I was feeling very unwell; headaches, weariness, pressure in chest, occasional earache in right ear, body racing & insomnia. Was taking 125mcg of levo then reduced to 112mcg in March. Had bloods done in June & GP (in phone conversation) said I was overmedicated which was suppressing my pituitary.
I felt very foolish little realising that being overmedicated was causing me to feel ill. I reduced to 100mcg in June & have started to feel better. The unfortunate thing is, that my weight is increasing again & although I'm better, I still have mildish headaches & a woozy feeling when out walking.
I do wonder if I would benefit from taking T3 but have no idea of dosage or where to purchase it from. I am aware of today's news article re Liothyronine which has finally been exposed, so hopefully the government will allow it to be prescribed again eventually.
I hope I haven't repeated myself too much from earlier correspondence.
Please find blood tests attached. These are all that were available today from the docs & some may not be relevant.
Thanking you.
Written by
Longinthetooth
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Also, I'm afraid I simply cannot read the images. This applies to most of the images - I can see some characters but not sufficiently well to be sure of reading them accurately. And I am using a 27" monitor - not a phone or tablet.
You can reply to an original post and in each reply add another image. You do not have to post multiple times - doing so causes confusion.
No-one knows whether to reply on the first post, the last post, or the post with the result they are commenting on. No-one knows if someone has already replied with the same information.
I have closed all but this original post to replying to try to ensure that any replies are not split across nine posts.
To judge if you need T3 you need to get FT3 measured as well as TSH and Ft4.Your TSH is suppressed but TSH is not a strong basis for the alteration of dose. To know how to adjust a dose you should consider the levels of the actual thyroid hormones FT4 and Ft3. Your Ft4 is well within range at just over 17 when the top of your range is 25. Given this I think it likely that you are currently undermedicated but only knowing your Ft3 level could confirm that.
GP (in phone conversation) said I was overmedicated which was suppressing my pituitary.
Silly thing to say. Your pituitary wasn't suppressed, your TSH was suppressed. Not the same thing at all.
Nine posts and all we're interested in is:
TSH
FT4
FT3
assuming you don't have nutrients and antibody test results, but I couldn't make out anything like that. It would have been quicker to type them in. And, most of them were too fuzzy to read, anyway.
So, this is all I could make out:
TSH 0.08 (0.24-4.2)
FT4 17.1 (11-25)
FT3 4.6 (3.7-6.8)
But, I don't know if they were all done at the same time, because I think I saw different dates.
So, your TSH is low, but your FT4 is only mid-range - most hypos need it higher than that. And, your FT3 is too low at less than mid-range. So, your doctor is talking out of the back of his hat, saying that you were over-medicated. You're only over-medicated if your FT3 is well over-range. You were more likely to be feeling bad because you were under-medicated.
But your conversion looks ok, if I've understood your results correctly. So, you probably wouldn't benefit from T3, you just need an increase in levo.
I'm not afraid of taking levo but follow the doc's instructions. To be honest I don't think they have a clue. They should treat us individually by our symptoms not the guidelines that they have to follow. They are just not experienced in this field & certain ones of us suffer. I'm supposed to be seeing an Endo but it s not happening. Even they follow the same guidelines. They predominantly treat diabetes.I meant it's scary getting nowhere. I'm bloody angry really that it's such a battle.
I'm now so confused as to the correct dosage that I should be on. I've been on 150 & now down to 100. As it takes 4 or so weeks to adjust & then maybe the body is asking for more or less I haven't got a clue any more.
This: FT4 17.1 (11-25) says you need more. It's too low.
You're right, doctors don't have a clue. But they just don't learn about it in med school. However, in med school, they were brainwashed into believing that it was no big deal, so they don't have the interest to do any private research for themselves. They think we're all making a fuss about nothing. And, I really don't know what anybody can do about it.
It’s too bad it’s like this. Sadly we all have to become our own experts and try to advocate for our own dosages etc. Which can at times be exhausting.
You’re right greygoose , the FT3 is from January and the rest from June I think?
Longinthetooth I suspect you weren’t actually overmedicated. I think your TSH was below range but contrary to what many GPs seem to believe, that doesn’t mean you were on too high a dosage of levothyroxine because your FT3 levels were in range.
Did you have any Vitamin D, Vit B12, ferritin or folate results in there? I couldn’t see any but it might be that they’re in the blurrier photos.
You're right, some bloods were from January & the rest from June. Sorry about sending them individually.My doc has never seen me as we moved here 7 months ago. On the phone he said to me, " you're suppressing your thyroid, you're eating too much, you're overweight & the next step is psychological". I felt quite deflated. I'm not terribly overweight nor depressed but weight is creeping back on because something isn't balanced.
I feel a bit lost at the mo. I emailed a private Endo but it's £300 for an initial assessment. Silly money.
Arrgghh, doctors! So few of them have a clue about how thyroid disorders work.
Really feel for you, it’s so frustrating when you can’t get the answers you need from your own GP. I see that you’ve tried private blood testing before and struggled with getting enough blood.
Are you still taking the antibiotics for your acne rosacea? Just wondered if that was interacting in any way—I’ve spotted you’re already gluten free.
What brand of levothyroxine are you taking? Do you always get the same brand or is it whatever the pharmacist has in? Some brands just don’t suit all of us. Teva brand for example often causes lots of issues for some.
Thank you for replying.I'm still on Lymecycline for rosacea which I take mid afternoon so well away from taking my levo.
I started on Wockhardt initially (2017) which didn't suit me so went onto Eltroxin which I've stuck with.
I've had to increase from the initial starting dose of 25mcg to where I am now. Each time was such a battle getting a higher dose granted by the docs/Endo.
It really is. As I’ve said in my other reply, I do wonder whether you’re Vit B12/folate deficient. The symptoms can feel very similar to being undermedicated for hypothyroidism.
" you're suppressing your thyroid, you're eating too much, you're overweight & the next step is psychological"
Of course you're suppressing your thyroid! lol That's the whole point. Your thyroid is no-longer capable of making enough hormone to keep you well. That's the definition of hypothyroidism. But taking exogenous hormone reduces TSH - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone - so the thyroid stops making hormone. So many doctors think that taking levo 'tops up' your hormone levels. It doesn't. It replaces them. That's why it's called thyroid hormone replacement.
And so many doctors think that the only way to put on weight is to eat to many calories. Actually, calories have little to do with it. When you are hypo, your metabolism slows down and you put on weight. But, not only that, hypos also retain an awful lot of water. And that's got nothing to do with what you eat.
As for the next step being psychological, I cannot imagine what he means. There's nothing psychological about being low in thyroid hormone, it's very, very physical. You need optimal levels of hormone, and you haven't got them. So, the next step is to increase your dose. Obviously, this doctor has a serious lack of knowledge of thyroid - worse than the average! Can you change your doctor again?
First step is to get FULL thyroid and vitamin testing done privately
Looking at your forum name ……how old approx are you
Low vitamin levels are extremely common when hypothyroid, and especially as we get older
Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after any dose change or brand change in levothyroxine
So you are now on 100mcg levothyroxine
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested.
Also EXTREMELY important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially with autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s or Ord’s thyroiditis)
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)
Is this how you do your tests?
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins
If TPO or TG thyroid antibodies are high this is usually due to Hashimoto’s (commonly known in UK as autoimmune thyroid disease).
About 90% of all primary hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto’s. Low vitamin levels are particularly common with Hashimoto’s. Gluten intolerance is often a hidden issue to.
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And, most of them were too fuzzy to read, anyway. 
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