hi, I had my thyroid fully removed in August and am currently taking 175 of levothyroxine every day. This has been the level for the last couple of months. Over the last two weeks I have suddenly started to feel off-balance and dizzy - a bit like being on a boat. I had my bloods taken a week or so ago and the levels were apparently all pretty normal.
Has anyone else felt like this on levo?
TIA
Hsaw
I had my bloods taken a week or so ago and the levels were apparently all pretty normal.
"Normal" just means the result is somewhere within the range; however, it's where in the range that is important. Please ask the receptionist (not the doctor) for a print out of your results, it's our legal right here in the UK to have a copy of our results. If you are in England your surgery may even have online access to results so you could check that out and register for it if they do offer it.
Dizziness can be low B12 so you could ask your GP to test key nutrients:
B12
Folate
Vit D
Ferritin
You are welcome to come back with your results, include the reference ranges for all your tests and if you have B12 and Vit D also include the unit of measurement.
thanks for the reply. I think the docs are only really testing my bloods for cancer markers and stuff like that. The results say that:
TSH less than 0.05
Free T4 is ‘expectedly raised’
Free T3 is 5.4
Thyroglobulin is 1.2
Nothing else was tested. Does any of that mean anything?
Nothing else was tested does any of that mean anything?
Not without the reference ranges I'm afraid, as ranges vary from lab to lab we always need the ranges that come with your results.
I've not had thyroid cancer but my understanding is that when this has been present then TSH is kept suppressed to decrease risk of reoccurrence, so presumably your dose of Levo is at a level to keep TSH suppressed which is causing the elevated FT4.
What is the actual FT4 result?
I would still ask for key nutrients to be tested, it's possible that low B12 is causing the dizziness.
They didn’t provide the actual FT4 result. Just said that is was ‘expectedly raised’. Yes, the docs explained that they wanted to keep my TSH below 0.1.
Could FT4 being raised cause any issues such as dizziness or only really the B12?
Could FT4 being raised cause any issues such as dizziness or only really the B12?
With the caveat that we're all different, I've had FT4 as high as 30 with a range of 11.8-24.6 and it didn't cause dizziness for me. One of the symptoms of low B12 is dizziness although it is not the only cause.
Hello Hsaw and welcome to the forum ;
A fully functioning working thyroid would be supporting you on a daily basis with trace elements of T1, T2 and calcitonin plus a measure of T3 at around 10 mcg plus a measure of T4 at around 100 mcg - with T3 said o be around 4 times more powerful than T4 .
T4 - Levothyroxine is a storage hormone that needs to be converted by your body into T3 the active hormone that runs the body.
Your own ability to convert the T4 into T3 can be compromised by non optimal levels of ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D and inflammation, antibodies and any physiological stress ( emotional or physical ) dieting, depression and ageing can also down regulate T4 to T3 conversion.
We generally feel ay our best when our T4 is in the top quadrant of it's range as this should convert to a good level of T3 at around a 1/4 ratio.T3/T4.
The thyroid is a major gland and responsible for full body synchronisation including your physical, mental, emotional, psychological and spiritual well being, your inner central hearing system and your metabolism.
Some people can get by on T4 - Levothyroxine only :
Some people find that at some point in timeT4 seems to stop working as well as it once did and find by adding in a little T3 - Liothyronine - likely replacing that little bit of their own natural hormone production that they have lost they feel better on a T3 / T4 combo of medications.
Some people can't tolerate T4 and need to take T3 only :
Whilst others find their health restored better by taking Natural Desiccated Thyroid which contains all the same known hormones as the human gland and derived rom pig thyroids dried and ground down into tablets referred to as grains.
It is very early days for you and you do need to give yourself time to recover - so all of the above is just for reference and maybe something to refer back to, at some point in time in the future.
Thank you for the reply. Yes, I suppose it is relatively early days for me. Aside from the weeks immediately following surgery (during which I felt dreadful!) I was starting to feel OK until a couple of weeks ago, so I’m a bit concerned as to why I am suddenly feeling dizzy and nauseous 
You might like to register with your surgery for ' on line ' access and then when we ask for results and ranges you have the ability to look at these at your leisure and for us to explain them to you.
Are you still under the hospital endocrinologist or has s/he discharged you back out into primary care ?
Thyroid UK is the charity which supports this forum and where you will find research and articles on all things thyroid - thyroiduk.org and they also hold a list of patient to patient recommended thyroid specialists both NHS and private which you may wish to acquire as in your primary care your doctor can only prescribe T4 - Levothyroxine.
I am still with the consultants as I also have lymphoma which is currently being treated. I have also had radioactive iodine treatment a month ago. But yes, when I get back to GP care I will ask for online access as you have suggested. Thanks again
I had a TT for thyroid cancer in 2014. My TSH has been kept suppressed ever since. I have had 2 episodes of dizzyness with nausea which turned out to be labrynthitis, a viral infection of my inner ear. The first episode resulted in an mri scan of my head as in very rare cases thyroid cancer can spread to the inner ear. Please contact your consultant for further advice.
thanks for the message. Are people with thyroidectomy more prone to laberynthitis I wander? I recall feeling nauseous and dizzy when I went for radioactive iodine treatment a month or so ago which went once I was released. Now back
Hi Hsaw,
When my B12 has been low I've felt like I was at sea and swaying from side to side. It can make you feel very unstable, wobbly and dizzy.
As SeasideSusie suggests it would be a good idea to get B12, folate, ferritin and vit D tested. Ask your GP about testing these.
Best wishes.
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