Endo wants to lower dose due to low tsh - Thyroid UK

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Endo wants to lower dose due to low tsh

Evie7851 profile image
20 Replies

Am i getting enough thyroid hormone my endo wants to lower it because of tsh it is 0.66 range of 0.7-1.5 tsh

free t3 3.2 range 2.2=4.0

free t4 1.1 range 0.7-1.5

she said my tsh should be 5.0 at my age of 70 otherwise I will die sooner which is alittle alarming I think time to find a new endo .My blood test at 24 hours for T4 and 9 hours for t3 also I didnt take b complex for 5 days Thank you for any help

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Evie7851
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tattybogle profile image
tattybogle

See my first reply to this healthunlocked.com/thyroidu... post, and click on the links in it .

Most of the alleged 'risks' of low TSH are covered in them.

The TSH range you put above looks incorrect , (usually something like 0.5 ish-4 ish )

If you feel well on current dose , don't let them change it just based on TSH, and certainly don't listen to anyone who wants someone on thyroid replacement hormones to have a TSH of 5.0......possibly you may live a bit longer like that , but i'd bet my house that you'd feel like death while you were doing it.

I think a lot of the research that shows elderly people have higher TSH is done on people who are not on thyroid hormones...... so not particularly relevant to someone who is.

Evie7851 profile image
Evie7851 in reply totattybogle

Yes you are right the range of t s h is 0.350-4.94 I don’t know how to change it in my original post Thank you for the links I would feel like crap with a tsh of 5 so so definitely need a new endo

tattybogle profile image
tattybogle in reply toEvie7851

In that case it's not even below range , so tell 'em to take a running jump :)

Lora7again profile image
Lora7again

What a load of tosh! Sorry but it is the T4 and T3 that counts not the TSH which is a pituitary gland hormone. My Dad and his wife is getting similar treatment because they are in their 70s. Him and his wife they are both on 50mcg of Levothyroxine and everytime I see them they complain about feeling tired and I honestly think it is because they are under medicated. I am 60 and my TSH is 0.38 and I am on nothing at the moment and in my case the TSH does not reflect how I am feeling. When my TSH was 0.70 I couldn't get out of bed and my hair dropping out by the hundreds. What dose are you on?

Evie7851 profile image
Evie7851 in reply toLora7again

I am on 112 of tirosint and 15 of t3 and I am loosing hair and I’m tired and have problems with my weight

Lora7again profile image
Lora7again in reply toEvie7851

I am not an expert on this but I wonder if you might need to increase your T3 and decrease your Tirosint. Have you ever tried NDT instead?

Evie7851 profile image
Evie7851 in reply toLora7again

Yes I have but I was having a problem with naturethyroid and armour I was thinking I may need more t3 also

Lora7again profile image
Lora7again in reply toEvie7851

Hopefully someone else will advise you about this and who is taking both T4 and T3.

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering

Evie7851

she said my tsh should be 5.0 at my age of 70 otherwise I will die sooner which is a little alarming

That's the second load of balony I've read on the forum today. That's over range and, in some circumstances, gives a diagnosis of hypothyroidism. That level is guaranteed to keep you ill.

If this were true then I am doomed. I am 72, my TSH is currently <0.02 and has been suppressed for at least the last 20 years I have been keeping a record. I am not worried about it, my FT4 and FT3 are nicely in range, that's good enough for me.

Evie7851 profile image
Evie7851 in reply toSeasideSusie

I’m glad to hear you have been fine for 20 years with a low tsh do you think if I raise my t3 up it will also raise my t4 up on the calculated my t4 is at 50% of range and my t3 is at 55% and I’m still tired and having weight gain

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering in reply toEvie7851

Evie7851

do you think if I raise my t3 up it will also raise my t4 up on the calculated my t4 is at 50% of range and my t3 is at 55%

No, if you take T3 it will increase your FT3 level, it won't raise your FT4 level.

