hashimoto's disease, hypothyroiditis problems

[Brady18_7]

I'm a 17 year old male, and was diagnosed with hashimoto's disease in December. The symptoms I have are extreme fatigue, some dry skin on my face (not acne), muscle weakness, impaired memory, and depression. I feel like I'm depressed only because of how tired I am all the time; I'm an MMA student and haven't been able to do ANYTHING in five months, I love that sport more than just about anything in the world, and can't do it anymore until I feel better. My original TSH was 9.56, and my latest test result for it was 0.91. And my original T4 was 7.3, and now it's 5.9. I was initially scripted to 25 mcg of Levothyroxine a day, and have been taking that since I was diagnosed, and just today, he told me to take 1 1/2 of them a day, so 37 1/2 mcg each day. I'm still very tired all the time, literally, all the time. When should I start to feel better?

[Barb135]

Was the T4 test you had done, a Free T4 or a Total T4?  It should say on your lab report; if it doesn't specify, it's total T4 and is not nearly as useful at Free T4.  Additionally, It doesn't appear that your doctor did a Free T3 test, either.  If he did, what's that level?  

Free T3 is the thyroid hormone that the individual cells in your body, actually use.  Free T4 is a storage hormone and must be converted to Free T3 for use.

It takes approximately 4-6 weeks for a dosage change to take full effect, but if the 37.5 mcg dosage is going to help you, you should start seeing small signs of improvement within the next couple of weeks.  

I suspect, however, that they 37.5 mcg is not going to be nearly enough, but your doctor is probably looking only at TSH and is going to be reluctant to let it get much lower. That's unfortunate, because TSH is a pituitary hormone and is not indicative of actual thyroid hormone status.

I'd suggest you ask for a Free T3 and Free T4 test and if your doctor refuses, you should find another doctor asap, because this one will keep you ill.