Another blood test now my TSH is high anybody can help me?

[laylasmom]

My latest blood work shows a TSH of 12.24 H my stupid Dr says to decrease my Synthroid from 100mcg that I am currently on, to 75mcg ! Shouldn't I be on more Synthroid like 150mcg ? Maybe take what I think I need and not tell the stupid Dr,I think he just guesses what dose I need ? I am so tired everyday , my hair is falling out in chunks, very dry skin with hives with itchy skin, no energy , very depressed, high blood pressure from 120 to 140 and my weight is way way out of control and Dr does not care , I eat clean does not matter, I am only 5'2 and now weigh 214 lbs and it keeps going up, I do not know how much more I can take ready to just give up.

I also have primary Addisons Disease for over 20 years and this Hypothyroidism for 12 years

I cannot simply switch Drs I have to wait till open enrollment which is the end of this year, I am on a fixed income and I cannot afford to find another Dr and pay cash for a Drs appointment.

My labs never ever changes ......red blood cell count 5.29H

CHOLESTEROL TOTALS 241H

LDL CHOLESTEROL 130H

NON HDL CHOLESTEROL 182 H

CREATININE 1.22H

eGFR NON AF-AMERICAN 49 L

eGFR AFRICAN AMERICAN 57 L

ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE 198H

AST 45H

ALT 67H

RED BLOOD CELL COUNT 5.29 H

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Well, you said it, your doctor is stupid!

Does he not realise that the higher the TSH the more hypothyroid we are?

Did he only test TSH, not FT4 and FT3?

You need an increase but don't go from 100 to 150mcg, increase in 25mcg increments and retest 6 weeks after the increase to check levels.

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.

I think your doctor needs to do some serious research.

Article published in UK Pulse magazine (the magazine for doctors) written by UK leading endocrinologist and past president of the British Thyroid Association, Dr Anthony Toft, says:

"The appropriate dose of levothyroxine is that which restores euthyroidism and serum TSH to the lower part of the reference range - 0.2-0.5mU/l.

In this case, free thyroxine is likely to be in the upper part of its reference range or even slightly elevated – 18-22pmol/l. Most patients will feel well in that circumstance.

But some need a higher dose of levothyroxine to suppress serum TSH and then the serum-free T4 concentration will be elevated at around 24-28pmol/l.

This 'exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism' is not dangerous as long as serum T3 is unequivocally normal – that is, serum total around T3 1.7nmol/l (reference range 1.0-2.2nmol/l).*"

*He recently confirmed, during a public meeting, that this applies to Free T3 as well as Total T3.

You can obtain a copy of the article by emailing Dionne at [e-mail] print it and highlight question 6 to show your doctor.

[shaws Administrator]

Please, in order to protect your health I'd switch to another doctor and hopefully he/she will be more knowledgeable.

The fact is it is life-giving hormones we need, not a doctor who'd cause us to become more unwell.

He/she may prescribe cholesterol lowering medication, except that our cholesterol levels do reduce automatically when we're on an optimum of thyroid hormones that make us feel well.

As your dose is increased your weight should also reduce as you will be able to convert levo into sufficient T3 the Active Thyroid Hormone. T4 (levo) is an inactive hormone but we have to be given sufficient and we have to be capable of converting it.

[Hennerton]

I presume you are in the USA? Is there a way you can make a complaint against this doctor for advising you incorrectly? Then run, run, run from him. He is dangerous. There is surely some way you can figure out how to leave his dastardly care?

[anonymous45]

The only legitimate reason I can think of that your doctor wants to reduce Thyroxine/Synthroid is because your blood pressure is too high, and increasing Thyroxine/Thyroid hormones can make this worse.

High blood pressure and weight gain whilst on Cortisol/Steroid replacement therapy (Hydrocortisone, Prednisone, etc.) might suggest the dose of this is too high. Too much cortisol replacement often results in high blood pressure and weight gain.

Instead of reducing Synthroid/Thyroxine dose, I suggest you speak to your doctor (or ideally find a more competent one) about reducing your Cortisol/Steroid replacement, and increasing your Synthroid/Thyroxine dose. Do NOT change your own dose without consulting a doctor first.

If your doctor (or a better one) decides to reduce steroid/cortisol and increase synthyroid/thyroxine; you should be able to lose weight and lower your blood pressure more easily.