Do My Symptoms Have Anything To Do With My Lowered Levo?

[Ellie-Louise]

I am getting so fed up.

The doctor put my Levo down from 100mcg to 75mcg a few months ago, she wouldn’t have it that I felt better on a higher dose. I’m pretty sure I talked about this previously in a post.

But lately my digestion has been bad, I am so tired in the afternoon that I’m yawning a lot, it’s not as if I don’t sleep because I’m usually flat out for 7 hours. My nails have started flaking, my hair is a mess, my skin is dry, no energy or get up and go.

I’m sure all this has got something to do with not being on the 100 Levo because the same thing happened in ‘22 I think it was, so I raised my dose from 75 myself. That time another doctor had dropped me down from 100. They all seem to think that I’m about to die!

Annoyingly they didn’t test everything I asked them to test so I only have these results from March 15th. 2024.

TSH - 0.04 [0.32 - 4.94]

T4 - 14.8 [9.0 - 19.0]

Do you think all these new problems could be down to the lower dose and I need to raised again? Thank you.

I can’t afford private blood tests.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Possibly

Free T4 (fT4) 14.8 pmol/L (9 - 19) 

Ft4 is only 58.0% through range

Was test done ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test

Request GP test folate, B12, ferritin and Vitamin D

What vitamin supplements are you taking

How much do you weigh in kilo

Retest again in another 6-8 weeks, see if Ft4 has dropped further

if it has

You could ask for small increase in Levo to say 100mcg 3 days and 75mcg 4 days per week

[Ellie-Louise in reply to SlowDragon]

Yes, 24 hours, water, 8:20.

I tried that different dosage before, I can’t remember if it was you mentioned it that time as well. But doc refused to agree (did argue with her) and told me had to be 75.

I had asked to be tested for all 5 as recommended here and was shocked when I saw only 2 had been tested. I especially asked for them too. My surgery used to be fantastic!

I weigh roughly around 70k sometimes a few grams over.

[Ellie-Louise in reply to Ellie-Louise]

Found this from February, I don’t even remember it. They were testing other things then.

T3

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Ellie-Louise]

What’s this …….Ft3?

So if GP won’t increase dose, obviously she’s just looking at TSH

Request referral to endocrinologist of your choice

Here’s link for how to request Thyroid U.K.list of private Doctors emailed to you, but within the email a link to download list of recommended thyroid specialist endocrinologists

Trouble is, most referrals to NHS endocrinologist are taking over a year and they may simply refuse to see you

Next step is to test vitamin levels and retest thyroid including Ft3

if going to go private essential to get full thyroid and vitamin testing BEFORE booking consultation

Ideally choose an endocrinologist to see privately initially and who also does NHS consultations

thyroiduk.org/contact-us/ge...

[Ellie-Louise]

FT3 a month ago yes. I changed doctors since seeing her but she has control of the tests that she ordered. I think I’ll talk to my present doctor about it.

[Batty1]

I wonder how much of this reducing thyroid meds is actually coming down to your age more so than the labs?

[Ellie-Louise in reply to Batty1]

All I know is that I had the same when I was put on 75 before because a completely different doctor had seen my low TSH a couple of years ago. After 8 months of it I couldn’t stand feeling like that any more and put it back up to 100 myself, and I told them about it.

I started feeling back to my old self with no symptoms to talk about within weeks…until another blood test which seemed to scare the heck out of yet another doc who worried more about keeping her job than me, so she made me go back down to 75 which is what my post is about, resulting in me getting all my old symptoms back.

I might have higher numbers, that’s down to being born during the last century, but I certainly don’t feel old in any which way or loose. 😉

[Batty1 in reply to Ellie-Louise]

If 100mcg is good for you then start telling these doctors NO Im not reducing my meds because Im fine with the way Im feeling which is good!