Advice on latest blood results

[Sarahlovesvodka]

Hello everyone, I'm was diagnosed with an under active thyroid about 2 months and have been taking levo. The photo is my lastest blood results, I'm a bit concerned as my TSH levels are way out of range? Any advice will be gratefully received 😁

[Sarahlovesvodka]

Yes by my doctor. I can see on my medical records she has commented on the TSH results saying written to endocrine for advice, but I've had no feedback. I'm on 25 mgs.Don't feel 100%, putting on so much weight, trying to diet but am really struggling and this in turn is making me very down ☹️ thank you for your reply 😁 hope you're well

[Sarahlovesvodka]

Thank you 😁 I'll send the surgery a message asking her to contact me. I have a lot of other stuff going on such as iron deficiency anemia, low vitamin D, bloated, urgency to go to the toilet and women's problems, so not sure if she's taken this route because of all of that

[Sarahlovesvodka]

These were discovered the same time as the under active thyroid so have also been taking medication for them. These levels have improved slightly from what they were before

[Sarahlovesvodka]

Yes, I take levo as soon as I wake up and do not take my other medication till 5pm. Forgot to say I also have an infusion each month of tocilizumab for rheumatoid arthritis

[Sarahlovesvodka]

Thank you for the link, interesting read. No she hasn't, I'm going to check it out on the NHS website for symptoms, thank you. I also have sjorgen disease, Raynaud's syndrome and chronic fatigue. I'm falling apart 😂

[tattybogle]

Couldn't resist a sunday morning analogy........Suppose you had a flat tyre and you took your car to a petrol station with an air pump . the attendant puts just 5lb's of pressure in your tyre , but the tyre is still pretty flat.

and instead of putting more air in, he tells you "he's written to the mechanic for advice"

It 's surely too soon to need to ask for advice, the attendant needs to put enough air in and see if the tyre stay's pumped up first .

I hate to think what the Endo's response will be , i imagine it might be quite rude.

Do you know what your TSH was at diagnosis ? Was it higher than it is now ?

(I suppose i could be charitable and give the Doctor the benefit of the doubt and say ''maybe she want's to check out if your drugs for rheumatoid arthritis impact her treatment of hypothyroidism", but i still can't see any reason why that would be a concern until she's tried putting enough air in the tyre's first)

You can expect to feel no better and quite possibly worse while only on 25mcg Levo . The usual starting dose is 50mcg (unless elderly /frail /heart problems/ long standing undiagnosed hypothyroid) , to be increased in 25mcg increments after 6 weekly blood tests until TSH is in range , preferably near 1 , and hypothyroid symptoms resolve.

Most people end up needing somewhere between 75-125mcg , some need more and a few take less.

Your TSH at >14 is shouting loudly for more. (was this after taking 25mcg for 6+ weeks ?. it's not your pre treatment TSH is it ? ... just checking)

Suggest you ask GP to put more air in your tyres so you can drive round while she's waiting to hear from the mechanic. And i strongly suspect the mechanic will ask why she didn't try putting enough air in the tyres before bothering him.

[Sarahlovesvodka in reply to tattybogle]

Love an analogy 😁 I don't unfortunately know my TSH at diagnosis, only that intially the speciality nurse told me I had an over active thyroid but then telephoned me to say she made a mistake. I have been on 25mg for nearly 8 weeks and am due a new prescription so hoping the doseage will be higher. Thank you for your reply. I'm contacting the GP tomorrow to ask them to contact regarding the results

[TaraJR]

25mcg is only a starter dose for if you're over 65, or you have cardiac problems. Doctors used to start people on a low dose and increase if needed, but the 2019 NICE guideline recommends starting on a dose calculated by your body weight. 1.6 x your bodyweight kg, so most people of normal weight will be on 100mcg or more.

Ask your GP to look at the NICE guideline and to consider increasing your dose, perhaps by quite a bit, especially as you still have a lot of symptoms and your levels are really out.

nice.org.uk/guidance/ng145/...

[Sarahlovesvodka in reply to TaraJR]

Thank you for the information, I'm going to contact my GP tomorrow to discuss my results and doseages.