I just want to say thank you to everyone who commented and helped
After the message about waiting 3 years for another retest I contacted my GP again to request an appointment to discuss - They didn't offer an actual appointment with a Doctor but said I would get a phonecall with a pharmacist - It took 2 weeks but I just had my call
She was great - very understanding - I told her all the symptoms I was having (weight gain of over 1 stone in 3 months, cold hands and feet, brittle nails, fatigue, very irregular periods, brain fog etc)
She said that she would prescribe me a starting dose of levo at 50mg and we will do another blood test in 8 weeks to see how that is working
She did advise that as my results were within normal rage albeit on the edge of the "normal" range that I might not notice any difference in my symptoms as they could all also be explained by my age and possibly the start of peri menopause - but its a start.
as advised by SlowDragon (Thank you :)) I'm also planning on starting taking a supplement for vitamin D in addition to the folate that I'm currently taking - (Ferratin and B12 were normal)
I think I was extremely lucky to speak to someone who actually listened to me and then took action. hopefully the Levo will help
Written by
Sewingmad24
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mind you , your fT4 is in normal range , but your TSH of 6 .02 is definitely not (the highest top end for a TSH range i've seen is 6, but most of them nowadays are about 4.5/ 4.9 ish ~ always get the lab reference ranges with your test results, as they do vary),
anyway , you got levo and 8 wks is a reasonable time to see how 50mcg goes , it is quite likely you 'll need dose increase at that point .
See how it goes , but don't be surprised of you feel better for a week or so on 50mcg then not so good again, that often happens.
Keep these 2 posts up your sleeve for later , you may need them:
GP's should be aiming to keep TSH under 2/2.5 in all patients on levo, list of references here :
some GP's may think once TSH is somewhere in range ie (3 or 4 ish) that is good enough ,and you don't need an increase , but TSH 'in range' is not the same as 'optimal for the individual' simple explanation : the shoe size analogy : healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
A Helpful Quote from another members GP ,on what to expect when starting treatment for hypothyroidism.
"The way my new GP described it was ..."You know how your body is continually breaking down and rebuilding itself? Well, the thyroid controls the rebuilding, so if it isn't working you carry on breaking down but don't rebuild properly. Your body now has a lot of catching up to do, which will take a minimum of 12 months, probably a lot longer...." or words to that effect. He also said it would be a saw tooth recovery (get better, go backwards a bit, get better, go backwards a bit) and he's been right so far."
If possible………Avoid Teva brand Levo initially as it upsets many people.
Levothyroxine is an extremely fussy hormone and should always be taken on an empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after
Many people take Levothyroxine soon after waking, but it may be more convenient and perhaps more effective taken at bedtime
No other medication or supplements at same as Levothyroxine, leave at least 2 hour gap.
Some like iron, calcium, magnesium, HRT, omeprazole or vitamin D should be four hours away
(Time gap doesn't apply to Vitamin D mouth spray)
If you normally take levothyroxine at bedtime/in night ...adjust timings as follows prior to blood test
If testing Monday morning, delay Saturday evening dose levothyroxine until Sunday morning. Delay Sunday evening dose levothyroxine until after blood test on Monday morning. Take Monday evening dose levothyroxine as per normal
You need thyroid antibodies tested at next test to see if your hypothyroidism is autoimmune
About 90% of primary hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease, usually diagnosed by high TPO and/or high TG 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.
Significant minority of Hashimoto’s patients only have high TG antibodies (thyroglobulin)
NHS only tests TG antibodies if TPO are high
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)
Vitamin levels
Once you finish your prescription folic acid ……recommend starting daily vitamin B complex to maintain good B vitamins
Igennus B complex popular option. Nice small tablets. Most people only find they need one per day. But a few people find it’s not high enough dose and may need separate methyl folate couple times a week
If you normally take levothyroxine at bedtime/in night ...adjust timings as follows prior to blood test
If testing Monday morning, delay Saturday evening dose levothyroxine until Sunday morning. Delay Sunday evening dose levothyroxine until after blood test on Monday morning. Take Monday evening dose levothyroxine as per normal
Randox FULL thyroid test including both thyroid antibodies just £29
IMPORTANT......If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 5-7 days before ALL BLOOD TESTS , as biotin can falsely affect test results
In week before blood test, when you stop vitamin B complex, you might want to consider taking a separate folate supplement (eg Jarrow methyl folate 400mcg)
Thyroid peroxidase antibodies - 15 KUI/L - (Range 0-34 - within normal range)
TSH is higher again than the previous two tests but T4 is about the same
Vitamin D - i'll start taking the supplements now and bring those levels up
the one that i am unclear on is the thyroglobulin antibodies - what does that reading mean - should i make another doctors appointment to discuss or is it ok to wait until I go back in 8 weeks to do the retest after starting Levo
I've been prescribed 50mgBut this result was before I started taking it (I picked up my script on sat 4th but as I knew that I was doing the blood test on Monday I didn't start taking it until after the test on monday 6th)
Levothyroxine is an extremely fussy hormone and should always be taken on an empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after
Many people take Levothyroxine soon after waking, but it may be more convenient and perhaps more effective taken at bedtime
No other medication or supplements at same as Levothyroxine, leave at least 2 hour gap.
Some like iron, calcium, magnesium, HRT, omeprazole or vitamin D should be four hours away
(Time gap doesn't apply to Vitamin D mouth spray)
Retest thyroid levels in 6-8 weeks
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)
If you decide to normally take levothyroxine at bedtime/in night ...adjust timings as follows prior to blood test
If testing Monday morning, delay Saturday evening dose levothyroxine until Sunday morning. Delay Sunday evening dose levothyroxine until after blood test on Monday morning. Take Monday evening dose levothyroxine as per normal
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Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
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