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620048 tn?1358018235

this is confusing me...

For  at least a year i have been on 75 mg of  Levoxyl for low thyroid...i was told that my thyroid is too low and I may be over medicating.  The # i got was 1.9.....my question is that if i am over medicating, why is my thyroid too low instead of higher ?

thanks, meg




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Avatar universal
Thank you.  That's a good point to consider; hope it helps this member.

Take care.
Helpful - 0
314892 tn?1264623903
This level of 1.9 could be something other than TSH, like the free t4, for example. If it is a free t4, then it is too high, indicating being overmedicated.

meg321:

Is the 1.9 the TSH or free t4?
Helpful - 0
458072 tn?1291415186
also a good way to determine is by your symptoms. Do your hypo symptoms seem better, are you feeling symptomatic of hyperthyroid.

If you are not feeling hyperT, then talk to your dr about optimum lab value as opposed to symptoms.

You know your symptoms.
Helpful - 0
393685 tn?1425812522
AACE ( United States) guidlines are .3 to 3.0 meaning you may ( and could) find relief lower than 1.9 and the reference ranges say that you can still be as low as a .3 to feel and Be told your fine.

Don't waste to much time on the Brit's information - it's whoo-ey.

I took a poll here at Med Help and found many feel good around a 1.0 - This could  be your situation too and you just aren't at an opitmal level yet.

SO if I got this correct - your doctor says you are overmedicated with a TSH of 1.9?

I'd think asking him where his goals are on where he wants to put you at on the TSH scale and start reading heavily on the information regarding labs - symptoms and TSH findings through the AACE.  You will see many feel you may need an increase slightly with meds to lower that TSH more to get relief.

Import to consider also that a Free T3 lab could be ran to see where you are at there. Your levo (Synthroid) requires a conversion from the T4 med to move into the T3 hormone needed to relieve you of hypothyroid symptoms. If that Free T3 lab is not in the higher portions of the reference ranges  - that we Americans use here- then you could also be having those issues too and require better precise testing.

Food for thought and Good Luck
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I think bringing in the term TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) might help.  That’s one of the hormones that gets measured and put on a lab scale to help a dr determine the status of your thyroid.

You were probably originally put on meds due to a low or under functioning thyroid, known as hypothyroidism – a condition that will yield a high number the TSH scale.  Your dr saying you’re over-medicated is probably because you’re now going too much in the other direction to a too high or over functioning thyroid, known as hyperthyroidism – a condition that will yield a low number the TSH scale.

So to help you further, here’s my (at the risk of sounding lame) attempt to correct what you said above:

‘For at least a year I have been on 75mcg of Levoxyl for a low functioning thyroid...I was told by my dr that my TSH reading is now too low and I may be over-medicating.  The TSH # I got was 1.9…’

I suggest reading up further by visiting the websites of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American Thyroid Association, The British Thyroid Association or The Endocrine Society.  Or you could visit the website of a medical teaching university near you.  (A word of caution:  Be weary of a lot of the commercial websites – they have too many misleading inaccuracies.)

Here’s a link to the AACE to get you started:

http://www.aace.com/pub/thyroidbrochures/pdfs/Hypothyroidism.pdf

I hope in some way this has helped.  Good luck.
Helpful - 0
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