TSH 0.55 but still feeling rubbish

[mandy45]

I was diagnosed a short while ago with hypothyroidism. My scan show my thyroid is very fibrous, and has been for a few years, but this was picked up when I started to lose my eyelashes/put on weight/feel tired etc.

My Gp has had me on 50mg of thyroxin and my last reading before this one was 3.5. At that point I was starting to feel a little better. However, I then started to feel quite bad again, at one point I have fallen asleep whilst driving. My GP sent me for bloods, and I expected my tsh to have risen, but it has come back as 0.55! A perfect reading. On the basis of this, my gp has referred me to endocrinology, but has increased my meds by 25mg as my appointment is not until the end of September. Has anyone else out there had a similar problem, feeling rubbish again but having an excellent tsh, and did they ever get to the bottom of it?

[RedApple Administrator]

This is not unusual. Symptoms and blood levels do not always follow the same time scale (remember it takes 4-6 weeks for TSH to stabilise). The level in your blood is not the same as the level in your tissues, which is where you feel the symptoms.

A TSH of 0.55 might not be perfect for you. It's not impossible that it's actually a bit too low. Not everyone needs TSH to be that low to feel good. Some are happier with TSH between 1 and 2.

On the other hand, it may be that you do need the increase.

Blood levels can swing up and down quite a bit in the early stages of treatment, as the body gets used to having the hormone available and re-learns how to use it. Some people are lucky and get to a stable dose within a few months, for others it yo-yos for years