I haven't posted a message for a while but regularly read peoples posts.
Everyone on here was very helpful when I was first started taking levothyroxine and I was trying to learn as much as I could so I would be interested in people’s comments on the following:
I was referred to an endo and the outcome of the appointment (end of last year) was that he wrote to my GP, stating in his opinion, I was over-medicated. He based this on the fact that he said there was a tremor when he asked me to stretch out my arm. I told him hospitals and GP surgeries made me very anxious and because I was shaking anyway there was bound to be a tremor in my fingers. I also told him I was experiencing no symptoms of over-medication on 100 mcg of levo daily.
I was concerned that my GP would try to reduce my dose so I reduced my levo to 600 per week (just skipped 100 every Friday) to see how I felt. That was at the beginning of this year. I experienced a few symptoms: tightness in throat and occasional pins and needles over the following months. At the beginning of this month I started to experience persistent low mood. Then the fatigue started and other symptoms followed and I now feel fairly awful!
I did a Medicheck test for TSH, T4 and T3 on Tuesday. It had been in the back of my mind to do this for a while anyway as I thought if I had blood test results to show that less than 100 per day was too low a dose it would be useful to show my GP if he tried to reduce my dose, as no doubt he would reduce it by 25 per day anyway so I would then be on 525 levo per week. Also I wanted to test my T3 level as I know my surgery won’t request it.
These are my results on 600 levo per week:
TSH *7.28 (0.27-4.2)
T4 15.200 (12.00-22)
T3 4.4 (3.10-6.8)
On the basis of the above results I intend to increase my dose back to 100 every day immediately.
My GP has not called me back for an appointment or blood test since they received the Endo's letter and they are continuing to give me repeat prescriptions for 100 of levothyroxine. I hope the above makes sense as I am experiencing brain fog at the moment!
Also I asked my surgery to test antibodies in July of last year so they did request TPO and the result was 768 >100+
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Lje05
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As I'm sure you know you're definitely very undermedicated and may eventually need more than 100mcg Levo daily as the aim of a treated hypo patient generally is for TSH to be 1 or below or wherever it needs to be for FT4 and FT3 to be in the upper part of their respective reference ranges when on Levo if that is where you feel well. . You should retest 6 weeks after increasing dose.
TPO was 768 >100+
Well that confirms autoimmune thyroid disease aka Hashimoto's but most doctors dismiss antibodies as being of no importance and know little or nothing about Hashi's and how it affects the patient, test results and symptoms. You need to read, learn, understand and help yourself where Hashi's is concerned.
You can help reduce the antibodies by adopting a strict gluten free diet which has helped many members here. Gluten contains gliadin (a protein) which is thought to trigger autoimmune attacks so eliminating gluten can help reduce these attacks. You don't need to be gluten sensitive or have Coeliac disease for a gluten free diet to help.
Supplementing with selenium l-selenomethionine 200mcg daily can also help reduce the antibodies, as can keeping TSH suppressed.
Hashi's and gut absorption problems tend to go hand in hand and can very often result in low nutrient levels or deficiencies. It would be a good idea when you retest after your dose increase to do a Medichecks Thyroid UltraVit to include the important vitamins and minerals, unless you can persuade your GP to do all these tests
I did go gluten free but have slipped recently. I'm not sure if made a difference or not. One of my siblings and myself are currently clearing and selling my Father's business premises and house due to a diagnoses of dementia. The nature of his business and the fact that he is a hoarder has made this a monumental task and I am sure the stress of the situation is not helping, as I work full time and have been using annual leave to help my sister sort everything out for my Father. So I'm finding it difficult at the moment to cook and eat as healthy as I usually do.
I asked for various vitamins to be tested last year but the only ones my GP would request were vit B12 and D. The lab refused to test vit D so I did it privately and it was fine although I did use a BetterYou oral spray during the last winter and will do so again this winter. My B12 was in range but quite low so I have been taking a good B complex plus good B12 (both recommended by people posting here). I also use a a magnesium spray at night. I was also taking selenium but not currently taking it.
With thyroid results that poor it is hard to believe that removing one dose of 100 mcg levothyroxin a week has suddenly raised you TSH say from a good 1, or less, up to 7.28! I would have thought you were undermedictated when your saw the endo. and any tremor he believed was thyroid related was hypo- rather than hyper- related! Bit odd, although it can be good to see a doctor looking at physical symptoms instead of relying solely on bloods, this endo seems to have gone the other way...did he do reflex tests, pinch your skin etc too? I'd make sure your folate, ferritin, Vit D and B12 were optimum, high, levels were good as you are Hashimoto's, and convince your Gp you need more levothyroxin up to 125 mcg daily, then retest in 6-8 weeks, possibly to raise again.
The endo didn't do reflex tests or pinch my skin.He did ask for bloods to be done at the time and that was on 100 mcg of levo a day.
The results were (the end of last year):
TSH 0.2 (0.4-5.00)
T4 15 (9.00-19.00
T3 3.8 (2.6-5.7)
I haven't had THS, T4 and T3 tested in the intervening period. So the Medichecks test I did on Tuesday (see original post) has been the only test I have done since the Endo checked them. I'm assuming my GP will do annual thyroid blood tests but I don't know if they will use the test from the hospital as the last test or the last test that my GP surgery did which was at the end of Sept 2017 and only for TSH and T4 of course.
Perhaps the huge difference in TSH reflects a Hashimoto's flare , with subsequent trough, had taken place. Gps normally only do TSH only after diagnosis, so you might be in trouble with changing levothyroxin prescriptions as your TSH goes up and down as with these few results. How do you feel? Many of us end up DIYing our 'meds' to feel better.
I did wonder if I'm experiencing a hashi's flare. Unfortunately GPs seem to completely disregard or just don't understand the autoimmune aspect. I felt awful which is what prompted me to do a Medichecks test plus there was an offer on this month. I had a suspicion that my T4 and T3 levels would be less then halfway through the range because I am feeling awful but was surprised to see that my TSH had climbed to 7.28.
Meant to say also that I was thinking of doing the UltraVit test but I had enough trouble getting enough blood from my fingertips to get my TSH, T4 and T3 tested. I did try a lot of the tips that people post for fingerprick tests. Maybe I will get better with practice! I think it would be a good idea to see where my folate and ferritin levels are at. Pointless trying to persuade my GP to do them. I requested folate and ferritin last year but the GP didn't request them. It's easier to do them for myself as I can't face the conservation with the GP and being refused them again!
You can always arrange a venous blood draw if you don't think you can manage 2 x microtainers for the UltraVit test. Medichecks have clinics or even home phlebotomy service I think, but of course it's all extra cost. Unless you have a friend who is a nurse
Yes I was aware that I could arrange a blood draw but I can't afford to pay the extra. I'm just hoping that I get better at the fingerprick kits with practice. I might have to make friends with a nurse (I would put a smiley face here but haven't figured out how to do it on here!)
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