Help

[Jax51]

Hi, i was diagnosed as having an underactive thyroid 2 months ago. I have been on levothyroxine since and just had my latest blood results back and my tsh has gone from 16.77 to 54.2 ... any help would be appreciated.

[greygoose]

How much levo were you put on to start with?

Do you have copies of your blood test results? Did they only test the TSH? If you have other results, do post them, with the ranges.

[Jax51 in reply to greygoose]

I have been on 50 microgram for past 2 months and am being put up to 75 micrograms from tomorrow

[greygoose in reply to Jax51]

OK, so what about the blood test results?

[Jax51 in reply to greygoose]

Picking up a printout in morning

[greygoose in reply to Jax51]

OK

[SlowDragon Administrator]

What dose of Levothyroxine are you taking and what has your GP said & done?

Have you been taking Levo on empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after.

Many take early morning on waking, but it may be more convenient and possibly more effective taken at bedtime

verywell.com/should-i-take-...

Many people find Levothyroxine brands are not interchangeable. Once you find a brand that suits you, best to make sure to only get that one at each prescription. Watch out for brand change when dose is increased or at repeat prescription.

Many patients do not get on well with Teva brand of Levothyroxine. Though it is the only one for lactose intolerant patients

Which brand are you currently taking?

[Jax51 in reply to SlowDragon]

50 microgram now being put up to 75 micrograms. Have been taking same time every morning on an empty stomach then nothing else for over an hour.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Jax51]

Is it Teva brand? Or different brand?

[Jax51 in reply to SlowDragon]

Teva

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Jax51]

Is the 25mcg also Teva?

You may benefit from changing to different brand, unless lactose intolerant

Link to other posts mentioning Teva

healthunlocked.com/search/p...

[Jax51 in reply to SlowDragon]

Just picked up new prescription and its also Teva

[shaws Administrator]

I am not sure if you know the procedure we should do if we want the most accurate results from a blood test for thyroid hormones.

First - the blood draw should be at the very earliest possible, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24 hours between your last dose of levothyroxine and the test and take afterwards. This helps keep the TSH at its highest as doctors are apt to adjust dose to try to 'fit' it into a range.

You were obviously not given sufficient dose(s) as your TSH has risen significantly as we should have a blood test every six weeks with a 25mcg increase in levo until TSH is 1 or lower.

GP should also check B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate too. Everything has to be optimal.

It is essential to have the ranges of results stated because labs differ and so do ranges.

[Jax51 in reply to shaws]

Doctor has just increased Levo to 75mcg. My next blood test is 19th October .

[shaws Administrator in reply to Jax51]

That's good.

[Jax51 in reply to shaws]

Just seem to be either sleeping or working at the mo with a constant headache , painful back and the feeling of my knuckles swollen

[shaws Administrator in reply to Jax51]

I do feel sorry for you - it is such a struggle and we wonder why, when taking thyroid hormones, we feel much worse and want to stop in reality. We used to get doses of NDT around 200 to 400mcg. That was before blood tests, now with T4 alone we are restricted, with NDT it was increased until patient was symptom-free and felt well and no blood tests to restrict dose.

[Jax51]

I'm hoping once this new dose kicks in I will start feeling a bit better