Increased Levothyroxine 75 to 125

[rushel]

Hi Folks

Been to see endo my Range is still too high after 3 months on 75 Levo now increased to 125 took extra dose today I feel jittery and stomach aches is this normal I would have thought symptoms were too soon after the extra dosage

Russ

[SusanAR]

My endo only increases in 25s and retests 2-3 months later to see if another 25 is needed.

When mine was increased the effects were very gradual - didn’t have any symptoms.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

SusanAR is correct. Dose changes should be made in 25mcg increments. I would leave off tomorrow's dose altogether, then start again on 100mcg on Monday. You should be retested 6 weeks later and if necessary add another 25mcg then, depending on how you feel and your results.

Are you taking the same brand as before, or a different brand of Levo?

[rushel]

Hi Folks, yes he doesn’t want to see me now for 2/3 months he’s sending an appointment etc but said to go from 75 straight to 125 ml

This is now my second endo as I previously was under the Dr Bates at little Aston who had about as much empathy as 3 year old

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to rushel]

Is your endo a diabetes specialist (look him up on your hospital website)? Most of them are and know little about how to treat thyroid conditions. We are taking hormones, they should be increased gradually, you can't rush it so I imagine the 50mcg increase might have caused your jitteriness because your body couldn't cope with increasing your dose by an extra 2/3rds. However, as it takes 6 weeks for a dose change to be fully effective, it is a bit surprising you reacted like that after the first dose at the increased amount.

[TSH110 in reply to SeasideSusie]

I react very quickly to any medication even Levothyroxine despite the 6 weeks half life. I was interested to discover from 23&me data genetically I have a high chance of being a super fast reactor to medication. It could be possible the increase is already having some effect.

[FancyPants54 in reply to SeasideSusie]

I found I had to be very slow at dose increases. Even 25 up at a time made me feel rotten immediately up until I reached 100mcg a day. From 100 - 125 I was able to increase the new 25mcg in one go. Before that I had to split my tablets and take just 12.5mcg increase a day for about 10 days and then move up to the full 25mcg.

No way could I have tolerated a 50mcg increase at the 75mcg point.

[MissGrace in reply to rushel]

Was that Dr Norman Bates? Lol!

[FancyPants54 in reply to rushel]

Definitely read the responses below here and take SeasideSusie's advice on slowing down. If your endo doesn't want to see you for 3 months that's too long, so you could consider a private blood test after 6-7 weeks on 100mcg.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Dose should only ever be increased in 25mcg steps. Suggest you do this for 6-8 weeks, before increasing further

You could retest bloods too before stepping up again

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4, FT3 plus TPO and TG thyroid antibodies and also very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

All thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. Do not take Levothyroxine dose in the 24 hours prior to test, delay and take immediately after blood draw. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)

Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or vitamins

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random

If antibodies are high this is Hashimoto's, (also known by medics here in UK more commonly as autoimmune thyroid disease).

About 90% of all hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto's. Low vitamins are especially common with Hashimoto's. Food intolerances are very common too, especially gluten. So it's important to get TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once .

Link about thyroid blood tests

thyroiduk.org/tuk/testing/t...

Link about antibodies and Hashimoto's

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

List of hypothyroid symptoms

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

[TSH110]

The point or reaching optimisation for me was very sudden and increases were always in 25mcg increments. You might overshoot the mark and 50mcg is a large change to handle. I’d follow Seaside Susie’s advice and take it a bit more gradually.