TSH 56 T4 6.9 after Levothyroxine was increased... - Thyroid UK

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TSH 56 T4 6.9 after Levothyroxine was increased to 125mg

Cath1978 profile image
11 Replies

Seriously can someone explain what is happening to me....?????

I have had my Levo increased since November gradually and I'm now on 125mg from 75mg both previous tests before increases brought out my T4 at 13 but now my GP has just phoned to say it has dropped to 6.9 what the heck....? Surely it should be going up....? My TSH has shot up from 1.45 to 56.....

Why if my Levo is being increased are my levels dropping?

(I have no thyroid by the way it has been totally removed)

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Cath1978
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SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

Bloods should only be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose increase

You seem to have only been on new dose 3 weeks?

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu....

Are you starting on T3?

Have you had vitamin levels tested?

Also extremely important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12. Low vitamin levels are extremely common,

Cath1978 profile image
Cath1978 in reply toSlowDragon

I have an appointment a week on Monday and these results were to determine the T3 uptake when I see the consultant. It has been 6 weeks since my last bloods hence the tests this morning. I've had a re run of all my tests but don't have those results yet as they were only taken this morning. This was a last minute phone call from the doctor before he left work to inform me to that my levels had dropped and he was asking me how I felt. (Crappier than normal)

I just don't understand if I've increased my dose why my T4 levels have dropped when you would think they would go up....?

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply toCath1978

What brand of Levothyroxine are you currently taking?

Many people find different brands are not interchangeable

Especially Teva can seriously upset many

Do you always take your Levothyroxine on empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after

No other medications within 2 hours. Iron, magnesium, calcium, HRT must be at least 4 hours away

Some of us find taking Levothyroxine at bedtime can give better absorption and/or be more convenient

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

Where vitamins tested this morning?

Are you perhaps taking Biotin? Eg in vitamin B complex

This can falsely affect test results and should stop supplementing anything with biotin in a week before any blood tests

Cath1978 profile image
Cath1978 in reply toSlowDragon

Yeah I take mine first thing and wait for an hour before eating...

How do I know the brand...? One says Mercury pharmacy the other says Wockhardt.....?

I take a multi vitamin at tea time and midodrine 3 times a day but nowhere near the thyroxine....

Vitamins were tested but I don’t have the results of those, I can collect those on Tuesday. It was because the TSH and T4 were so out that it had been flagged for the doctor to call me. He’s just as confused as me but what can he do on a Friday night at 6:30...other than say increase your dose again and see what the consultant says when you see her...?

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply toCath1978

Generally multivitamins are not usually recommended on here

Too little of what we do need, better to test and then supplement ones required

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply toCath1978

I would be looking more closely at the midodrine which might be having effects even when taken well away from levothyroxine.

What time did you have your blood drawn?

Cath1978 profile image
Cath1978 in reply tohelvella

First thing in the morning.

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply toCath1978

And, I assume, that means several hours after previous midodrine dose?

Cath1978 profile image
Cath1978 in reply tohelvella

Yeah I take my thyroxine about 6:30 then first dose of midodrine about 9-9:30, 11:30 for second dose and 1:30 for final dose. I’ve been taking it for a while now and haven’t seen any noticeable difference in previous tests I’ve had but this time it shocked me at the sudden increase in TSH and decrease in T4.

I’m seeing my consultant a week on Monday and She’s going to be starting T3 therapy when I see her then as she thinks I have a conversion problem.

anonymous45 profile image
anonymous45

It's impossible to tell for sure why this happened. It could be to do with absorption - if you're not absorbing enough. It could be that your damage thyroid cells were leaking hormone and that has now stopped, causing an abrupt drop in apparent gland function.

If you are taking any supplements or medications, ensure you take them a minimum of 2 hours after taking Thyroxine. Do you take any antacids (or anything containing calcium), this can prevent absorption many hours afterwards. E.g. if you take an antacid at night containing calcium carbonate, there's a change it could interfere with Thyroxine absorption. The general rule is 4 hours before or after for calcium containing medicines/supplements.

Try to make sure you optimise absorption, and get a retest within a couple of weeks. Ddiscuss the absorption with your doctors - as if you're not properly absorbing Thyroxine, you'll need to address the cause this ASAP. Could be food, timing, GI problems, calcium or supplements etc. is preventing absorption - which would be a simple resolution.

RockyPath profile image
RockyPath

Cath1978, your story sounds like mine. If your rT3 was not tested we cannot say definitively, but if you are in possession of a genetic polymorphism that impairs conversion of T4 to T3, as I am (several actually, and they may have accumulative power), then, the more levothyroxine your doctor has you take, the more rT3 you produce, and the more your pituitary gland notices something amiss and shoots out TSH, in a hormonal scream for "something different in the therapy, please."

It only took an increase from 50 mcg of LT4 to 75 mcg of LT4 for my pituitary to scream in protest. Fortunately, I took the step of obtaining private test of my FT3 and rT3 and saw the rT3 shoot above the reference range. Even a poor ratio of FT3:rT3 was making me feel crappy but when the ratio got to .11 I thought I was going to die. I actually went to an immediate care facility and saw a former emergency room physician (supposedly well trained) and he was completely disinterested in my plight. Once I had my blood work back form the test I scheduled for myself, privately, I cut back the LT4 by 50mcg and started taking 10 mcg of LT3. I felt better right away; as though someone had just given me an infusion of some magical elixir.

The elixir is called liothyronine, and it's T3, and it's necessary for you to feel well. When there is enough, your TSH will plunge.

When you take T3 you need to test every 10 to 14 days. If they won't do that, go by how you feel. When you have too much LT3, your heart rate will get uncomfortably high. Next day you take less. Easy.

Hah!

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