Hello, started on Levothyroxine late last year after being diagnosed with sub clinical hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's). After a bit of tweaking with dosage from GP they feel I am now on correct dose (alternate 75/50mg daily; I weigh 56kg). I definitely feel better than I did but still have lots of fatigue and dry skin/hair loss/brittle nails.
Would appreciate one of you knowledgeable people looking at my results as I still (despite lots of reading on here!) don’t really understand the conversion rates
My results (from monitor my health 11/09/23) are;
FT3 4.5 (range 3.1-6.8)
FT4 17.8 (range 12-22)
TSH 2.65 (range 0.27-4.2)
Results from GP 4days later (test done same; before 9am, no dose that day, fasted etc) were bit different;
TSH 1.98 (range 0.35-4.84)
(Had full blood count done at this time but can’t see any results for Thyroxine and Triodthine having been tested)
Just wanted advice re whether these conversion rates are ok (was on 75 mg daily but my TSH dropped to 0.11 on NHS test in May which was out of range so they suggested the alternate days dosing)
Thank you in advance! 😊
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Macp17
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Your conversion is not brilliant, but then again, you haven't got much to convert. Your FT4 would be too low for most hypos - and overall, your levels are too low for your pituitary. Which is why your TSH is too high - it should be 1 or under, so even the NHS TSH was on the high-side for someone on thyroid hormone replacement.
Your doctor should not be dosing by the TSH. That is an absolute no-no because once it gets below 1 it's a very bad indicator of thyroid status. And now, due to dosing by the TSH, you are under-medicated. So, your doctor will probably increase your dose (hope so!) and next test your TSH will be below range again, and he will reduce it... And round and round we go ad infinitum. It just never works.
As for your conversion, looking at the persentages, they should be closer together, something like FT3 at about 50-55%. Yours are too far apart, which means poor conversion.
Your results show you need dose increase in levothyroxine
Request increase to 75mcg daily and retest in 6-8 weeks
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested
Also both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once
Very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least once year minimum
About 90% of primary hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease, usually diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies
Autoimmune thyroid disease with goitre is Hashimoto’s
Autoimmune thyroid disease without goitre is Ord’s thyroiditis.
Both are autoimmune and generally called Hashimoto’s.
Low vitamin levels are extremely common when hypothyroid, especially with autoimmune thyroid disease
20% of autoimmune thyroid patients never have high thyroid antibodies and ultrasound scan of thyroid can get diagnosis
In U.K. medics hardly ever refer to autoimmune thyroid disease as Hashimoto’s (or Ord’s thyroiditis)
Recommended that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins
List of private testing options and money off codes
Thank you to both of you for your advice. My prescription hasn’t changed since I was advised to alternate doses so still says 75mg per day. I might just start taking that and then do another Monitor my health test in 8 weeks (GP now has me in yearly testing so not due again with them till sept 2024). Still don’t understand the conversion (it’s like I have a complete mental block with that!) so may well post my new results after 8 weeks for explaining again! Thank you again 😊
As with what seems a lot of people on here, my GP appears to only look at TSH (I had to “encourage” the rise from 50 to 75 as my range then was within the NHS range,). The GP (new to surgery) was good and did listen and agree to trial it, but think getting anything else would be like getting blood out of a stone! I’ve rethought my strategy and I’m thinking I might do 75mg mon -fri and 50mg on weekends and then retest in a couple of months (is it ok to play around with dose like that?). Difficult though as Monitor my health results always appear to be higher TSH than NHS, so won’t really know what my next GP test would show. Ih well, got a year to tweak it as next review not due till next September!)
As with what seems a lot of people on here, my GP appears to only look at TSH (I had to “encourage” the rise from 50 to 75 as my range then was within the NHS range,). The GP (new to surgery) was good and did listen and agree to trial it, but think getting anything else would be like getting blood out of a stone! I’ve rethought my strategy and I’m thinking I might do 75mg mon -fri and 50mg on weekends and then retest in a couple of months (is it ok to play around with dose like that?). Difficult though as Monitor my health results always appear to be higher TSH than NHS, so won’t really know what my next GP test would show. Ih well, got a year to tweak it as next review not due till next September!)
Hi, my experience has been to listen to your body. I was hovering around the top level and feeling terrible so my gp eventually upped my dosage. 75mg daily was too much and I could feel that, so I alternate between 50 & 75 and after retesting my TSH was 3.93. I know some on here will say that's too high but I feel really well so it's obviously the right level for me. I hope that's helped. Naomi
I can't add much other than to say that I discovered recently through the Thyroid UK Magazine that biotin affects the test result of TSH. I checked what I was taking to help the hair and nails and it was an ingredient. It is also in some shampoos. Apparently one should discontinue for at least 48 hours before testing
In addition to Leveroxin I also take Omega 3 oils for dry hair, eyes etc. Plus I take magnesium and Vitamin D daily, and bath in epsom salts. I also use Omega 3 oils on my skin. Hope that helps. Christina
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