Levothyroxine

[fish4trace]

Hi can anyone tell me if I'm on 50mg of levothyroxine should my TSH Levels be lower than 3.48?

Thanks

[Marz]

How long have you been on that dose ? When were you diagnosed ? How do you take your Levo ?

[Jazzw]

Short answer, no. 50mcg Levo is rarely enough for anyone. It’s often just enough to completely switch off what’s left of your own body’s ability to make its own thyroid home one—yet not enough for you to feel well on (because a healthy thyroid would make a fair bit more).

How long have you been on 50mcg?

[fish4trace]

Hi I've been on 50mg for a year now, 3 months after going on it it did lower the TSH but it now seems to be rising, obviously on the results print out it doesn't say high because it's just under the 4.20 range so the Dr hasn't called me back.

[helvella Administrator in reply to fish4trace]

We see this time and again. Your thyroid hormone levels need monitoring - not just one snapshot.

It is very common for people to appear OK on a dose for a while, then need an increase. (Or, for that matter, a decrease in some cases.)

Although adjusting on the basis of TSH alone is not good, we usually expect people to have a TSH at most just over 1, and often well under 1, when adequately treated.

dropbox.com/s/sgv815w8hkexl...

[fuchsia-pink]

Are you having your blood tests early in the morning, after a gap of 24 hours from taking your levo? - this will give you the highest TSH reading.

And are you feeling well? - if not, and many of us would need a lower TSH to feel well, this is the best guide to show you need a higher dose.

[Angel_of_the_North]

NHS guidelines say that TSH should be under 2 when on thyroxine. But really your actual thyroid hormone resrults (FT4 and ft3) are more important

[DJR1 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Hello I wonder if you could post the link to these guidelines which give that advice about TSH under 2? I have not been able to find this and my GP insists on treating to the midpoint of each reference scale. He is an idiot and I self treat.

[humanbean in reply to DJR1]

Showing your doctor that the distribution of TSH in the healthy population with healthy thyroids is extremely skewed towards the lower end of the reference range might help. See this thread :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

The sources for the info in the picture are given in the post.

[celticlady]

Hi-I've been on 50mcg for years and feel fine with bloods coming back within the range. They put me on 75mcg and I was off work for months with severe panic attacks/hypoglycaemia and other debilitating symptoms. I take herbal supplements. Take care .

[Violetta25]

No you are within the normal range of 0.2-5.5. Be wary of upping Levothyroxine without doctors guidance as the wrong dosage can affect your heart function.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to Violetta25]

That might not be the normal range for the lab that did the tests.

[Violetta25 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Sorry excuse my ignorance but what does that mean?

I can understand a narrower range or even slightly wider which would still put her at normal.

[humanbean in reply to Violetta25]

You have quoted a reference range of 0.2 - 5.5. That may be the reference range for the lab which does your own tests. But if you had the tests done in a different lab the reference range that the different lab uses might be 0.5 - 5.5 or 0.2 - 4.5 or 0.3 - 5.0 or something else entirely.

Each set of test results that people get should always be looked at in conjunction with the reference range provided by the lab that actually carried out the test. You can't get a test result from one lab and use the reference range from another lab.

[humanbean in reply to Violetta25]

Another point is that if the TSH reference range is 0.5 - 4.5 (for example), patients might feel well with a TSH of between 0.5 and 1.0, but feel terribly hypo if their TSH was 4 - 4.5. Some people might feel best with a TSH under the reference range.

The reference range might be okay when considered as a population range, but individuals all have their own set point where they feel at their best. So, a patient won't necessarily feel well even if their TSH is within the population range.

The other point of course, is that TSH is not a good marker of how well people are treated anyway. The things that need to be tested are Free T4 and even more importantly Free T3.

Free T3 is the active hormone but the medical profession likes to believe that it isn't important. This is nonsense. Free T3 is the best marker for how well someone is treated. TSH is useless for monitoring "wellness" when the patient is anywhere close to their "sweet spot".

[Bookworm1961]

Hi fish4trace

It has been trial and error for a long time I have now found that I feel good on 50mcg 1 day then next day on 75mcg to bring my tsh to under 1. I'm doing ok on this dosage

[dbeck128]

Is anyone on here a female on levothyroxine? I need some advice

[helvella Administrator in reply to dbeck128]

I strongly suggest that you write a brand new post - not ask at the end of a thread about something else. Most members will miss this so it is in your interest to make any question you have more visible.

Click on the blue "Write" button.