I was diagnosed hypo 3 weeks ago and really want to understand whats going on and what I need to do ...so I'm reaching 😊
I'm feeling worse now that I did starting the thyroxine 50mg. Its the pains in my legs and fatigue that finish me off. I understand it can take a long time to get things right but wasn't expecting to feel worse.
Are there tests I need to ask for such as cholesterol. This hasn't been mentioned by my gp. Also I've read the importance of vitamins and minerals. Any advice here? Its all confusing and a bit worrying.
From what I can see on my records my results are
Serum free T4 11.2 pmol/L (11.0-23.0)
Thyroid peroxidase AB 130iu/mL ( under 60)
Serum TSH level 15.89ml/u/L (0.2-4.2)
Complete goggledygook!!
Xxx
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Bearthebishon
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First of all, to make any sense of your lab results, you need to add the ranges. Ranges vary from lab to lab, so we need the ranges that came with your results.
That said, it rather looks like you have Autoimmune Thyroiditis - aka Hashi's - and your TSH was pretty high. So, good job they started you on levo when they did.
If I were you, I wouldn't mention cholesterol, because it's more than likely high at the moment, And your doctor would probably want to start you one statins, which would be a very bad idea! High cholesterol is a symptom of low thyroid, but is not a problem in or of itself.
What you need are vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin tested, because these are probably low.
Sorry, no time to write more at the moment as I'm just about to fly out the door! Have a good Sunday!
You would do, yes. But, it will get better. The most important thing is to learn all you can about your disease, because doctors know next to nothing about it. Keep reading on here and you'll very quickly know more than him!
Always do any thyroid test as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking anything other than water and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
Teva contains mannitol as a filler, which seems to be possible cause of problems. Teva is the only brand that makes 75mcg tablet. So if avoiding Teva for 75mcg dose ask for 25mcg to add to 50mcg or just extra 50mcg tablets to cut in half
But for some people (usually if lactose intolerant, Teva is by far the best option)
Teva, or Aristo (100mcg only) are the only lactose free tablets
Once you find a brand that suits you, best to make sure to only get that one at each prescription.
Watch out for brand change when dose is increased or at repeat prescription.
Levothyroxine is an extremely fussy hormone and should always be taken on an empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after
Many people take Levothyroxine soon after waking, but it may be more convenient and perhaps more effective taken at bedtime
No other medication or supplements at same as Levothyroxine, leave at least 2 hour gap.
Some like iron, calcium, magnesium, HRT, omeprazole or vitamin D should be four hours away
(Time gap doesn't apply to Vitamin D mouth spray)
If you normally take levothyroxine at bedtime/in night ...adjust timings as follows prior to blood test
If testing Monday morning, delay Saturday evening dose levothyroxine until Sunday morning. Delay Sunday evening dose levothyroxine until after blood test on Monday morning. Take Monday evening dose levothyroxine as per normal
Hi,I take Euthyrox from Merck and it works very good to me!! A time ago a doctor prescribed me Teva and I felt myself in the hell, I started to feel sick again… with Euthyrox everything went back to the normal… I think Teva is horrible!!
T4 is one of the hormones made by your thyroid (it also makes some T3).
11.2 is either very low or below range depending on the lab range , which will be after the result something like this eg 11.2 [12-22]
This means your thyroid isn't able to make enough T4 anymore .
T4 is turned into T3 in your cells, and T3 is what makes the body work. so .. not enough T4 /T3 is the reason why many bits of your body aren't working properly anymore.
Levothyroxine is synthetic T4... once the level of T4 / T3 in your blood is back to where it should be you will gradually start to function better again.
Unfortunately the body's system of using TSH to react to and control T4/3 levels is extremely complex , and so getting the right levels of T4/3 FOR YOU again, takes time and is not just a case of 'top up the low T4 a bit '
This is why adding 50mcg T4 can make you feel worse.
You should have another blood test after about 6 weeks on 50mcg , and the dose will probably need increasing.
Serum TSH level 15.89ml/u/L
TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone ) is a message from the pituitary gland (brain) to the thyroid .. asking for more /or less T4/T3 to be made .
When it's happy with the amount of T4 /T3in the body , TSH stays around 1.
When the pituitary senses there is not enough T4 /T3 , TSH rises .
If the thyroid is able to , it makes more T4 /T3, and the TSH goes down again.
If the thyroid can't make enough T4 /T3. the TSH keeps rising .... this is what happened to yours .. and your TSH got up to 15.
