Sorry I'm completely new to this and I'm not sure of the best way to go about things, or even what I'm really trying to ask.
I have had an underactive thyroid for a number of years and recently got some private blood tests done (on the suggestion of a wellbeing councilor I was speaking to at work) in order to better understand and try to manage my symptoms (mainly tiredness and anxiety / depression type things).
To date I have just relied on the doctor changing my dose (currently 100 micro grams) either when the annual review says it needs changing or I get so tired I start falling asleep during the day.
I read the information on the Thyroid Society web site so I have a bit more understanding than I had previously but is it possible to get some ideas / advice on what I might do (other than rely on thyroxine) to help manage my symptoms.
I'm happy to make the results available (if I'm allowed to) in order to get a better understanding of what to do.
Thanks
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Mouseandcat
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If you post your test results, with their reference ranges (ranges are important as they vary from lab to lab) we should be able to help you.
Just so that you know, to get the most accurate results of your normal amount of circulating hormone levels, we always advise:
* Blood test no later than 9am, this is because TSH is highest early morning and lowers throughout the day. We need the highest possible TSH to avoid a reduction in dose of Levo or when looking for an increase.
* Nothing to eat or drink except water before the test, this is because certain foods and drink affect TSH.
* Last dose of Levo 24 hours before the test, this is to avoid measuring a false high FT4 when taking Levo lose to the blood draw, or a false low if Levo is taken too far away from blood draw.
As a bloke, 100mcg levothyroxine is unlikely to be a high enough dose
Thyroid Levels should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose change or brand change in levothyroxine
Which brand of levothyroxine are you currently taking
Do you always get same brand
Many people find different brands are not interchangeable
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)
As several family members are also hypothyroid, it’s almost certainly autoimmune thyroid disease
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?
Please add your most recent thyroid results and ranges
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins
Yes, please share your blood test results and ranges so forum members can offer considered opinion otherwise we all just go around chasing our tail, not knowing if it belongs to the cat or the mouse, or both !!
P.S, Just to say when you post your results and ranges, start a new post as it will be seen by more people of the forum than half way down this first post of yours.
Every post is answered as fully as it can be, on the day it's first posted, and each new question after 24 hours needs a new post on the rolling screen.
We can always look back to remind ourselves of your history should we wish to.
Hello ,It's quite usual to feel OK for a few months on a dose and then to feel less good again. Often this means the dose need increasing again.
Either because
1) the body has compensated for what you've added, your TSH has lowered, so you actually make less of your own T4/3 ~ because TSH is the signal that asks thyroid to make more T4/3.
Or
2) because the autoimmune disease process has damaged a bit more of your thyroid and so it can make less T4/3 so you need more Levo to replace T4.
Once you are taking the full replacement dose (1) should stop happening.
100mcg is unlikely to be the full replacement dose ... for a very rough estimate of what dose you might expect to need, you can calculate 1.6mcg x Kg body weight. (But you could need more or less than that)
I was a 9 and a half stone/ 30something yr old woman, with a very physical job at diagnosis.. and i needed 150mcg. .... it's only gone down to 112.5mcg recently, and now i'm a post menopausal, semi retired. much less active 55 yr old.
Often GP's just stop increasing dose when TSH is 'anywhere in range'... but really they should be aiming to get TSH to somewhere near 1 and possibly a bit under. See this letter to GP's from GPonline .. written by registrars in cardiology and endocrinology healthunlocked.com/thyroidu.... gps-told-keep-tsh-0.5-2pmol-l-hypothyroidism-causes-raised-cholesterol-thyroid-disease-effects-on-heart-and-cardiovascular-system.
The lab range for TSH is around 0.4 - 4 ish .. but hardly anyone healthy has a tsh of anywhere near 4 see this graph healthunlocked.com/thyroidu... tsh-levels-in-healthy-people-with-no-known-thyroid-disease
So even without knowing fT3 or fT4 results yet ,you can still get an idea of if you've been given a large enough dose if you have access to your (inadequate!) NHS blood tests ... they rarely test fT4 and hardly ever test fT3.
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Hyperthyroid - borderline test results :s
Help for blood test results please. 