If you want to increase your FT4 you'd need to increase your dose of T4 and if you have any natural conversion left it may raise your FT3 level. But it's low T3 that makes weight loss difficult.

When taking a combination of T4 and T3, it's normal to have a lower FT4 and higher FT3 but you need to find out where you need your individual hormone levels to feel optimally medicated. It can take a lot of tweaking and fine tuning over a considerable time.

TSH110 profile image
TSH110

She’s talking complete rubbish. Ignore her she’s a fool. And point blank refuse any attempts to reduce your dose. With those numbers you could even go up a little bit. That woman should not be allowed anywhere near patients on thyroid hormone therapy. It is her that will shorten your life if you let her decide things.

Evie7851 profile image
Evie7851 in reply toTSH110

I am going to get a new endo I checked and my T 4 is 50% and my t3 is 55 % If I raise my t3 dose alittle will it also raise my t4

TSH110 profile image
TSH110 in reply toEvie7851

Make sure you get an endo from the list Thyroid U.K. admin provide

TSH110 profile image
TSH110

Not sure - its a bit complicated I think the t4 can drop but it varies from person to person.

There’s some very interesting articles about this by Dr Tania Smith I’ll post some links. Her articles are very good some are challenging but in time things make better sense as your knowledge grows. I have learned a lot from her.

thyroidpatients.ca/2019/05/...

thyroidpatients.ca/2019/09/...

I hope you find those two of interest. If you go the home page there it lists all the blog posts Dr Smith has done - quite a few, all are very interesting and informative

Evie7851 profile image
Evie7851 in reply toTSH110

Ok thank you

humanbean profile image
humanbean

You really need to read this link :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

The origin of the graph and the table below it are given in the post and these can be printed out and given to your doctor, if you think that it will do any good. And bear in mind that people on treatment for hypothyroidism, if they are adequately treated, will usually have a TSH lower than that of healthy people with healthy thyroids.

You should refuse to reduce your Levo dose because your doctor is talking sadistic nonsense.

jrbarnes profile image
jrbarnes

My TSH dropped down to 0.76 out of the blue on T4 only and I was severely hypo due to low T3 levels. TSH hasn't been reliable.

shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator

This is from an expert in hormones. When you read his page you will realise why he cannot take any more patients.

This statement should hit home for us who're hypo.

our physician can either add sufficient T3 (10 to 20mcgs) to your T4 dose, or lower your T4 dose while adding the T3. The most convenient form of T4/T3 therapy, with a 4:1 ratio, is natural desiccated thyroid (NDT-- Armour, NP Thyroid, Nature-Throid). If you have persistent symptoms, ask your physician change you to NDT and adjust the dose to keep the TSH at the bottom of its range. The physician cannot object. This may be sufficient treatment, but IF you continue to have persisting hypothyroid symptoms, and no hyperthyroid symptoms, ask your physician to increase

the dose to see if your symptoms will improve, even if the TSH becomes low or suppressed. You can prove to your

physician that you're not hyperthyroid by the facts that you have no symptoms of hyperthyroidism and your free T4 and free

T3 levels are normal in the morning, prior to your daily dose. They may even be below the middle of their ranges. Your free T3 will be high for several hours after your morning T4/T3 dose, but this is normal with this therapy and produces no problems.

You should insist that testing be done prior to your daily dose, as recommended by professional guidelines. If you have central hypothyroidism, the TSH will necessarily be low or completely suppressed on T4/T3 therapy. In all cases, your physician must treat you according to your signs and symptoms first, and the free T4 and free T3 levels second.

hormonerestoration.com/

Why are doctors the least educated in the UK especially about TSH - this is from the pituitary gland and rises when our thyroid gland is struggling.

We, the patient, want our TSH to be a 1 or lower. NOT somewhere in the range. Give her a copy of the link above.

It seems to me that doctors/endos. If we're hypo we need TSH to be 1 or lower. We do NOT want clinical symptoms.

Evie7851 profile image
Evie7851 in reply toshaws

This is very informative thank you for sending it

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