advice, guidence wanted.

[Nettie69]

diignosed with hypothyroidism 12 weeks ago. Was started on 50mg levothyroxine and the it was upto after blood test which showed tsh 36.5. on 100mg levothyroxine now for 7 weeks. When will i start to feel better. Its really getting me down feeling like death warmed up.

[Moggie]

You should fully feel the effects of an increase in Levo within six weeks. Your GP should be testing you every 6 - 8 weeks until your TSH is "within range" but I must warn you that the GP's idea of a normal TSH is a bit different to that on here.

Your GP will say your TSH is fine, in some cases, when it reaches the 5 mark, others will say below 10 is o.k. In America its below 3 and on here the general thinking is that it needs to be 1 or under for you to start feeling anywhere near normal.

Hope I haven't confused you too much but as you may have gathered by my answer it will all depend on what GP you see and where you are.

If I were you I would be booking another appt to see my GP and asking for another blood test. Do you mean that you took 50mcgs of levo for a certain amount of time and then when you were retested it was 36.5 or did it start off at 36.5. Sorry it isn't quite clear in your question.

Moggie x

[Nettie69 in reply to Moggie]

thank you sweet. i dont know what my tsh level was in the begining. dr started me on 50mg. Had another blood test 7 weeks ago which showed tsh at 36.5 which is when dr increased med to 100mg. i will book to see dr and ask for another blood test. thank you for the help

[shaws Administrator]

It does take a while to get to the optimum medication but the more the GP increases it the better you should feel.

If you get a copy of your thyroid gland blood tests from the GP each time, keep a copy for your own records and post them here for someone to commentAs Moggie says, some GP's keep you within a 'normal range' which might mean you are undertreated.

Also ask for a Vit B12, VitD, ferritin, folate and iron next time as some have deficiencies.

[Nettie69]

Thank you for your help. I am really gratefull x

[Jackie]

Hi As said you need all the tests but especially Free T3 tested , you probably need T3 on a script as well as T4 ( levo)It lowers the tSH and helps weight loss etc. When starting treatment with either or both, you need lots of blood tests and often rises in doses till better. Can take at least a year, also often you feel worse before better.

Best wishes,

Jackie