New blood results

[Dandelions]

Hi everyone,

My latest blood results after having been on 25mcg of Levo for 8 weeks.

April 2024

TSH: 3.48 (0.35-5.5) 60.78%

T4: 11 (9-23) 14.29%

fT3: 4.7 (3.5 -6.5). 40%

November 2023 (before starting Levo)

TSH: 2.77 mU/l (0.35 - 5.5) 46.99%

FT4: 9 pmol/l ( 9 - 23) 0.00%

FT3: 4.7 pmol/l (3.5 - 6.5) 40.00%

Can I ask your opinion on my latest thyroid panel please?

My doctor thinks everything is fine now and wants to take me off Levo. I want to up my dosage to 50mcg (with or without doctor support). So I'd really appreciate your opinion and any info you can give me. Do you think it's good idea to increase dosage of Levo to 50mcg? Also, greygoose or others, new thryoid level still suggests Central Hypo, doesn't it?

I have a fluctuating goitre, which the doctor seems to think is a very curious thing (as they all think it's only supposed to get larger).

Thank you!

Going rogue (without doctor support) scares me, so I really appreciate it!!😊

[helvella Administrator]

Your doctor seems to be looking only at FT4 being just inside the reference interval!

If he did what many do and based everything on TSH, he'd see that has gone UP! (Or is he reading TSH upside down?)

Your results seem to be in accordance with the common observation that a very low dose of levothyroxine, such as 25 micrograms, can have next to no effect - or even make it worse.

In my view, you clearly need to go to 50 micrograms.

But I'd really hesitate to suggest or recommend going it alone at this stage. Is there another GP you could see?

[Dandelions in reply to helvella]

Thanks  helvella !

I felt absolutely great for more than a week when I first started on the 25mcg, but that's well gone now. And I had to stop work! So yes, it's probably worse than before, although life has been more stressful too.

This is the 3rd GP looking at it since 2022. She asked advice from an endo when I pressed her, but he agrees with her.

I have identified another doctor at my local surgery, who might be more open minded, but I have been waiting since 2019 and feel very disheartened. After starting T4 , which seemed promising at first, I'm not sure if I can go back to another doctor and they talking down to me and all the horrible things they say.

But thank you for your advice. I'm reluctant too.. so I will give it more thought!

[greygoose]

My doctor thinks everything is fine now and wants to take me off Levo.

This is a very dangerous doctor who has aboslutly no understanding of how this works. Taking levo is not like taking aspirin. You don't just take it until the headache has gone and then stop. Levo is thyroid hormone replacement - T4 - and it's for life, because your thyroid isn't going to get better and start making hormone itself again. That is not how it works.

Are you seriously saying that the endo agreed with her that you should stop the levo? If so, there's something seriously wrong going on, and you should see someone else as soon as possible. And possibly make a formal complaint about this GP to the practice manager. This woman is dangerous!

[Dandelions in reply to greygoose]

they said the pituitary thyroid axis will respond naturally?!

"in the future if your thyroid function is normal then we could consider reducing the dose or even stopping for your pituitary thyroid axis to respond naturally."

[greygoose in reply to Dandelions]

I could think of a very rude word in response to that - it begins with B! Because pretty sure that ain't gonna happen! If it didn't happen before you started levo, why would it happen when you come off levo? There's just no logic to that?

[Dandelions in reply to greygoose]

Nope.