how to come of t4

[ali2341]

hi everyone i have had a blood test today and will get results soon, i been on t4 since 2021 and have finally lost weight now but it effects my mental health as i have suffered with mental issues before getting on t4 and i want to get of levo as it makes me depressed. how do i get off levo safely ? should i quit cold turkey, btw my last tsh was 1,2, 2 months ago

[greygoose]

You don't. Not unless you have something else to replace it - T3 or NDT. Thyroid hormone replacement is for life, and the fact that your TSH is now in-range does not mean that your thyroid is now working perfectly. It probably isn't working at all and has been replaced by the levo. It's your dose of levo that has brought it down and is keeping it at that level. Stop the levo and the TSH will rise again. Because thyroids cannot heal or regenerate.

That said, it's not the TSH that is important. It's not even a thyroid hormone, it's made by the pituitary to tell the thyroid when to make more hormone.

What is important are your thyroid hormone levels, T4 and T3. Have you had them tested? Just because your TSH is more or less 'normal' - probably should be lower - doesn't mean your FT4 and FT3 are optimal. So, it could be low T3 making you depressed, not the levo.

I think you need full thyroid testing to see exactly where you are:

TSH

FT4

FT3

TPO antibodies

Tg antibodies

vit D

vit B12

folate

ferritin.

[HealthStarDust]

Well others have shared they have done this, they have either done it slowly or come off it altogether. I can’t say what happens to them after.

[Sunflower64 in reply to HealthStarDust]

That would imply that doctors routinely put people who are not hypothyroid on thyroid hormone replacement. That is very unlikely, especially in the UK where the TSH is supposed to be above 10 before treatment is considered. From what I read here, people have to fight for years to get diagnosed.

Unfortunately, there are some alternative doctors and naturopaths who claim that you can heal your thyroid by reducing antibodies or taking iodine to support it. More often than not, they are selling expensive supplements to help with this.

[RedApple Administrator]

ali2341, ' i want to get of levo as it makes me depressed. how do i get off levo safely ?'

It's unlikely to be the levothyroxine that is making you depressed. It may be that you are not on the right dose of levothyroxine, and/or that your FT3 is too low. Do post your most recent blood test results here as soon as you get them so that members can help.

In the meantime, you must understand that thyroid hormone is not a medicine that you can just stop taking. It is an essential hormone replacement. You definitely should not stop taking levothyroxine without at least first consulting your doctor.