Going around in circles

[Henson1980]

Looking for a little advice as I don’t know what to do with my latest blood results.

iv been on 100 levothyroxine for underactive thyroid for 5yrs now. Levels seem to fluctuate every now and again so it was upped to 125mg then reduced back to 100mg but levels have remained fairly stable in recent months. I started HRT back in August, initially 1 pump of oestrogel and Utragestan. I upped to 2 pumps on advice of the doctor due to my meno symptoms returning. I haven’t felt great recently ie tiredness/weight gain mood changes etc so thought I would get a private test done as it’s too much of a headache to get a docs appointment.

My results show that my oestrogen levels are sky high and my TSH is 3.6

Now I’m confused as ever! Do I go down to one pump of oestrogel and up my levo to 125mg?? Such a guessing game it drives me nuts! ☹️

Written by

[DippyDame]

Personally I'd start with a full thyroid test...after at least 6 weeks on a stable dose....suggest 100mcg levo.

TSH, FT4, FT3, vit D, vit B12, folate, ferritin and thyroid antibodies TPO and Tg

TSH and FT4 only tell part of the story!

You appear to be undermedicated...FT4 abysmally low.

Possible reason....

Estrogen therapy interferes with thyroid medication and reduces the amount of available thyroid hormone in the blood.

This possibly explains your low FT4 and the consequent symptoms

I would be looking for other treatments instead of HRT...

Black Cohosh for example which is not indicated as affecting thyroid hormones.

Just my thoughts.....you may wish to investigate this further

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Extremely common to need dose increase in levothyroxine when on HRT

How long have you been on 100mcg levothyroxine when this test was done

Do you always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription

Was test early morning and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test

What vitamin supplements are you currently taking

Suggest you increase levothyroxine to 112.5mcg per day

Cutting 25mcg tablet in half to get 12.5mcg

Retest in 6-8 weeks

Meanwhile get GP to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 levels

[Henson1980 in reply to SlowDragon]

thanks slow dragon.

Iv been on 100mcg for a long time now. I tested on Monday (day 3 of my cycle as advised by medichecks) first thing in the morning with no levo in the previous 24hrs. Same brand everytime. Currently take selenium/Vit b complex/vid d.

As my oestrogen levels are very high I’ll reduce it from 2 pumps to 1 and take the levo as you advised then retest in 6 weeks. Thank you

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Henson1980]

Retest vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least once a year

Remember to stop B complex 5-7 days before test as contains biotin

[Thalia56]

Hi. I’m not sure if you’ll see this as your post is two months old, but in case you do:

Sky-high oestrogen on a finger-prick test is quite likely due to using your hands to apply oestrogel. (Of course, if you don’t do this, then this won’t apply to you.) I was recently shocked by my oestrogen result, shortly after starting oestrogel, until my doctor pointed this out to me.

I’m not sure how long before an oestrogen test one needs to keep skin clear of the gel, but I’ve read that two weeks isn’t long enough.

I hope you’re feeling better now.