Timescales

[Nutty56]

Hey guys hoping someone can answer this ?

How long does it take for Levo reduction/increase to actually show in blood test , is it 6/8 weeks ?

Gp initially reduced Levo from 100 to 75 on 25 Feb although some symptoms seem to have eased I have perm muscle/ neck ache which only happened with the change ! Following conversation with GP she increased to 87 mcg on 20 March and I swapped brands to accord which I have always used with no issues

My question is if I had private blood tests done now would this show or is it too soon

Thanks

[ilytotoro]

I have always had to wait 2 months before having another blood test through GP. A nurse told me they wouldn't redo my bloods before that, not sure about if you went private though. Hope this helps 🙂

[Nutty56 in reply to ilytotoro]

Thanks ilytotoro my GP has said 6/8 weeks to check but I didn’t know whether to get private test prior to this ?

[Lalatoot]

Nutty what you want to test is the full effect of any dose change. You need to give time for the knock on effects to happen otherwise you risk making assumptions about a dose change that are incorrect. Generally we advise 6 to 8 weeks though some folks on here say that the way their body works they need to leave 12 weeks at least for the true interaction of systems to show themselves fully. It is a case of knowing your own body but certainly not before 6 weeks.

[Nutty56 in reply to Lalatoot]

Thanks Lalatoot I’ve had such a lousy day and doesn’t help I’m so impatient 🙄

[TSH110]

6-8 weeks is advised because it takes around that time to build up and if you go faster you could overshoot the mark and it will last for quite a while. No doubt the exact time varies from person to be person, I am a super fast reactor to medications so I feel effects almost immediately with most things, but the half life of the actual medication is important (how long it takes to clear from the body). A test now might indicate the line of travel but I’d stick to the guidelines of 6-8 weeks before changing anything.

[Nutty56 in reply to TSH110]

Thanks TSH110 it’s so hard when you don’t feel any better 🙄

[TSH110 in reply to Nutty56]

Yes I can fully accord with that I was 9 months being optimised and still felt terrible. I had nearly died of it because no one would listen to me. I felt so bad I began to wish I had never managed to get help ( in sheer desperation and actually got someone who did listen in the nick of time) and just died of untreated thyroid disease. I spent two years feeling utterly dire and discovered that Levothyroxine was not the only medication so I decided I had nothing to loose by trying NDT and the improvement was miraculous I felt perfectly ok again. How dare these medics waste years of our lives with that rubbish “care”! I self medicate and feel a lot better than those supposedly qualified white chats ever managed to achieve for me. It’s utterly scandalous in my opinion. I hope you can fund a way to improve your well being. NDT is not so easy to get thanks to the Thai sites being targeted by the likes of Amazon and Paypal funny how they can’t seem to stop far more serious things on the internet but can easily stop a few old ladies for getting the medication they so desperately need because of the junk the NHS calls thyroid care.

[Nutty56 in reply to TSH110]

Yep it’s so hard to get across how awful you are feeling just even trying to lift my arms to tie my hair back is painful! I am lucky enough to be in a position financially to look at other options cos I’m beginning to feel it’s a guessing game with gp 🤷‍♀️

[TSH110 in reply to Nutty56]

I had that too - simply awful - I was scarcely able to brush my hair lifting my arms was so excruciatingly painful. All ok now on NDT. I think you would benefit from it as it would get your T3 up and that’s probably the reason for your symptoms inadequate levels of T3. Some say get minerals and vits better but I found mine automatically improved on NDT.

[Nutty56 in reply to TSH110]

It’s kinda reassuring to speak to someone who has had similar experiences! Your mind starts playing overtime I’m sitting here thinking could there be something else seriously wrong with me 🤔

[TSH110 in reply to Nutty56]

Quite! I have sent you a PM

[SlowDragon Administrator]

You could test vitamin D now

NHS easy postal kit vitamin D test £29 via

vitamindtest.org.uk

Come back with new post once you get results

Make sure you include testing folate, ferritin and B12 testing at 6-8 weeks

Always test early morning, ideally before 9am and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test

[Nutty56 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks SlowDragon yep that is my plan to get all tested