[ChristinaDe April 21, 2013 at 8:12 am Post count: 115]

#1059896

Hi everyone! Happy Sunday!!

Well, after my TT I was started on 100 mcg of Synthroid. About 6 weeks later I was hypo (TSH about 14 & T4 creeping up – with the typical hypo symptoms). So I was bumped up to the next higher dose, 112 mcg. I’ve been on that for a little over 3 weeks and feel like I’m moving to hyper (racing heart, tremor, some anxiety/nervousness). I have 2 questions.

1) If I think my dose is too high, should I ask for labs now…or is it better for future dosing purposes to wait out the full 6 weeks (that way we can see how far off this dose really is)? Or is it better to nip it in the bud now?

2) Has anyone else had this happen (where one dose is too low & the next up too high)? If so, how did your doctor handle that problem? I can’t get into an endo until the end of June so my surgeon is still handling my testing and adjustments & I’d like to go into any conversation with him with as much knowledge as possible.

Thanks!

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator April 21, 2013 at 11:39 am Post count: 4294]

#1178604

Hello – Hopefully, you will get some responses on #2.

On #1, the ideal situation is to give the new dose several weeks to see if that is the right dose for you. Because thyroid replacement hormone has a fairly long half-life, this extra time is needed for you to see the full effects of a change in dosage.

I’m on anti-thyroid drugs, not replacement hormone — but my personal take is that if you are feeling *really* miserable, it’s worth a call to the doctor’s office to ask them to give you some further direction.

Take care!

[adenure April 22, 2013 at 8:41 pm Post count: 491]

#1178605

Hi!

It’s funny that you mention this because when I was on 100 mcg I thought I had too much! I didn’t have a racing heart or tremors, but I had “anxiety breathing”, was anxious/ nervous, insomnia, still under weight. Yet, my TSH was 6.35 (even thought my free T4 was in the upper end of normal). So, I was bumped to 112. At about 2 weeks into the dose, I started to feel better. My labs reflected my TSH at .79 I think and my free T4 about the same as when I was on the 100. 2 months later it went down to .68 and now 8 months later, my TSH is 0.29 even though my Free T4 has remained in the upper end of normal and my T3 in the lower end of normal. It’s all weird. Anyway… since you’ve been on the new dose for 3 weeks, I think you will see a reflection in your labs. It might now be 100% accurate, but just after 2 weeks when I was bumped from 100 to 112, my TSH went from 6.35 (or so) to .79. So, you might have dropped quite a bit as well. If your labs are normal, maybe your body just needs a little time to adjust.

I did feel a little anxiety (very little), some “anxiety breathing”/ air hunger sort of thing on the 112 seven days a week, so I asked my dr. if I could take 112 six days a week and a 100 one day a week. It’s actually helped! I met a lady who takes a dose 5 days a week and then skips 2 days. So, you can tweak a dose by skipping a day or by maybe doing what I’m doing and take 112 some of the days or the majority of them and the 100’s on 1 or 2 days. It might help. So, I would ask for labs to see what’s going on and then ask (depending on what your numbers are and how you feel) if you can alternate the 112 and 100 maybe or something like that. Let us know how it goes.

[npattersonModerator April 28, 2013 at 3:40 pm Post count: 398]

#1178606

Oh my goodness! EVerybody! PLEASE don’t be tweaking your medicine. None of us are doctors, and messing with even 50/1000th’s of a microgram of levothyroxine can mess you up a bunch. I do NOT say this to be authoritarian, but I AM an authority—I did this, not once, but twice. It took months to get back where I was supposed to be. My physician said “OK, “Doctor” Patterson, are you ready to let me be the doctor now?” I am lucky he didn’t fire me on the spot.

Take care, Nancy

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