Hi
My levo was reduced from 150 to 125mcgs a few weeks ago.. Now the results are TSH 0.06 and free T4 21.4. They are keeping me on 125 and testing levels again in 6 weeks.
I have an ongoing sinus infection and constant sore throat. Could my immune system be low because my thyroid levels aren't right?
Should I be ok with these results?
Thanks if anyone has any insight.
Flutegal
Were you feeling o.k. when your GP reduced your medication or was it because you felt overstimulated or was the reduction made due to your TSH blood test result?
If it was due only to your TSH thyroid gland blood tests, this is what Dr Lowe says about adjusting doses:-
Dr Lowe: Your observations don’t suggest to me that your pituitary gland isn’t functioning properly. In fact, your observations are consistent with what science tells us about a patient's T4 dose, her TSH level, and her metabolic health or lack of it. If the goal of a doctor is metabolic health for his patient, he has no scientific basis for adjusting her thyroid hormone dose by her TSH level. If the doctor is going to make the imprudent choice of treating the patient with T4 (rather than T3 or a T3/T4 combination), he should be aware of the relevant physiology and treat her on the basis of it. Otherwise, he's likely to ruin her health, as your doctor appears to be doing to yours.
The TSH level is not well synchronized with the tissue metabolic rate. (Probably most doctors falsely assume that studies have shown that the TSH and metabolic rate are synchronized. But despite my diligently searching for years for such studies, I’ve yet to find them.) Adjusting the T4 dose by the TSH level is like adjusting the speed of your car by a speedometer that's out of synchrony with the actual speed of the car. Adjusting the speed of a car by an out-of-sync speedometer, of course, will get the driver into trouble—either with other drivers who'll object to the car traveling too slowly, or with a police officer who'll object to the car going too fast. And adjusting the thyroid hormone dose by the TSH level gets most patients in trouble—almost always because their tissue metabolism is so slow that they are sick.
web.archive.org/web/2010122...
Dr Toft ex President of the British Thyroid Association says in his article in Pulse online that it is o.k. for patients to have a suppressed TSH or even the addition of T3 if the patient is still complaining. If you need a copy of this article email louise.warvill@thyroiduk.org.
Hi thanks for your reply. The reduction was made from 150 as my TSH came back as 0.08 and free t4 25.6 Six weeks ago.
I have been sick for months with an ongoing sinus infection so it's hard to tell if I had 'symptoms' as I've been feeling rough for months with a sore throat & infected sinuses. I haven't felt overstimulated but I think I had more energy than my usual none! (I've had 5 lots of antibiotics & the sinus infection has not cleared up and it's been since September last year).
It may not have anything to do with my thyroid results, but I suspect my immune system is low since I can't shake it off. I'm taking 1000 mgs vitamin c per day but not helping my constant sore throat..?!
Flutegal
Some people would feel well with those numbers, but not everyone. So it's possible you are still slightly over medicated, and that's hindering the recovery from the infection. Do you have the range for the FT4? And how long after taking your levothyroxine was the blood drawn?
I feel ok except for a serious sinus problem with an infected post nasal drip, sore throat, bloody scabs inside nostrils. It won't shift. The range for t4 was 11-21so that numbers ok. But the TSH is 0.1-4.0
I'm not anxious , I'm still pretty lethargic for supposedly now being hyper!
Not everyone becomes 'hyper active or anxious' when over-medicated for thyroid. Over-medication doesn't necessarily give the same symptoms as an overactive thyroid. Many symptoms actually cross over and it can be really hard to tell the difference between over medicated and under medicated!
In your situation, with those results I would be trying a slightly lower dose, say 112mcg (split the 25mcg tablets or take 100 / 125 on alternate days). A small change can sometimes make a big difference for some people. Sometimes we need to tweak the dose like this to fine tune things until we find our own personal 'sweet spot'. You can always go back up to the full 125mcg if it doesn't work.
Have you looked at your vit D levels. low vit D levels can affect your ability to fight off infection. I had flue three times in one year and it took me ages to recover. Since taking vit D3 i haven't had flue since! Look on The Vitamin D Council website for more info. Apparently in intensive care they give patients extra vit D3 to help them fight infections.....just a thought.. hope you feel better soon. x
Hi As well as the usual related tests, make sure you have a Free T3 test. it should be Ok with low TSH but not always so. Needs checking. as low FT3 can account for a lot.
Jackie
Yes I suspect that when you are on too much or too little it can affect your immune system. For me a TSH of 0.06 would be too low. I have felt best on 10ug T3 with enough T4 to keep my TSH around 0.5. Basically you want both T3 and T4 around mid range and TSH between 0.5 and 2. If you are only on T4 then you will need your fT4 to be in the upper part of the range to compensate for the lack of T3. But in my opinion T3/T4 combination treatment is better.
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