Should i wait longer before testing ?

[Boo30]

Hello lovely people, over Christmas my levo increased from 50 to 75mcg. My new prescription was for Teva, whereas i had been on accord . Not wanting to feel pants over the holiday, i used what i had left by cutting them up to make the right dose and have now been taking the Teva for 2 weeks with no adverse effects (thank goodness). My GP has now sent me the form for my next blood test. It will probably be 2 weeks for the nearest appointment on swiftque. My question is, do i need to be taking the Teva for 6-8 weeks before testing or will it be enough that i have had the overall 75mcg dose? Also, the form is only testing the TSH. I'm hoping that it will still be above range so she will increase my dose on the strength of that. (I've ordered a MMH kit to check the rest anyway). After 8 weeks, is that as good as it gets until the next increase in dose?

[Sleepman]

How are you feeling? Do feel desperate to increase your dose or are you feeling somewhat better. If pants get tested. Some people are fine on Teva it seems. If anything like me just desperate to get feeling better ASAP.

Good luck

[Boo30 in reply to Sleepman]

Thanks Sleepman, i'm still feeling pretty much the same and desperate to get to a place resembling 'normal'. I had a moment last week when i realised i had walked up the stairs freely without having to support my weight with the banister , or brace myself at the bottom before the the trek up ! I've had a moment of mental clarity too, where it felt like someone had turned up the brightness . If i could feel like that all the time, my life would be complete (even some of the time would be good). Today, i am tired ,aching and miserable. Even the hope that i have has a veil over it !!

[Ruby1]

I have no problem with Teva. 4 weeks isn’t very long, so I’d hold out if you can. There are many on here more knowledgeable than me though, so see what they say.

[Boo30 in reply to Ruby1]

Thanks Ruby1, I have a reply from Tattyboggle too which I will look at in my break

[tattybogle]

"After 8 weeks, is that as good as it gets until the next increase in dose?"

it depends :

if you are relative newly diagnosed and titrating Levo upwards but the dose is 'nowhere near ' (eg . TSH is still over 1 ish / fT4 is still relatively low in range/ and you still feel mostly rubbish) then 6-8 weeks is long enough and it's best to just get on with it and get dose increase sorted.

But if the dose is looking nearly right (eg.TSH below1 / ft4 high up in range/ some improvements have happened but not fully recovered ) then sometimes it pays to give it 3 or 4 months on same dose to see if those improvements in symptoms will gradually continue .. improvements in different symptoms don't all happen at the same rate ... some things take several months of stability on the right dose before they improve. and if you rush it at that point and push the GP into giving more at 6 -8 weeks , you can end up on slightly too much in 6 months time ,which feels just as bad as not quite enough ... and this makes it hard to know where you are .. and obviously makes the process of finding 'the right dose for you' take longer overall.

[Boo30 in reply to tattybogle]

Thanks for replying. I still have a way to go , having been under medicated last year. My TSH was 8.76 (ft3 5.6 ft4 13 )in December and i had been on 50mcg since June , (starting with 25 in March ). It is nigh- on impossible to get past the receptionist at my surgery ,so i had to e-mail asking for the increase to 75, which fortunately they gave me. I'm hoping i can do that again after this next blood test, i'm sure it will still be over range, given the way that i feel. It will have been 8 weeks on 75mcg but only 4 on the Teva brand, will this make a difference in the grand scheme ? I really want to move forward and get as close to optimum medication as i can this year. I have a big birthday and a festival to go to