TSH take a few weeks to react to changes in the Level of T4/3.. this is why you have to wait about 6 week s before your blood test on 50mcg.
Thyroid peroxidase AB 130iu/mL
Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies (TPOab) these are over range, and this confirms that the reason your thyroid isn't able to make enough T4 /T3anymore is because it has been damaged by your own immune system.
The antibodies are not the things doing the attacking .. they are a sign saying that damage to the thyroid has been happening.
I Hope this help a bit with the "What's happening" question..... it is a lot to get your head round .. but it will eventually make sense .
To remember TSH /fT4, i used the image of a see-saw.
T4/ T3 are on one end, and TSH is on the other.
When T4/ T3 goes too low ,TSH goes up.
When T4 / T3 goes too high , TSH goes right down .
When T4/ T3 are just right for you . TSH returns to your 'normal' level .
( Taking extra T4 from Levo changes the balance a bit ...once we take added T4 from Levo our previous 'normal' for TSH may be set a bit lower than before )
others can tell you better than me what else you can do to feel better as soon as possible .. but it dose take time for the body to re-adjust and recover whatever you do , and there will probably be a bit of 'one step forward, two steps back' for a few months until you get settled and on the right dose.
When T4/ T3 are just right for you . TSH returns to your 'normal' level .
Frankly, that is debatable - especially as we have no way of knowing what our 'normal' is, because our thyroids are rarely tested when healthy. I don't think too much notice should be take of the TSH unless it's high.
in that bit of my reply I was only describing how the healthy 'control' system is supposed to work before it's broken/ messed with by disease / adding thyroid hormone replacement.
Once it's been permanently messed with like this , i agree it doesn't work quite the same way anymore, and that individual's TSH will at best be 'different for a given T4/T3 level than it was previously' or at worst be 'next to useless for telling you anything' , depending on what went wrong with the system.
granted, it's more applicable for those on Levo only
But if only TSH and fT4 results are available . (which is what we have to deal with if we can't afford private testing very often) .....then TSH can be a useful part of the picture .
I don't think we should completely discount a potentially useful tool just because the GP's don't understand how to use it.
over 15 years My TSH has actually been a more reliable match to my few periods of overmedicated symptoms than my fT4 was.
Each time i was clearly overmedicated based on symptoms /fine tremor . my TSH was lower than 0.018 .. all the rest of the time time it was 0.04/5 or above and i had no overmedication symptoms.... my fT4 results did not correlate to these symptoms , in fact they rarely do.
fT3 would no doubt be a far better indicator , but that's no use if you don't have access to fT3 results when you want them.
So , i'll accept the 'pretty useless'.... but not the 'always'
Hi there - just to say that I had a high TSH when I was first diagnosed 20 years ago - and was never told what my T4 was. I’d like to wish you well and to say that it will take several months before you feel a lot better. There is great advice on hear about nutrition and how to take your meds which will certainly help you. Trust your instincts and how you feel and, if you can, maybe reduce your workload or stress factors over the coming months while going through this change. Hopefully you will have people who will understand that you may not be firing on all cylinders for a while.
It took me a lot longer to feel better because my GP kept changing my dose of Levothyroxine and I was under medicated for too long and I was working very long, stressful, hours. I knew nothing then of what I could have done to help myself so spent at least 2 years trying to get to a comfortable level of replacement hormone.
Every single person is different, however, and I know people who do really well on Levo with no problems at all - so be aware that most of us on this forum are here because we have had issues in the past and some of us have additional health conditions factored into our experience.
It is very possible that if you can follow the nutritional advice on here and give the levo time to work as it should , that you will feel a lot better in a few months - the increases in meds cannot be done more quickly than 6-8 weeks at a time and at this stage it’s impossible to predict what a maintenance dose will be that suits you. It is very individual.
I have never been affected by having different brands - I used to get Accord all the time but the last year or so it’s been Teva; I have never had any noticeable side effects from switching brands - although of course other people do.
Not a lot of help! But wishing you the best of luck with your treatment
I felt terrible when Starting thyroxine 50mcg to n February then after 3 months went onto 75mcg which made me a nervous wreck. I now feel great but it takes ages I'm afraid. I take vitamin d and eat Brazil nuts as this contains selenium which helps convert the thyroxine apparently. This site is helpful. Will get to know all info on here
Just to say I have no issues with Teva brand but I've read in here that lots do? It's a slow process took me ages to get well, brilliant advice on here so keep reading, good luck x
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