Im very new to this condition so can you help. I have been prescribed 50mg of Levothyroxine due to a TSH level of 6.8 . After staying on this dose my TSH is 0.61 but my dose has now increased to 75mg
I really don't know if I'm over or under dosing
Should i be asking for information on my T3 and T4 levels in order to be able to establish the right dose for me .
I'm not really getting any help from my doctors and i really need to manage and understand this condition if I'm stuck with it.
Any advice and help would be great
Thank you all so much for your time
Written by
Gyp101
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hi … thank you for this. I take it at 7am every morning normally at least 1.30 mins before anything and I totally get what you say about the medics .. lol
You should have FULL thyroid and vitamin testing 6-8 weeks after this latest increase
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested
Also both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once
Very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least once year minimum
Request GP test antibodies and vitamins now, or at next test
About 90% of primary hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease, usually diagnosed by high 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.
Low vitamin levels are extremely common when hypothyroid, especially with autoimmune thyroid disease
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)
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins
List of private testing options and money off codes
TSH can take at least 6 weeks to reach a settled level after any dose change , so yes you need to be on same dose for at least 6 weeks before there is any point doing blood tests.
6-8 weeks is the usual time to test after a dose change.. some guidelines say 3 months, but when first starting and trying to get up to the right dose as soon as possible 6 weeks is about right .. it's long enough to allow TSH to move , but isn't leaving you for months stuck on too low a dose ,
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