Tiredness

[Chicadee16]

I have been in Levothyroxine for nearly 8 weeks. My energy levels have been great but these last few days I’ve been feeling tired and lethargic. My question is : is it normal to feel tired sometimes even though you are taking the drug regulatory and correctly?

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Looking at previous post, you were started on 100mcg levothyroxine?

Are you getting same brand of levothyroxine at each prescription

Many people find different brands are not interchangeable

Have you had vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 Levels tested yet?

Also had thyroid antibodies tested?

Bloods should be retested 8-12 weeks after starting on levothyroxine

Has GP given you blood test form?

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .

Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)

[Chicadee16 in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi I know that the B12 was tested and normal. Didn’t get a print out but saw test results online. I will do a fasting test. I’m having my first 8 week bloods next week and will ask about anti bodies. Many thanks

[Chicadee16 in reply to SlowDragon]

PS I haven’t changed brands 😊

[NWA6]

It’s usual to plateau and sometimes even drop. Initially the introduction of the correct medication can be felt, usually in a good way. Once you’re on your optimal dose you can stay there for a year, 2yrs, 10yrs but as you go forward you’ll probably need an increase again. Taking Levo initially is when we have the most increases in a shorter space of time as many are started on 50mcg and increases happen by increments of 25mcg every 6-8wks till we find our sweet spot. Hashimoto’s is usually progressive until most likely there is no thyroid function and all your thyroxine comes in synthetic form.

For me it’s liked you’ve been starved. You’re hypo, you have no energy and a host of others symptoms. When you first feed your body Levo Ofcourse it’s going to feel better but then it’s saying what about the rest of the family we’ve got to feed them too.

When you’re on the most optimal dose, the whole family is fed and everyone is happy, no need to put out an SOS for more.

The SOS is our symptoms, they tell us if we are or are not optimally treated.

But yes tiredness is still a thing even when we’re optimally treated but for me it’s a different kind of tiredness that I can’t easily describe. You are new to this condition so give yourself time to work out what’s going on. Initially that’s why blood tests and symptom lists are good but as the years go on you’ll become more in tune with your SOS signals 🤗

[Chicadee16 in reply to NWA6]

Many thanks and a great analogy! Yes it is a different tiredness; not that awful fatigue but a kind of ‘feeling off colour’ tiredness. I await my first 8 week blood test next week!

[Marz in reply to Chicadee16]

So do you have the results for the tests you were going to have ? Have you had B12 - Folate - Ferritin - VitD tested ?

[Chicadee16 in reply to Marz]

No to both counts...🥺

[Marz in reply to Chicadee16]

Oh ... 🌻

[Chicadee16 in reply to Marz]

Found the results. It only says: TSH level 0.56 mu/L

Is that any help?

[Marz in reply to Chicadee16]

Afraid not ! You need FT4 - FT3 and Anti-bodies TPO & Tg along with the aforementioned vits and minerals. Can you have testing done through Medichecks ?

[Chicadee16 in reply to Marz]

Sorry, what is Medichecks?

[Marz in reply to Chicadee16]

There is a Medichecks link posted for you on your question and thread of today - by SlowDragon ...