I’ve been taking 75mcg Thyroxine since I was finally listened to in August and diagnosed. I felt wonderful almost immediately after starting thyroxine. My retest 8 weeks later showed my TSH had dropped to 0.93 and I was advised to carry on with 75mcg. Recently I’ve been feeling a bit off like I used to so did a private test. I’ve added the results at the bottom. My question is if my TSH has risen to 1.71 would this warrant a change in dose or will the GP expect me to carry on with 75mcg as it’s in range. Is it a normal range for most people, am I just being dramatic?
09/12/2024
4.7 pmol/L
FT3 levels normal (normal range 3.1 - 6.8 pmol/L)
THYROXINE
09/12/2024
14.3 pmol/L
FT4 levels normal (normal range 12 - 22 pmol/L)
THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE
09/12/2024
1.71 mu/L
TSH levels normal (normal range 0.27 - 4.2 mU/L)
Written by
Johannab89
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
yep this happens as your body settles on the dose, plus it’s winter so many of us go a bit low too.
Good work getting tested yourself, it’s validating to see the results match your symptoms isn’t it 👏
75mcg is only one up from the starter dose for most (although my cautious GP started me on 25mcg)
Your FT4 is a bit low in range. That can make you feel more hypo again.
You could ask to trial 100mcg l, I did that, seems to suit me better. I trialled 125 and that was way too much. Finding the right balance is key. Eg I need to drop to 5x 100mcg and 2x75mcg a week from around May time I think, I definitely need less in summer.
How are your vitamin levels? Sub optimal Bs, D, folate and ferritin can all make you feel more hypo too.
Thanks regenallotment, on my last blood test, my vitamins were all ‘normal’ but on the lower side. I do take vitamin D and B complex so hoping they are better than what they were.
I’ll speak to my GP to see if they’ll agree to a dose change. I don’t know if I’m jumping the gun but just don’t want to get back to feeling rubbish again like I did. It’s hard to explain, I can’t put my finger on 1 particular symptom, I just feel out of whack, a bit trembly inside and generally off and I don’t want to go down that road again.
SlowDragon will not see your reply - you need to ensure when you reply to anybody you need to reply within the other forum members post - and as you write your reply their name automatically appears in print, in your reply - and they then get notified they have a message .
SlowDragon - you can also do what I jut did - by typing an @ directly before starting to type in the name as you type an option bar drops down to match your typing and shoul then turn blue which means the other party is to be notified -
Anyway - just to say your ferritin @ 28 needs investigating further - before supplementing
and since this result was from last February - if this low reading hasn't already been picked up I'm guessing your ferritin will have dropped further -
everywhere I researched suggested ferritin needed to be over 70 before any thyroid hormone replacement will work well.
I now aim to maintain ferritin at around 100 - folate around 20 - active B12 125 ( serum B12 500++ ) and vitamin D at around 125.
Did you stop your supplements a week before this blood test - as if not - your results will be falsely inflated by that recently ingested - and we need to see what your body is actually holding and working with :
I asked to trial 100mg after the initial hit of being medicated at all (75mg) was becoming less and symptoms returning. The blood retest showed TSH had risen to 1.51 also. Doctor agreed to alternate days and it suits me so much better. Last TSH was 0.58 and she was happy for me to continue. Definitely worth asking.
Adults usually start with a dose between 50 micrograms and 100 micrograms taken once a day. This may be increased gradually over a few weeks to between 100 micrograms and 200 micrograms taken once a day.
If symptoms of hypothyroidism persist despite normalisation of TSH, the dose of levothyroxine can be titrated further to place the TSH in the lower part of the reference range or even slightly below (i.e., TSH: 0.1–2.0 mU/L), but avoiding TSH < 0.1 mU/L. Use of alternate day dosing of different levothyroxine strengths may be needed to achieve this (e.g., 100 mcg for 4 days; 125 mcg for 3 days weekly).
I would try to message back and say that if you had no symptoms, you could understand their argument. However, as you are being symptomatic and the previous results show that there is room for an increase, you would like to trial alternating 100 and 75mcg and see if your symptoms disappear.
And as helvella pointed out, people can be symptomatic even when they are within the reference range, so an increase in medication based on NICE guidance is within scope to see if the patient's symptoms subside. And they should really respect that. I would push back on that.
The prescribing guidelines also state that a replacement dose is around 1.6 mcg per kg weight, so unless you are petite, this could be another argument to try for an increase in medication.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Blood test results
Latest Results 
Help with results please
