Thyroid : When you are on dessucated medicine and... - Thyroid UK

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debber profile image
13 Replies

When you are on dessucated medicine and need to decrease the med how do you do it?

I started by decreasing a quarter, but was unsure if I could do a half? I was told I needed to decrease my med. I was told to a half but scared. Has anyone been thru this?

Thank you.

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debber profile image
debber
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13 Replies
greygoose profile image
greygoose

Was it your doctor that told you you needed to reduce your dose? On what grounds? 2 grains isn't a high dose.

Best not to reduce by half a grain in one go. You need to reduce the same as you increased: slowly and gently, so as not to shock the system. But, are you really sure you need to? Do you have symptoms of over-medication?

debber profile image
debber in reply togreygoose

I got covid and right after covid o started having symptoms, increased heart rate and anxiousness and not feeling right. I went to the doctor and it showed Im overactive. I was told to decrease. Im a bit scared as I have been doing good. Ill get my labs and post them.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply todebber

Well, that's wrong, for a start. As you've been diagnosed hypo, you can't suddenly become hyper. I suspect your TSH is low - which it would be when takiing NDT - and your doctor doesn't understand what that means. But, getting a print-out of your results is the best way to go. Then we will know what we're talking about. :)

Heloise profile image
Heloise in reply todebber

Hi debber, your doctor could misinterpret your symptoms because hyper and hypo can have similar feelings. Or as greygoose suggests paying too much attention to a low tsh. I found when thyroid was low the heartrate went up to compensate. The adrenal glands go into action. For one, it keeps blood pressure adequate. Hypos have a tendency for a lower heartrate which isn't good. Often that will cause the adrenals to send out adrenaline and cortisol which may give you that out of sorts feeling.

debber profile image
debber in reply toHeloise

Hi Heloise,

Im sorry Im just getting back with you. Ive been working overtime and finslly off today.

I had no idea they both can be similar. Just wow. I had been doing great and got covid and started having symptoms of heart racing and headaches, sore tongue that came and went. So he did bloodwork and it showed me high. So I have reduced and will be testing again. I havent felt bad all the time. I have suffered hairloss with the reducing of my med.

Im scared as so many doctors just dont know these things. This doctor is new that i went to and regular MD. No disrespect but I need a specialist. I have an appointment on the 28th with another doctor and supposed be really good and wants me test again. They are sending me a kit to my home and hopefully we get to the bottom of it all.

Ill get the labs and post under this post.

Thank you for letting me know about this stuff. Its all so complexing. I had it my whole life and undiagnosed and went to doctors except for one. They are all not created equal.

I will keep you all posted. The stress and worry about it all doesnt help either. I have turned it over to God. Its all in his hands.

I love you guys!!!!

Heloise profile image
Heloise in reply todebber

We know how hard this is Deb! I had bad treatment for fifteen years and still have some muscle issues probably more from the autoimmune attacks but also being UNDER dosed. I don't know if Covid has caused this although I thought it lowered thyroid output. Tell us what your doctors are telling you because it's not necessarily helpful. But put it in a new thread. If you put it under your original or this one I'm not sure people will see it unless they are following the thread.

Another reason for hyper symptoms is if your thyroid gland is shedding tissue it will temporarily dump extra hormone making you feel hyper. There are many online doctors who follow actual research if you are able to study what they say. Izabella Wentz is good and has excellent books. You can search PubMed for answers as well.

Try to relax as many of us have come through it and you are not going to die.

debber profile image
debber in reply togreygoose

Hey Greygoose,

I got my results and I hope I cacan get them up here. I screen shot them. I stoll have not got the Reverse T3 or Vit D n back.

One of them
greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply todebber

Is that all that was tested? No FT4 or FT3? That is utterly useless, and doesn't tell him anything. When taking T3 (in NDT) one needs to test the FT3, as that's the most important number, and only that will tell you if you're over-medicated. Your doctor knows absolutely nothing. And, a TSH of 0.8 wouldn't be 'hyper' anyway, it's too high to be hyper!

rT3 is also a useless test, it doesn't tell you anything that you can't get from the FT4/3 - which would be cheaper, anyway. It can tell you if your rT3 is high, but it can't tell you why - and there are many, many reasons for high rT3, only one of them has anything to do with thyroid. Also, rT3 is inert. It doesn't do anything. So, not worth bothering with. :)

debber profile image
debber in reply togreygoose

Im having trouble getting my screenshots up so ill post it by writing it.

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone 0.8

TPO 14

FT4 1.8

FT3 3.5

Its all normal range. I went down just a quarter and heart palps stopped and heartburn. However, im still habing hairloss but not as bad as when it first started. Im prob still leveling from dropping a quarter. The doc recommended I go down a half but I didnt.

Im still waiting on vit D and reverse t3.

Im not going down no more. Dont know why im still having a bit hairloss.

I see doctor oct 19th. I think I going ask for ferririn test.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply todebber

Sorry, but we need the ranges for those results because they vary from lab to lab.

As I said above, your doctor knows nothing about any of this because you should never raise or decrease your dose of NDT by more than 1/4 grain at a time.

I think testing ferritin would be a very good idea. :)

radd profile image
radd

debber,

We usually titivate by 1/4 grain to achieve/maintain our sweet spot.

However, if you are in a state of high thyroid hormone levels causing symptoms such as severe anxiety, increased heart rate, etc, then it would be better to reduce dose more quickly or even leave it out for a day or two.

Can you supply further information as to why you are decreasing, and supply any results including ranges (numbers in brackets) for further comments.

debber profile image
debber in reply toradd

This all started when I got covid. Just terrible. Increased heart rate and anxious. Ill get my labs and post. Im scared as I dont want to go into shock decreasing big amounts either. I decreased a quarter yesterday. I know it takes time too to feel the difference.

Brightness14 profile image
Brightness14

Why are you decreasing. You were taking 3.25 grains of your old one. I find Thyroid s is quite strong I only take 2.15 grains, without a thyroid. These are easy to cut to 1/4 then reduce by this amount first.

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