Was put up to 100 but it pushed me into hyper but now put back down to 75 can hardly get out of bed.

Thank you.

[bantam12]

You can juggle the dose by taking alternate days or splitting tablets, you just have to experiment until you find the right amount.

I take 125 for 5 days then 150 on the other two days to get the dose i need.

[sidneymark70 in reply to bantam12]

Thanks so much for this Bantum. Don’t know why I didn’t think of this. Does it take a lot of experimenting to get it just right?

[bantam12 in reply to sidneymark70]

Might take a while as you have to give yourself time to adjust between each dose change, you could try alternate days or like I do take the higher dose once or twice a week and see how you go.

Good luck

[SlowDragon Administrator]

As you have Hashimoto's you need to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

These are often too low and may need supplementing

Are you on strictly gluten free diet?

[greygoose]

I don't think it is possible in France. It seems to go up by 25 mcg - 25, 50, 75... up to 200. And endos are very strict about prescribing the exact dos in one pill. If you needed 75, they would prescribe 75 and not 25 + 50 - I once suggested that and got my head bitten off! And, they will tell you that you can't go any higher than 200, because that's the biggest pill - they will not prescribe 200 + 25! Ignorance reigns supreme in most countries.

[sidneymark70 in reply to greygoose]

I’m not talking about going up to that muchGreygoose. 75 seems too little and 100 too much. So what do I do? Bantam said he’d found a way of doing it which will take a lot of experimenting so going to see my GP next week. As think it’s too complicated for me to do on my own

Also Slowdragon, I take Vit D. Had vit B12 tested and am told I’m fine. And no I’m afraid I’m not on a gluten free diet. Does this make a lot of difference?

[greygoose in reply to sidneymark70]

No, I know you weren't talking about going that high. I was just explaining the ludicrous system for the general interest if all.

So, what you do is, take 75 one day, and 100 the next. That gives you an average of 87.5 mcg per day. You can do that with levo, because it's a storage hormone, the difference in dose won't affect you. You can't, of course, do that with T3, though.

[sidneymark70 in reply to greygoose]

Oh yes of course. That’s worth a try. Have you any idea how long it takes for levo to get into the system. I mean if I do this, how long might it be for me to start feeling better, do you think? And thank you.

[greygoose in reply to sidneymark70]

Anything from 10 days to six weeks. Impossible to tell. Depends how well you convert.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

I am prescribed 56 * 100 microgram tablets + 28 * 25 microgram tablets - intended to last four weeks. That is, 112.5 per day - which I achieve (approximately) by splitting the 25 microgram tablets.

(Any inaccuracy is not important. I make sure I split each tablet and put one half in today's pot, the other half in tomorrow's. Still better than alternating 100 and 125. Dropping bits on the floor is a no-no!)

[sidneymark70 in reply to helvella]

Yes that’s true. It’s hard to cut the tablets in half isn’t it?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to sidneymark70]

It depends how accurate you need to be - and the tablets themselves. "Good enough" is easy enough with an inexpensive pill cutter.

[nancarolyn]

Hi sidneymark70. I live n Maryland, USA and have been taking levothyroxine for 30 years. My dosage has fluctuated with blood test every 6 months. I now am on .137mg. a day and no problem. My 29 year old has been taking it also since he was 4 years old. Here they do not take it very serious as they do in the UK. Maybe they should. My son is doing well. We were told more dangerous to your body not to take it. Like a vitamin, buy I have had many other problems, so I am not sure I could pinpoint if there is a problem with my thyroid with the levothyroxine, although I do remember feeling extreme fatique and I needed increase, but for now it has been same dose for years. I hope this helps and good luck to you. Give it time My son first had hashimoto and now is hypo. I know it can change especially when you first go on it for them to be able to tell by bloodwork what dose is right for you. Hang in there and keeping talking to doctors that you like.