Ongoing Battle

[Krembrule]

My thyroid level goes up and down from hyper to hypo.  I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's about 6 yrs ago.  My doctor changes my meds 3-4 times a year.  Presently, she says I am hyper, so meds were lowered to 150 from 175.  Is this normal to have to change meds so often? Is there not something that can be done?

[sasha24]

When my TSH levels kept jumping around my doctor finally decided to alternate two slightly different dosages every other day.  That really helped me alot, and was stable for quite a while until I decided to try a generic because I'd always been on a brand name before - boo!  Not a good experience, but now I know I haven't been wasting my money on the brand name - my insurance pays very little on brand names.

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

Common reasons for this would be

inconsistency with the medication
interference w/ absorption by taking it too close to other meds and/or supplements
getting generic levothyroxine - esp if getting it from a different source each time
interference with other prescription medications - eg, estrogen, zoloft and others.
A GI problem such as sprue (gluten sensitivity) which changes absorption efficiency in the small intestine.

It is not likely that your thyroid is periodically producing more then less thyroid hormone, but this is a possibility