New Blood Results 27/2/23

[Pooty]

Hello lovely people I have received my latest blood results and am looking for your advice before I speak to my GP next week please:

Serum free T3 level: 4.10 pmol/L normal range (2.63-5.70)

Serum free T4 level: 17.00pmol/L normal range(9.01-19.05)

Serum TSH level: 2.82mIU/L normal range (0.35-4.94) I am up from my last tests!!

Serum ferritin: 133ng/ml normal range (20-204)

I am currently on 75 Levothyroxine ( 50 Accord/25 Teva )I think the Teva gives me bad headaches feels like sinus headaches which I’ve had since starting Teva.

If you can advise me I would really appreciate your advice please.

Warm regards to you all 🫶

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Was this test done early morning, ideally just before 9am and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test

Are you due new prescription for 25mcg tablets soon

Suggest you avoid Teva at next prescription

You need B12 and folate testing

Burning feet can be due to low B vitamins

[Pooty in reply to SlowDragon]

yes my test was done at 8.40 and I had not taken my Levo for 24 hours as suggested and I didn’t take B12 for 1 week.

I am due another prescription soon do you think that I need to go up from 75?

[Pooty in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi SlowDragon

Can you advise me on my results please. What are your thoughts on my levels? Thank you so much

[StanleyThyroid]

I had a bit of a challenge when I went up from 50 to 75. I have Accord and they swapped me to Teva as that is the only one that does 75. It seemed new news to the pharmacist that people have issues with Teva but got there in the end - you just have to cut the tablet in half. That said you may need more.

[tattybogle]

Hi Pooty .

How do you feel now ?

The TSH is still a bit higher than ideal , so that does indicate there is room to try a dose increase.

GP may be a bit reluctant to increase saying TSH is 'in range ' and fT4 is 'ok'.

But if you still have hypothyroid symptoms ? you can ask GP to "go up to 100mcg as a trial for a few months to see if it improves symptoms"

Point out that your TSH has actually risen a bit since last time , clearly showing pituitary is not ye satisfied with the FT4/fT3 level

You can use this list of references to persuade GP it's safe / recommended to increase dose when TSH is in range if they are "worried about over treating you because you were only borderline to start off with " healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Also discuss with GP that you would like to try not having Teva to see how that feels .

[Pooty in reply to tattybogle]

Hi Tattybogle

Thank you for your response I really appreciate it. Some of my symptoms are a little better but I’m still gaining weight, my joints ache all the time , have recently started with back pain. I’m still exhausted all the time and my eyes are constantly swollen and ache. My hair is breaking and definitely losing a lot of it. So all in all some symptoms have improved but still have a lot that haven’t. Since taking Teva I have headaches daily. I take my Levo at night around 10pm and this works better for me. I have increased my vitamin d from 2000 to 4000 spray and vitamin b complex spray. I take this in the morning. I will mention to the doctor about my TSH has increased.

[tattybogle in reply to Pooty]

if they won't agree to 100mcg ....try to negotiate 87.5mcg instead

usually prescribed as "75mcg / 100mcg alternate days"

[Pooty in reply to tattybogle]

thank you hopefully my GP will increase it to see how it works. If he does increase it to 100 and that doesn’t work where would I go from there?

[tattybogle in reply to Pooty]

"More haste ~ Less speed"

go a bit slower' and wait a bit longer ....... i would suggest giving an increase at least 8 weeks before re-testing and preferably 3 months before making you mind up how that dose actually feels.

Nothing about thyroid hormones 'works' instantly .. it took your body many ,many months to gradually feel this rubbish ..... and it usually takes it just as long to get itself working well again once you have got back to better hormone levels .

you've gone up though the doses pretty quick so far .. and tested pretty quick .

once you get to 'something like the full dose' , which is often around 100mcg ish . then you have to allow ...... time .... for the body to MAKE USE of having those better levels of thyroid hormones to START fixing itself , which takes months not weeks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Helpful Quote from another members GP ,on what to expect when starting treatment for hypothyroidism.

"The way my new GP described it was ..."You know how your body is continually breaking down and rebuilding itself? Well, the thyroid controls the rebuilding, so if it isn't working you carry on breaking down but don't rebuild properly. Your body now has a lot of catching up to do, which will take a minimum of 12 months, probably a lot longer...." or words to that effect. He also said it would be a saw tooth recovery (get better, go backwards a bit, get better, go backwards a bit) and he's been right so far."

[Pooty in reply to tattybogle]

thank you for that it makes perfect sense. It’s always great to get as much information as possible especially for me not having any knowledge. I will definitely keep in mind about going slower. Thank you so much again

[Poppycat999]

Hi PootyKeep your 50 Accord and just get more

I'm on 75 Almus l think Boots call them Almus and Lloyd's call them Accord. I take one full 50 and cut the next tablet in half. You need a sharp knife or scalpel works fine. I bought a couple of contact lens holders so put the halfs in them. It's a bit fiddly but I'm happy as want to stay on my brand. My doctor said l could take 50 one day and 100 the next. I didnt fancy that idea so told her I'd prefer to cut them. I'm finally starting to feel better after a few years of trying to get sorted. Why levo companies dont make 75 seems very odd to me. Yes I've avoided Teva so read on this site alot of people have problems with Teva.

All the best on your journey to better health

[Pooty in reply to Poppycat999]

thank you so much Poppycat999 for your reply. It’s so difficult to know what to do as I’m still at the very beginning of my treatment phase. I appreciate all comments and advice so thank you. Good luck with your treatment x