My THS is 15.15 what does this mean?

[Benson22]

Dr just increased my medication to 50 for a week, then 75 for a week then 100.

[humanbean]

So, what is your current dose? 25mcg per day? How long were you on this dose for?

[Benson22 in reply to humanbean]

Previous dose was 25. I was diagnosed in 2017, put on 50 but felt awful. Dr stopped my medication and retested my blood which had returned to normal and stayed that way for over 18 moths and then went wrong again. Have been on 25 since then.

[fuchsia-pink]

A TSH this high is bad news and means you are hypo (under-active) and not yet properly medicated.

BUT I'm concerned you are making too many too quick changes - you really need to be on the same dose for 6 - 8 weeks before increasing - so presumably TSH was much higher initially???

Going forwards, please make sure you ONLY have early morning blood tests - before 9am ideally, when TSH is highest, as a fasting test, 24 hours from your previous dose of levo (take the next dose afterwards) - and try and get more than just TSH tested.

You really need to know what your actual thyroid hormones are doing too - and that means testing free T4 (which isn't that controversial) and free T3 (which may see resistance). If the GP is amenable, ask if s/he will test key nutrients too - ferritin folate, vit D and B12 - as you need these to be good to get the best from your levo. I've had some success with my GP by saying that these are the tests recommended by Thyroid UK. Good luck x

[shaws Administrator]

Hi Benson22, I have looked on your page but there's no information on it, i.e. are you hypothyroid and I note you joined four years ago. What replacement are you taking (levothyroxine? and dose?).

15.15 TSH means you are very hypothyroid when the aim is a TSH of 1 or lower. Did you check your Free T4 and Free T3. If not ask GP to test.

Are you aware of the following when getting a blood test? This is the procedure.

Always get the earliest blood draw, even if appointment is made weeks ahead. It is a fasting test and don't take thyroid hormones until after the blood draw. Also request B12, Vit D iron, ferritin and folate as everything has to be optimal.

Also always get a print-out of your results, with the ranges for your own records and post them if you have a query.

[Benson22 in reply to shaws]

Thank you, I have a test booked in 8 weeks