I have been on 100mcg of accord for over 10 weeks with no breaks.
My results look very strange as not only TSH is suppressed but also both FT3 and FT4 are out the scale high, but I actually felt as if I wasn’t on enough Levo as I am struggling so much with tiredness. I am back on having energy only for 4-5hrs every day and yawning the rest of the time! Basically energy is like drawing blood out of a stone.
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MMH Results: 14/12/2022
Levo= 100mcg Accord
TSH: <0.01 mU/l (Range 0.27 - 4.2) -6.62%
FT4: 29.9 pmol/l (Range 12 - 22) 179.00%
FT3: 9 pmol/l (Range 3.1 - 6.8) 159.46%
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I was certain at the time that I did not take my Levo for 24hrs before, but given these results I’m worried wether I had a memory lapse and I did take the dose?
How likely it is that if I would have taken 100mcg Levo say 6hrs prior to the test that I would have this level of false high FT3 and FT4?
Otherwise is it possible the lab made a mistake?
I have a GP blood test on the 21st and if they see these results they’ll cut my dose guaranteed.
for reference these are the previous results while on lower Levo dose.
MMH Results : 31/05/2022
Levo = 75mcg (teva+accord)
TSH: 5.19 mU/l (Range 0.27 - 4.2) 125.19%
FT4: 14.9 pmol/l (Range 12 - 22) 29.00%
FT3: 5.9 pmol/l (Range 3.1 - 6.8) 75.68%
P.S. based on the weight guidance my dose should be around 225mcg more or less. (The 1kg =1.8mcg)
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OudMood
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It's a strange result indeed. Have you changed the way you take your tablets during the time between last test and this?
Do you take your tablets on an empty stomach an hour away from food and coffee?
Taking Levo 6hrs before wouldn't suppress your TSH.
Edited to add:
I see your last results were declared invalid as you hadn't taken Levo regularly. If you have now taken Levo on a regular basis then your current results are correct and you need to drop the dose slightly and continue to take Levo regularly. It can take months to begin to feel well once on the right dose.
to be fair though I had been regularly taking the Levo for 4 weeks when testing the last time.
And the result with 75mcg is the last one below and as you can see I don’t thing 25mcg can really produce such a variation from in TSH (from 5.19 to <0.01?) and even the other markers.
I suspect something is wrong with the sample 🙈
But I don’t think I could have a retest for free 😥
4 weeks isn't enough for blood levels to stabilise for an accurate test. It has to be minimum 6 weeks + regular scheduled daily dosing. So now it's not really possible to compare results.
Approx how much do you weigh? It's possible to estimate dose very roughly based on weight in kilos.
It looks like you convert well as your first result shows a low FT4 and higher FT3.
If you are certain that you always take your Levo 1 hour before food and coffee then even the first result is odd as the FT3 is so high. Could you be having Hashi swings? Are you supplementing with anything that might contain T3?
At the moment, for whatever reason you likely wouldn't need anywhere near your dose based on weight as even at 75mcgs your FT3 was looking OK.
From my experience deranged results can infer as you thought initially overdosing. We could also consider some technical pre analytical variables too from a laboratory persepctive but most often this would have been investigated prior to a validating the result.
Things to consider: Changes time of dosing.
Supplements that contain biotin, can exhibit interference in immuno assays as it can cause non specific binding , Usually a laboratory would or should rule out by using a different analytical method this would delay turn around time obviously. Persons known to have a history of deranged results should be advised of what medication/supplements even foods that can cause interference but personal awareness as my experience has shown not even medical Drs check interactions properly .
A repeat should ALWAYS be done as standard and dont adjust medications becuase of one test. ALSO ranges are Reference ranges not NORMAL ranges and are based on population demographics (normal distribution/Gaussian curve). The problem is we only have blood tests when we feel unwell. So there isnt a "healthy" baseline as such for an individual.
Other factors to consider are what time of the day are you also having your bloods done? Consider having your levels checked at the end of your working day consistently or at a time that is convenient for you and not how you feel. You said you taking your tablet at night. How is your sleep quality and pattern? I havent read all replies and so maybe be repeating.
I don't know if the following information will be of use or not. I found this on the internet last night, from"q10facts.com" ;
"Selenium has a special interrelationship with Co -enzyme q10 that can be exploited for clinical benefit in cases of heart disease. Adequate selenium must be available for cells to achieve optimal concentrations of Co-enzyme q10 , and similarly adequate levels of Co-enzyme q10 are necessary for cells to achieve optimal function of selenium."
I have taken Co-enzyme q10 for c. 30years. It helps with my gum health.I take a high dose in its most bioavailable form.
I started taking 200mcg selenium 1/8/22 as a supplement for eye symptoms. I stopped vitamin powders containing selenium, zinc , copper and various other things including biotin , 7 days before blood testing for thyroid TSH, FT4 and FT3. From the same blood draw, I tested zinc and selenium. Despite this my selenium levels were 367ug/L in a range of 67-135.
My thyroid results showed conversion at 3.18 or thereabouts.
Selenium is mega important for thyroid health. I was unaware , until last night, of the relationship between selenium and Co-enzyme q10.
