Dosage change confusion

[freezgurl]

My TSH was .12 and my doctor said that was low so he changed my synthroid from .2mg to 1.75mg.  I guess I'm confused.  If it was low shouldn't he have raised my dosage instead of lowering it?

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

Low TSH means too much thyroid hormone (medication in this case) - lowering the dose is appropriate.

[Totie]

The lower your TSH is the lower your medication needs to be.

The higher your TSH level the higher your dosage needs to be.

Kind of works backwards.

[freezgurl]

My doctor's office finally called me back and the nurse said one of the hardest things to remember in nursing school was the TSH levels because you would think if something says low you need more medication but like you said it is the exact opposite.  She told me if its Low that is actually hyper and if high that is actually hypo so since mine was low they had to reduce my meds becuase I was getting too much and too much can damage your heart.  I have to be careful becuase I am also pre-diabetic (impaired glucose) and have elevated blood pressure at times.  My normal B/P for years was 116/60 but the last two times they checked me it was 144/86 and 128/90 so they are watching that.   I'm supposed to get my TSH rechecked in 3 months.  Also I don't know if anyone else is aware of this but those of us with thyroid issues are not supposed to be taking diet pills as they mess with our levels I was told.