Help with labs - upper range but feel bad - Thyroid UK

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Help with labs - upper range but feel bad

NoUserNameIsNotUsed profile image

Hi all,

When I took my labs a couple weeks ago I was on 50 mcg Levo and 1.5 grains Naturethroid. I had been slowly increasing the Levo from 12.5 mcg to 50 and had been on 50 for four weeks (now six) when the test was done. I was feeling a little overmedicated at that time. I have felt strangely weird since starting Levo in June, but in the past two weeks I have felt increasingly bad (I only sleep 4-5 hours a night and have to take sleep medication, low stamina, VERY low mood, hair falling out, feel hot, dry skin, loose bowels, then constipation, feel like a zombie, not like myself).

My normal low blood pressure of 90/70 that I've had all of my life has gone to 135/60. What??? For the previous 6 years I was on only Naturethroid but I was unable to tolerate dose increases above 1.75 even though my T3 and T4 were right on the border of out of range low. Adding T3 made me feel awful. Adding Levo was the next thing to try.

Have addressed all vitamin/iron issues and all my vitamins are in the high end of range, so all good there.

I feel so messed up that I lowered the Naturethroid to 1.25 grains (with the consent of my doctor). Still feel bad, but it's only been a few days.

I'm confused because the higher my T3 and T4 have gone, the worse I feel in a certain respect, but then when they are low I feel bad in a different way.

I do not have Hashimotos.

Latest labs:

TSH: .006

Free T4: 1.47 ng (.82-1.77)

Free T3: 3.9 pg (2-4.4)

rT3: 18.8 ng (9.2-24.1)

Cortisol (morning, fasting): 14.7ug (6.2-19.4 for morning)

PTH: 23 p g (15-65)

My calculations have my T3 at 88% range and my T4 at 83%. This is the highest they have ever been. When they were slightly lower when taking NDT only, I felt like death warmed over (in the overmedicated sense and was sleeping 3 hours/night), so I seem to be tolerating the higher hormone levels better with the Levo, but still don't feel good.

My resting heart rate has jumped from 62 to 67 in the past few days.

I have never felt right on any combo or dose of thyroid meds, but there was a time when 1.75 grains was OK, for a couple years but a year ago was too low. Been trying different things since and really don’t know what to do.

I’ve mentioned in another post that I’m thinking of going off all meds (with supervision) and taking my chances. I didn’t feel as bad off meds as I do on so it seems futile. I have some pipe dream that my labs were low because I had a reoccurring kidney infection about 4 months before my diagnosis. I’m terrified of going off meds thought because I know my thyroid will crash before it kicks in again and I don’t want to be ill for months with the hope that my thyroid returns to its premedicated state. I have had a suppressed TSH (.004-.008) for six years. I’m holding out for now trying to see if I can find the magic combo, meanwhile I struggle through 34 hours/week job plus full time graduate school feeling unwell.

Thank you for your help.

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4 Replies

Also, forgot to mention that I've developed severe nerve pain in my hands and feet about a month after starting Levothyroxine. Never had this in my life, and perhaps it's a coincidence, but it is cause for concern. I sometimes can't type or hold a pen and I was totally normal before. Between this, the hair falling out, and blood pressure increasing 45 points, I'm feeling pretty down on Levo at this point.

crw2ddd profile image
crw2ddd

This sounds a bit like my story. I've been trying different things over the last two years and I don't feel well either. I get body aches and I'm itchy. I also have nerve pain. It started in my hands and now it's in my arms. Sometimes my feet and a little across my abdomen by my belly button. My nerve conduction test showed zero nerve damage. My Endo thinks it's autoimmune in nature since the sensation comes and goes, but I only have a positive ANA and nothing else to show. Ive tried 50 levo only, 75 levo only, levo and cytomel, levo and slow release t3, and now levo and armour together. I also have trouble regulating my body temp, I have jaw pain, neck soreness, my mood is all over, extreme PMS symptoms and long heavy cycles, appetite all over the place, my hair is a weird texture, I have gritty eyes, and my scalp itches and flakes like crazy. I've never been off levothyroxine sometimes I wonder what would happen if I ditched it and went straight ndt. Or maybe it's the ndt and unnatural fluctautions in the hormones through the day or maybe it's another cause all together.

shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator

I'm sorry you are feeling so unwell and the majorit on the forum will know exactly how you feel.

The following might be helpful re insomnia etc:-

forefronthealth.com/hypothy...

NoUserNameIsNotUsed profile image
NoUserNameIsNotUsed in reply to shaws

Thanks shaw, I will check it out. I think I am simply overmedicated and that it really does take a full 6 weeks to feel the full effects of an increase. At four weeks at the 50 mcg level my t3 was at 88% of range and I think at 6 weeks, almost 7 now, I am now just way too high for my body. Hopefully the decrease of NDT to 1.25 grains will help. I will refrain from decreasing even more and overshooting it again (I had decreased from 1.5 to 1 grain when I first increased to 50 mcg Levo b/c I felt like I was going to have a heart attack, but then a week later felt very low!). I'm also one of those unfortunate people who gains a ton of weight when I'm overmedicated (AND when I'm under medicated, ugh), so that's fun too. I'll sit tight with the 50 mcg + 1.25 grains and see how it goes. Thank you.

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