I wonder whether I may have some kind of mutation up or down regulating what my body does with selenium, as I don't believe my levels should be as high as they are. I don't eat brazil nuts, a mega high source of selenium if grown in selenium rich soil, as brazil nuts are one of my food intolerances.
As reported on the forum, zinc and copper are on a see-saw. Usually, when hypo, it is zinc that is low and copper high, when it is best that they be balanced. My zinc was 5.11mg/L in a range of 4.5-9.0. I would have expected it to be better than that. I think whatever my copper level is must be influencing this, and possibly my selenium levels.
I read something else which inferred that selenium, zinc and copper will influence one another as to levels in the body .
I wonder if the supplements you list yourself as taking may be having an effect on your unusual blood test results, without really understanding why.
Have you, for example, upped your dose of Co-enzyme q10 recently, or switched to the more bioavailable type recently?
A bit of a long shot really, but thought the above may be worth bringing to your attention, just in case.
OudMood taking your levo close to the test wouldn't affect TSH or Ft3 levels really. Just keep taking your levo regularly and see what the GP test comes up with.
Your tiredness is consistent with thyroid hormones over the range. It might be test error or a dosing error on your part? Can you get a test done straight away? I’d be tempted to reduce dose to alternate days of 100 and 75. Leave required number of weeks before retesting, but if you start to feel better that will be a sign you’ve done the right thing.
am I correct in understanding then that the “advice” would be to retest and then if results are same/similar I should reduce to basically 85-89mcg daily?
Is there a way to split 100mcg tablets? I just renewed my prescription of 100 for 2 months and also cannot get new prescription until my new exemption certificate comes through.
Would it be ok to split my tablet into 4 and take 3/4 one day and fill the other? 🤔
no matter the previous results, these look a solid set of results. Not everyone needs the multiple x weight dose. Being over medicated can give similar symptoms as being under. I would reduce to 87.5 for 8 weeks and retest but it’s possible that 75 was correct dose ( you just weren’t taking it consistently).
As Slowdragon said, it's probably your change from Teva to Accord, and the accord tablets agree with you much better than the Teva. That was my very first thought because a similar thing happened to me but in the opposite direction, I was given Teva instead of my usual brand I very quickly became undermedicated. I now make sure that I stick the brand that I know works well for me. The GP gives me them in 50mcg tablets so that I can split them as I need to. I put a yellow card report in for the Teva so that I can argue the point with the pharmacist if they try to tell me they can't get my usual brand and try to give me Teva.
And also as Slowgragon said, the symptoms of being undermedicated and overmedicated can be very similar, so it's more than likely that your results are correct. I personally would cut 12.5mcg a day (75 and 100 on alternate days) and see where you are in 6-8 weeks. I also take longer for my levels to settle so tend to test after 8-10 weeks to get a truer picture of what's going on. If you need to cut again, then another 12.5 mcg daily drop would take you down to 75mcg daily, but bear in mind that this won't be the same as the 75mcg dose that you had when taking the Teva, in case you're worried about going too low again. Small tweaks are much less disruptive to your body than big dose adjustments. Be aware that the GP might want to drop you back to 75mcg daily but explain that you're happy to drop, just in smaller increments than 25mcg daily. Good luck 🙏
You poor thing, I went through the same recently. You have turned thyrotoxic. Overactive .
Mine was a result of viral thyroiditis - de quervains - triggered by covid, it came on two months after having covid.
I was taken off thyroxine while the levels come back down.
You really need to see an endocrinologist.
I felt dreadful and ended up with a thyroid storm. A&E was the best place I found help.
I’m still on the road to recovery, if they had taken me off the thyroxine sooner I may have avoided the thyroid storm. Try and find a doctor who knows what they are doing.
You must feel awful, hope you get the help you need to recover soon.
Hi Jeni, your latest results suggest that you are very undermedicated - TSH should be 1 or less and your T4 is only 30% through the range. To get a true indication of what's going on you need to know what your T3 levels are. You would be better doing one of the private tests (see link below). Monitor My Health private test is cheapest with 10% discount through Thyroid UK. As things look, you could do with a 12.5 mcg -25mcg daily increase depending on how well you tolerate dose changes. Personally I do better with low changes over a longer space of time but we're all different. Given those results, your GP should have automatically increased your dose. If you get your results including T3, add them as your own post and the lovely knowledgeable people here will let you know if you appear to converting well or if perhaps need to add T3. Best of luck.
if the GP isn’t cooperative in prescribing alternate day dosing, or if you don’t want to ask, you could achieve a similar result by skipping a tablet once a week. I did this when my bloods showed 100mcg was overdosing. I didn’t want my prescription permanently reduced so I successfully brought my frees back to a good place by skipping my dose on Sundays. I don’t seem to suffer any I’ll effects and I’ve avoided negotiating with the GP.
Whenever I skip a pill due to forgetfulness, I am so sick. Horrible headache, unable to get up until I slept like 12 hours, pain in eyes, can’t think, etc.
I will ask for an additional 25mcg tablets and just cut my 100 in half if not I’ll attempt to keep cutting the pills…
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