Hi please can I ask advice I started taking selenium supplement 17th July just had my bloods tested and amazingly my thyroid tsh has reduced from being over 4.5 every 8 week levo dose blood check since covid vs last year to being 1.27 i had a dose increase in may for liquid levo to 100 but I think its the selenium that has done this and last time I checked my antibodies in july waiting for august figures they had gone down to being over 500 every check to 127
Should I speak to doctor about coming down on the levothyroxine as ideally that is what I would like to do
past figures for reference
may 2021-tsh 4.94
august 2021-tsh 4.92
December 2021-tsh 5.01
March 2022-4.56
May 2022-4.49
August 2022 NOW-1.27
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Sally1253
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I started taking selenium supplement 17th July just had my bloods tested and amazingly my thyroid tsh has reduced from being over 4.5 every 8 week levo dose blood check since covid vs last year to being 1.27 i had a dose increase in may for liquid levo to 100 but I think its the selenium that has done this and last time I checked my antibodies in july waiting for august figures they had gone down to being over 500 every check to 127
I think the Hashimoto's (confirmed by raised antibodies) is probably more likely to be the cause of the swing rather than selenium.
Looking back at your other posts I can see that Hashimoto's hasn't been mentioned before, so do you know much about it and how it can affect your levels?
Hashi's is where the immune system attacks the thyroid and gradually destroys it. When the attack happens, the dying cells release a lot of thyroid hormone into the blood and this can cause TSH to become suppressed and Free T4 and Free T3 to be very high or over range. These are called 'Hashi's swings'. You may get symptoms of being overmedicated (hyper type symptoms) to go along with these results that look as though you are overmedicated. The hyper swings are temporary, and eventually things go back to normal. Test results settle back down and hypo symptoms may return. Thyroid meds can be adjusted slightly at these times if necessary, but will need readjusting when hypo symptoms return.
So it's likely that you are now in a less hypo state but you certainly aren't anywhere near a "hyper swing".
Also, bear in mind that it can take a long time for levels to settle after a dose change. You increased dose in May so at the most that would be nor more than 12 weeks?? I find that after a dose change my levels are still settling and I'm noticing a difference at 10 weeks, so maybe now your levels have just settled on this new dose.
Should I speak to doctor about coming down on the levothyroxine as ideally that is what I would like to do
Personally I wouldn't.
Your TSH is lower but it's still actually a bit high for someone on Levo. The aim of a treated hypo patient on Levo only, generally, is for TSH to be 1 or below with FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of their reference ranges, if that is where you feel well.
So a couple of questions:
1) ideally that is what I would like to do - why do you want to reduce your Levo, you need what you need, you're always going to need it so it makes sense to take the dose you need to feel well rather than aim for something that might not be right?
2) How do you feel?
3) Never adjust dose on TSH alone, it's not a thyroid hormone it's a pituitary hormone and can't tell us our thyroid status other than when it's high we're undermedicated. It's the FT4 and FT3 tests that tell us our thyroid status so always make sure these are tested before agreeing to any adjustment your GP might want to make.
Also, if you want to lower your dose just do it, once you asked your GP to lower your dose if you ever need it raised again then you might not be able to get your original prescription dose back, doctors are very happy to reduce dose but not so happy to increase.
thank you susie i am still waiting for my antibody result and t4 for august. I had them all done in July but my thyroid results except the antibodies were lost somewhere apparently, so they had to be repeated. I was aware of the hyper swing with hashimotos and normally have more hyper symptoms than hypo but also under investigation with cardiology for v side effects. I feel better than i have recently but now have new chest pains and still chronically constipated I was just surprised to see such a change when every other time has been minimal movement even at times when cardiac symptoms were worse. Why would I always need it if selenium or other alternative supplements did the same thing though? How much would I reduce dose by personally if I decided to go that route eventually by 25ml like it has gone up and over what period of time do you know please? I just really dont want to be on lifelong medication if I can help it because of the side effects
Why would I always need it if selenium or other alternative supplements did the same thing though?
Because eventually the Hashi's will destroy your thyroid and you can't live without thyroid hormone.
I just really dont want to be on lifelong medication if I can help it because of the side effects
Unfortunately you wont have a choice unless your Hashi's is transient, which sometimes it can be, for example post partum.
Anyway, Levo is not "medication" as such, it's replacement hormone, if you can't make it yourself and you need it to live then you have to replace it.
How much would I reduce dose by personally if I decided to go that route eventually by 25ml like it has gone up and over what period of time do you know please?
It's trial and error you just have to make small, gradual adjustments, giving plenty of time for the new dose to take effect and levels settle then reassess. I take Levo tablets and the slightest, smallest change can make a difference for me and I can end up taking a dose that you can't get because they don't make tablets that cater for it. I was settled on 112.5mcg Levo but the Pfizer booster last year made my FT4 and FT3 rise quite considerably so I've had to reduce both my Levo and T3 and now settled on a daily average dose of 107mcg Levo.
im hoping it is transient from the az vaccines too thats why at first the dr was just observing I started medication in August 2021 but I understand your comment that it is trial and error with dosage once you were settled at a dose did your figures then just stay constant or keep reducing thank you for your advice.
once you were settled at a dose did your figures then just stay constant or keep reducing
Do you mean after the spikes from the Pfizer booster? I'm still monitoring, it's taking a very long time.
If so I had the booster last November, I tested a couple of weeks later (pure fluke that I was due to test at that time) and noticed the spikes in FT4 (at 80%) and FT3 (at 95%).
Tested 8 weeks later in January this year, FT3 had gone up even more (got to 100%) so I reduced T3.
Tested 11 weeks later in March, FT3 had reduced but still no change in FT4.
Tested 10 weeks later in June no changes so I reduced Levo.
It's now 11 weeks since that reduction so I'll be doing another test soon to see what the Levo reduction has achieved but wont do it until September due to upcoming postal strikes.
But bear in mind that I don't have Hashi's, I'm just idiopathic hypothyroid for 47 years.
how interesting I didn't have any obvious problems previously and had bloods done three years before and all levels ok. I had some symptoms after first in march 2021 but no blood tests until after 2nd one May 2021 as then symptoms got dramatically worse
Minor ones but you get that anyway as nothing is static, plus if tests are done at a different lab you can often see differences but never had anything as major as this, certainly FT3 has never gone up that much and I've been on as much as 31.25mcg T3 when tweaking doses to find my sweet spot.
I had flown 12 hours before the blood test though i wondering if that could have affected results I did ask the people in blood dept and they said it wouldnt 🤔
But, really not much point in retesting antibodies. They fluctuate all the time, but even if on this last test they're now back in-range, you will still have Hashi's, because the antibodies are not the disease, they are the result of the disease and the disease does not go away once you have it.
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