After a whole month on Levo: Hello again, Since... - Thyroid UK

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After a whole month on Levo

jamalka profile image
11 Replies

Hello again,

Since I first started taking meds to treat hypo a month ago,

started taking 50 mg for a month now, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, breakfast at least an hour later,

26/09/2018

TSH 10.76 uIU/mL range ( 0.28 - 4.3 )

T3 1.27 ng/ml range ( 0.7 - 2.1 )

T4 8.89 mg/ml range ( 4.8 - 12.0 )

Doctor requested only TSH test a couple of days ago. while fasting n off meds for 24 hours, as advised on this forum

Which I have done today..

Result

17/11/2018

TSH 5.54 uIU/mL range (0.28 - 4.3 )

Kindly advice to I need to increase the dose, or remain on 50 mg of levo!

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jamalka
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11 Replies
SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering

Jamalka

Dose increase definitely. Your TSH is still over range. The aim of a treated hypo patient generally is for TSH to be 1 or lower with FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of their ranges if that is where you feel well. Repeat tests every 6 weeks, with increases of 25mcg each time, until your levels are where they need to be for you to feel well.

jamalka profile image
jamalka in reply to SeasideSusie

Thank you ma'am, I do have an appointment with doc within an hour from now on, what if the doctor requested me to increase by 50 mg!

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering in reply to jamalka

You have to go slowly with hormone replacement. If your doctor suggests 50mcg, and I doubt if he will, then just say you'd prefer to increase by just 25mcg and see how it goes.

jamalka profile image
jamalka in reply to SeasideSusie

I feel pretty well after a whole month of treatment, I feel alive once agaain, such relief those 50 mg of levo were

MaisieGray profile image
MaisieGray in reply to jamalka

I'm glad you are feeling better since your treatment started. It's perfectly possible for an otherwise healthy person with no cardiac problems for instance, to go up or down safely in 50 mcg increments (I've done so myself); and indeed some people take all 7 days dosage on one day in every seven. However, people seem to be variously less, or more, sensitive to drugs than others, and may be younger or older, may or may not have other health conditions etc; therefore the advice here has to be what works safely for everyone ie the lowest common denominator. But if your Dr knows you, and has a good grasp of your condition & its treatment protocols, and he advises a 50 mcg increase, then that's what you should perhaps go by. However, it may cause you to overshoot your optimum dose.

BadHare profile image
BadHare in reply to jamalka

Your body will get used to 50mcg soon, & your symptoms will creep back. You'll need to increase slowly every few months till you get to a happy long term dose.

jamalka profile image
jamalka in reply to SeasideSusie

Sorry for replaying too much, but the TSH decrease from 10.75 to 5.54 on 50 mg of levo in a month, is it a good sign of treatment !!

MaisieGray profile image
MaisieGray in reply to jamalka

Yes, the Levo is achieving what it is supposed to; so now you are on the path to fine tuning and optimisation! :-)

jamalka profile image
jamalka in reply to MaisieGray

BadHare MaisieGray I've just got back from doctor, she said no need to increase, remain on 50 mg of levo for more 4 weeks, then we'll increase if needed, she mentioned that she might advice to decrease to 25 mg after 4 weeks, well I feel good and increasing the dose or decreasing it to 25 mg will gladly be a smooth path to take

BadHare profile image
BadHare in reply to jamalka

You're on a starting dose, which will eventually cause a return of symptoms, possibly worse than before if you don't increase after your next visit. Lowering the dose may be enough to stop your body producing any thyroid hormones naturally, so you'll feel worse. Our bodies respond well to having the hormone that's been missing & messing upour bodies. Whilst a little bit is good to start with, it's usually not enough once our body gets used to that, so we need a top up till we get to a stable dose. Unfortunately, something we pick up on very often is that GPs don't have a clue what they're doing with hormones or essential nutrition & supplements. Lucky for us, the admins & many folks on here do! :)

I took NDT (dessicated thyroid, which was the medication used prior to synthetic T4 being invented) & was fine for a about 2-3 months on 3/4 of a grain tablet, about the dose you're taking. I then needed to increase gradually by another 1/4 grain every few months until I got to 1 1/2, then added 25mcg of synthetic T3. I'm currently taking 1 tablet of each as I've tweaked my nutrition & supplement intake for the better, so need less thyroid hormone than a year ago, but more cofactors. I may need to increase a little as the weather gets colder & my thyroid hormone demand increases.

It's important that you have good levels of vitamins D, C, Bs (especially B12 & folate), & minerals magnesium, iron & ferritin for good conversion of T4 to the T3 all our cells need. Some people with hashimoto's find zinc & selenium helps, as well as excluding gluten completely. Ask your GP is they checked your antibodies to confirm whether you have this, & if so, check out the posts that other TUK folks have written.

BadHare profile image
BadHare in reply to jamalka

Yes, but keep increasing until it gets to 1 or below.

It's good to be aware of your symptoms & how your body feels, as well as the blood test results.

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