Been on thyroid medication for 5 months...now what

[famv5]

I'm new to having a thyroid issue.  In June, I was told that I was hypothyroid and I started on Levothyroxine.  It's now almost 5 months later and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to do anything else.  I had my blood retested after being on the medication for a month and my TSH dropped from 8.6 to 1.2.  

Does that mean that I'm on that medication and dose for life or am I supposed to have my blood retested periodically?  I noticed on my prescription bottle that their is only one refill left so I'm assuming that is a cue for me to call my doctor and they'll want me to come in.  I don't know.

Just wondering how all of this works.  

Thank you for your help! :)

[Barb135]

Let us know what they say - don't settle for just the TSH... insist on the FT3 and FT4.  Will wait to hear.  

[famv5]

I believe they only tested the TSH.  My blood work was originally ordered by my cardiologist to check the thyroid levels due to palpitations I was having.  Then it came back at 8.6 and they referred  me to my GP to start medication. She put me on Levothyroxine 50mg, I believe. Within a month, my levels dropped to 1.2.

For the first few months, I felt pretty good.  I wasn't tired all the time but now I find I feel so tired every day as if I didn't sleep well.  Plus, I can tell my sleep  has really changed, too.  I wake constantly.  So, I almost feel like I'm back to the way I felt before starting the medication.  

I thought that once they tested my blood at 6 weeks after the medication I would remain at that level.  

I will call them and ask if I need another blood check and how I'm feeling.  I'll also ask for the FT3 and 4, as well.

Thank you for help.

[Barb135]

You should be having your blood tested periodically - preferably every 6 weeks until your levels are stable...

Is TSH the only test your doctor is ordering? He should also be ordering Free T3 and Free T4 every time he orders TSH.  FT3 and FT4 are the actual thyroid hormones and correlate best with symptoms.  Ask your doctor about these tests and if he refuses to order them, you might want to think about finding a different doctor.

Have you been tested for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis?  Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disease, in which, for some reason, the body sees the thyroid as foreign and produces antibodies to destroy it.  If you have Hashimoto's, the thyroid will continuously produce less and less thyroid hormones, until eventually it produces none.  As the destruction of the thyroid progresses, we often have to have adjustments made to our thyroid medication to keep up with the lack of hormones produced by the thyroid. Hashimoto's is the number one cause of hypothyroidism in the developed world.  

The antibody tests you need are Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb).

What dosage of levo are you taking?  Do you still have symptoms of hypothyroidism?  

Most doctors want their patients to come in for blood work when the refills run out, so they can be retested to make sure the dosage they're on is adequate.