Levo increase… good and bad days?

[Nath27]

Hello everyone,

As I mentioned in my previous post, I went to Greece and bought some T4, Euthyrox which is the equivalent of Levothyrox ( brand I’ m using in France).

I started two weeks ago on 125 levo ( from 100, previous dose) on my return from Athens. Before that, the previous 3 weeks, I had neck pain, dizziness, ear pain and blurred vision.

The first few days on my new dose..nothing. ( as expected). Then, I started to feel better, neck pain nearly gone, vision much better as well as dizziness. It’s hard to explain but I felt like my head was lighter… then I had a day where I didn’t feel good but still better than I was.

The last few days, I felt again so much better. I was so happy, relieved .It’s the best I ever felt for a long time.

But today, it’s a bad day again.

Could it be placebo effect that I was feeling better? Is it normal to feel good then worse when you change your dose? What should I expect in the next few weeks? I will do another blood test in 8 weeks.

I feel really low today, my brain fog is back.

Thank you for your help/ advice.

Nathalie

[Jazzw]

Looking at your results on 100mcg:

TSH: 0.758mUI/L 0.35 to 4.94

T4:13.13pmol/L 9.00 to 19.08

T3:4.19pmol/L 2.43 to 6.02

ferritin: 67ng/ mL 12 to 150

Vit B12: 711pmol/L 138 to 652

Folate: 12.91nmol/l 7.02 to 46.45

Vit D: 35ng/m L 30 to 60

you might eventually need a bit more than 125mcg daily. But not yet…

It takes about 6 weeks for a levo rise to take full effect (due to the long half-life of T4). So you need to hang on in there a bit longer.

How are you doing with improving that Vit D level?

[Nath27 in reply to Jazzw]

hello Jazzw, thank you for your reply. I’m taking vit D/k2 drops each day. I will test the vit D ant the rest in 8 weeks.

I know that I need to give it time but it’ s so frustrating to feel better then suddenly to feel rubbish again.

Is it normal to fluctuate between good and bad days when you change your levo dose?

Thank again.😀

[Koola in reply to Nath27]

Hi Nath 27,

Apparently it is normal. I’ve been fluctuating worse than a weather vane over the past 4 years. Especially whenever I introduced any change, I felt very good i.e normal! -- for one day only though: like not taking levo till much later in the day after a blood test; or changing doses or brands; changing meds, like adding T3; two ndt trials, back to combo T4/T3 etc.

Since I’m still in the dregs I can only pass on advice I’ve been getting from a few knowledgeable people who are basically “over the hump”, i.e. much much better. It’s normal to fluctuate a few days or a few weeks after a change. Even to feel even more rubbish than before but constancy is apparently the only way to recovery.

That’s what I’m sticking to right now, after raising my levo, though I’ve never felt worse! Hope this helps – as a message from another combatant in the trenches It’s good to remember that many have “been there, done that” and are -- well out of it! Patience and unfailing hope seem to be key. I’m working on it (Grrr…)

All the best to you.

[Nath27 in reply to Koola]

Hi Koola, Thank you for your reply. Like you, I seem to fluctuate a lot. I have to be patient on my new dose. Not easy.😀

Hope you will feel better soon

[App1 in reply to Nath27]

I’m no expert. I upgraded to 75 of Levo each day from 31 October so am on week 4. By week two started to feel generally better and this continues mainly. I get an unpredictable ‘drop’ in energy for a couple of hours now and again or the random cold spots in my limbs, or a fuzzy head. I obey all the ‘rules’ and try to remain philosophical about it all.

I look back to early this year when I had my diagnosis of hypo after becoming almost bedridden, fatigued, frozen and hot and so itchy I would gladly have used sandpaper on my skin for relief. This site gave me much support throughout and gave me hope that things would pass, which they have.

[Nath27 in reply to App1]

Hello App1, I’ m glad that you are feeling better even if it’s not 100%.

I’m much better than last year but still too many bad days compared to good days. I will find my right dose eventually. It’s a slow process.

I agree with you , this site is great, it has helped me a lot.

All the best