Hi all
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism about 10 months ago and it's taken a lot of campaigning on my part to get the GP to increase my Levothyroxine from 25mcg up to the 100mcg I've now been on since November. I still feel terrible / unable to work / hair falling out etc. I'm also meant to be starting IVF (at a clinic specialising in auto-immune issues) but they won't start til we've got my TSH well under 2. I'm now 39 so I want to sort it quickly…
My last thyroid test (done privately at my IVF clinic) in December showed my TSH to be 15.15 (reference range 0.27-4.20) and my Free T4 to be 17.5 (12-22). T3 wasn't tested. My antibodies results were thyroid peroxidase 811 (<50) and anti-thyroid globulin 178 (<100). They told me to go to my GP and get my Levothyroxine dose increased.
My GP said he can't possibly increase my dose again yet as we increased it in August, October and November, so he won't re-test me until at least March. (I also asked whether the antibody tests mean I have Hashimoto's and he had to look up Hashimoto's on wikipedia, which concerned me.)
So I guess my question is: is he right - how fast is too fast when increasing the dosage? Or should I protest / change GP / ask the IVF clinic to prescribe me a higher dose privately?
Also, any insights you have on my test results would be welcome - I'm still getting my head around what it all means (especially re the anti-bodies - I've assumed these results mean I have Hashis - is that right?). Do those numbers suggest anything else re where the problem might lie / what meds I'd be best on etc?
Also, my TSH levels have steadily increased over the past 10 months, as my Levothyroxine dose has increased. Is this likely to be because the Hashi's is progressing, or might it be that Levothyroxine just isn't working for me?
Thanks and sorry so long-winded! Seems to help just writing it all down...