could my depression and slowness be too much levothyroxine?

[fastandslow]

Hi there

I am on levothyroxine 150mg. It was just put up from 100mg because my TSH was in the 70s. I was strangely energetic for a while but now I feel lethargic and depressed like I did before it was put up.

Could I be on too much? would that be a side effect or am I just depressed about new lockdown in England?

[jrbarnes]

I know that my slowness and low mood is due to my low free T3 levels. It takes 6 weeks at least to test and guage how the new increase is affecting your free T4/T3 hormones. It's not pleasant as I'm going through the same experience now.

[tattybogle]

Two points ;

1. when i was going up through doses like that ie 50 .100. 150 i would feel the same , very good for a few weeks then not so good again then eventually maybe 2/3 months later i felt 'somewhere in the middle' so i think this reaction to an increase is quite usual with Levo.

2. I now understand that even a 12.5 mcg increase/decrease may be enough to substantially improve /worsen how i feel. Nowadays i would certainly never change dose by more than 25mcg in one go. A 50 mcg increase is very heavy handed, but i can understand it may have seemed necessary because of TSh 70 ! The endocrine system is constantly trying to rebalance changes. An extra 50% is a big change , and you can logically expect how you feel to swing around for a while afterwards, so don't decide how it feels until at least 8/10 weeks have passed , maybe even longer.

3. It would be better to know what FT4 and FT3 were before changing dose so much, did they just do TSH ? ... oh that's three....

Edit ;

4. having just engaged brain after opening mouth , i now realise the more important question is why is your TSH still at 70 after being on 100mcg for presumably at least 6 weeks ? do you know your previous TSH ? what is the cause of your hypothyroidism ?, have you only just been started on Levo, and what dose have you been on for how long ?

Questions , questions , i know.. sorry , but it all helps answer your question better.

[pennyannie]

Hello fastandslow and welcome to the forum :

Do you have a diagnosis of a thyroid autoimmune disease, Hashimoto's, or Graves perhaps ?

Do you have any blood test results you might like to share with the forum members ?

Without further details it's only a guess but generally when optimally medicated we look for a TSH of around 1 or lower, and it looks like you could be having trouble converting the storage hormone T4 - Levothyroxine - into T3 which is the active hormone that the body runs on.

This is a common problem if suffering with an AI thyroid disease and we also suggest that you get tested your ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D along with a TSH, Free T3 and Free T4 so we can see if anything is amiss, as no thyroid hormone replacement works well if these essential vitamins and minerals are not maintained at optimal levels.

If you go to the Thyroid uk website, this is the charity who support this forum, and you can read up further about all things thyroid and you will also see on there private companies who can undertake these blood tests for you if your doctor declines to run them.

There is much to learn and understand, and I started off like you, on here, a few years ago looking for help when I couldn't get my health issues resolved with my doctor.

This is just the first step for you, and there will be several, but we can help you get back to better health, but we need to have more information to work with, and yes, the current climate is not very conducive for any of us, but we can help turn some things around for you, one step at a time.

[jgelliss]

It's a very high jump from 100 mcg to 150 . There are more denominations to try first . For e.g. 112 mcg wait and test and take stock as to how you feel . Next if that does not feel well enough then try 125 mcg and repeat taking stock and see how that feels . If that does not feel right yet try 137 mcg T4 . There are many lower doses to try before you jump from 100 mcg to 150 mcg . This way you don't over shot your *Optimal*.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race.

Best Wishes.

[NWA6]

Your TSH was 70+?? What! That’s crazy!

However even with such a hypo looking TSH they can’t just raise your Levo without knowing your FT4 and FT3. You need those numbers to help you find out what the sleepy dog day is going on! 🤗