New labs

[toni2251]

Ok I just received my new labs. Please tell me what you all think. This is on about 56 mcg of levoxyl and 17.5 of cytomel.

TSH .07 (0.49-4.67)
T4 0.69 (.61-1.6)
T3 3.44 (2.5-3.9)

I just went up to 75 mcg of levoxyl and 17.5 of cytomel. The first day was great. The second day was horrible. Today started out horrible, but got better towards the end of the day. Also my eye are awful again. This is the slowest process ever. Has anyone ever just jumped up on their does? I'm exhausted.

[toni2251]

Thank you very much. That really helps! Good night!

[Barb135]

You're not bothering me, by any means, but I will be going to bed soon...... LOL

"Would it be crazy to raise my meds so soon."  Yes, it would.  It takes 4-6 weeks for a dosage change to reach full potential in your blood and you've only been on your dosage for 6 days.  That's no where near enough time for your body to adjust to the increase and even once you adjust, your body has to have time to "get well".  I was on my 88 mcg for over a year before my symptoms finally started going away.

I think I've mentioned before that it's not unusual for symptoms to worsen, or for new ones to surface, when changing dosage.

As the days go by, you may start seeing some small improvements and you may have some setbacks.  One day, you may feel good, the next like cr@p.... that's the nature of the beast.  

"I'm sure I need to be higher than where I am?"  You can't know that, at this point, because it hasn't had a chance to "do" anything for you.

You have no idea where you will ultimately end up, dosage wise, so you have to let your body stabilize on each dosage before moving up.

Patience is one of the most important things when it comes to thyroid conditions, because almost nothing happens overnight, or in a week, 2 weeks, often not in a couple of months....  Hypo is an illness and like all illnesses our body has to have time to get well.

[toni2251]

Ok one more question then ill stop bothering you today ( lol). I'm beginning to feel better but I can tell after only a few days that I think I need to up my meds. Does that sound crazy? I started 75 mcg of levoxyl on January 22.  So today I feel like I'm sinking again. Would it be crazy to raise my meds so soon. I've been at this for a while. I'm sure I need to be higher than where I am?  I'm not sure how high? But I know 75 is not enough. I know I need to go slow but I know 75 is not high enough. What do you think?

[Barb135]

I believe that I'm as free of hypothyroid symptoms as I'll ever be; which means no, I'm not "symptom free", but I don't believe that the symptoms I have are thyroid related.  

I do have some arthritis, so, yes, there's some joint/muscle pain.  I have Pernicious Anemia so there are days when I'm more tired.  There is weight that I can't get rid of, which is probably the only thing I could currently, possibly, attribute to thyroid and I'm not really sure about that, even, because insulin resistance, age and other things can also cause weight gain.

I went through a period of several years caring for an elderly aunt who lived in a city about 70 miles from me; that kept me "on edge" all the time and I believe only part of my weight gain is attributable to thyroid, the rest would be adrenal.

[toni2251]

I'm curious Barb, are you completely symptom free. I know that as we get older we will have some sypmtoms, but do you feel almost normal?  Just curious.

[Barb135]

I started on synthroid, then got switched to generic levo.  Am currently on Tirosint, which is a gel cap, with no fillers/binders.  It might be something for you to look into.

I currently take 88 mcg/day of the Tirosint and 7.5 mcg/day of generic T3.

[toni2251]

What t4 did you start on an what are you currently taking? Did a change in meds help?

[Barb135]

I started out on 25 mcg for 2 weeks after dx, just to get my body used to the hormones, then I bumped up to 50 mcg/day for a few more weeks, then up to 75, and on to 100, at which time, I had labs again and my TSH was in the basement, so the doctor started backing down on medication, even though FT4 was still at the bottom of the range. He refused to test FT3 and ultimately, had me backed down to 50 mcg, in an effort to get my TSH to come back up, but it wouldn't, and neither would my FT4.  About that time, I got sent to an ENT who, sent me on to my endo, and from there we slowly started putting me back together.  

Each dosage change  needs several weeks to reach full potential and even that's not a guarantee.  100 mcg was too much for me and 88 seems about right, but I've had to be on the same dosage for a couple of years, in order for symptoms to be alleviated.  I'm also on 7.5 mcg generic T3.

It's also not unusual for symptoms to worsen, or new ones to show up, when one changes dosage.  We're all different, and while I could go up the 25 mcg at a time, many can't do that and have to go much slower.

[toni2251]

Hello
I have terrible blurry vision. It's almost like a headache in my eyes. I'm ok at night until the morning when I take my 75's. it was getting better until I just went up on my dose. I'm still having symptoms. Very shaky. It's like my eyes shake. Headaches. The fatigue is a bit better. Like someone took off 25 pounds of the fifty.

I wish that when you start taking these meds that the docs would tell you these symptoms could occur. I would be ok with the side effects if I knew they were gonna happen and possibly gonna get better. As Bruce stated in one of his posts, it's worst in the morning and gets better towards the end of the day. Believe it or not, I had no symptoms last night and I Wes sleepy ( yeah). I will stay here at 75 for a while and continue to pray it gets better.

Barb, how long did you stay on each 25 increase?  

Thank you all so much. Your support and wisdom goes beyond words. Please forgive me if I keep asking questions. I want to learn as much as I can about my condition so I to can one day help others. Please have a good day!

[Barb135]

How are you obtaining your 56 mcg dosage?  There are "creative" ways to increase more slowly, by mixing/alternating dosages, splitting pills, etc?

"Has anyone ever just jumped up on their does?"  When I still increasing, I was going up by 25 mcg/at each increase, until it came time to "tweak", then we had to get creative.

Your FT4 is definitely too low, leaving nothing to convert, even if you could.

Have you had vitamins/minerals tested to see if something else could be causing/contributing to your fatigue/exhaustion?  B12 is the first thing that comes to mind, with vitamin D running a close second.

[FTB4]

Just another question, Have you ever tried Armour?

[FTB4]

OK Your percentage in range of Free T4 is only 8.08%, But your Free T3 is real good at 67.14%, and knowing how bad your reaction to T4 meds are, if you don't have any othet bothersome symptoms, maybe you should just be happy where you are. Maybe take another try at bumping up the T4 in a couple of months and get used to where you are now, I dont know what you mean by "Has anyone ever jumped up on their does" do you mean Dosage?  And what is happening with your eyes?  FTB4