Aa
Blood work
T3 1.4
T4-13.3
TSH- 3.55
Feeling pretty poorly , nails and hair week , sleeping is crap , dark circles and the list goes on , defo need to make an app
on 25mcg thyroxine some days and 50mcg most days
as if i take 50mcg everyday feel overactive and warm and cant sleep
Any advise and results before i go to Docs ????
Destoyed my thyroids with RAI a year and a half ago its so hard to get the right levels , These results are from a month ago !
T4-13.3
TSH- 3.55
Feeling pretty poorly , nails and hair week , sleeping is crap , dark circles and the list goes on , defo need to make an app
on 25mcg thyroxine some days and 50mcg most days
as if i take 50mcg everyday feel overactive and warm and cant sleep
Any advise and results before i go to Docs ????
Destoyed my thyroids with RAI a year and a half ago its so hard to get the right levels , These results are from a month ago !
Best Answer
My RAI was for a 'toxic nodule' - I'd been hyper for 2 years, although FT3 and FT4 was normal - I ws on carbimzale and metaprolol for the 4 months prior to RAI. My thryoid went back to 'normal' within 4 months after RAI then slowly started climbing. My Doc reckoned I was 'subclinical' but I pushed for medication (he refused the first time so I was back 4 weeks later with low FT3,FT4 and 6.8 TSH.
Yep, everyone is different I think. I did the carbimazole again for about 4 weeks post RAI (after no meds for 2 weeks), then stopped and was wonderfully stable for a while.
I'm a little the same - taking 25mcg and hoping I don't drop to underactive. I called a 'stand in' after my last bloods who said to keep taking 25mcg, but I'm going to slowly up it to 50mcg. I had to see a different doctor just before Xmas for a sinus infection, and she said 'if I thought you were really going hypo I'd have you on 50mcg. I'm finding 2 weeks is when I'm feeling noticeably better after an adjustment (on most days).
I was warned this would be a roller coaster. I started going 'hypo' after RAI too but it was because of the combination carbimazole and the RAI - once I stopped the carbimazole, I stabilised back to normal (the doc was going to prescribe the thyroxine, but I reminded her I'd just stopped the carbimazole, so she gave me another 6 weeks, and I came in with good blood tests.
I've learnt a lot here (and have been a member for a while); it's still a bit strange though having to wait 6 weeks etc, each time you change. I hope you coming down to the 50 and me working up to the 50 does it for us both with just a little adjustment at the end of 6 weeks!! Good luck - we'll touch base again :).
Yep, everyone is different I think. I did the carbimazole again for about 4 weeks post RAI (after no meds for 2 weeks), then stopped and was wonderfully stable for a while.
I'm a little the same - taking 25mcg and hoping I don't drop to underactive. I called a 'stand in' after my last bloods who said to keep taking 25mcg, but I'm going to slowly up it to 50mcg. I had to see a different doctor just before Xmas for a sinus infection, and she said 'if I thought you were really going hypo I'd have you on 50mcg. I'm finding 2 weeks is when I'm feeling noticeably better after an adjustment (on most days).
I was warned this would be a roller coaster. I started going 'hypo' after RAI too but it was because of the combination carbimazole and the RAI - once I stopped the carbimazole, I stabilised back to normal (the doc was going to prescribe the thyroxine, but I reminded her I'd just stopped the carbimazole, so she gave me another 6 weeks, and I came in with good blood tests.
I've learnt a lot here (and have been a member for a while); it's still a bit strange though having to wait 6 weeks etc, each time you change. I hope you coming down to the 50 and me working up to the 50 does it for us both with just a little adjustment at the end of 6 weeks!! Good luck - we'll touch base again :).
Hey K ...how come it took a year for them to put u on thyroxine ??? a long time .....mine was only a few months maybe everyone is diff ' Mine has been a rollercoaster to be honest ' i had an agressive graves ' and i was too scared to take RAI so i hung off 6 years with meds for an overactive controlled then my thyroid was all over the place .... took RAI last july my thyroid was still overactive after RAI so i was put back on meds for a month or 2 (carbimazole) then started going under , was put on 25mcg levothyroxine and dropped really underactive so they upp'd it to 50mcg i called the doc and they had a stand in Doc ( didnt know me) i stupidly listened to him he asked me my age then just said take 75mcg for one week then go on 100mcg i didnt really kno much about being under as i been over for 6 yrs so i listened to him went on 100mcg and went very overactive ... it was too soon after RAI (5 months) lost weight and felt like crap so i dropped back down to 25mcg lol crazy when i think back now iam just trying to get the right balance now (nightmare) after seeing these results iam going to stick to 50 every day and give it a good go if it takes 6 weeks i will need to just hang in there dont think iam given it enough time for meds to kick in .....the Docts are no good to be honest ....Nightmare , hope you get there you will be fine on thyroxine dont be scared its nothing compared to be over :o take care , hope yours isnt as bad as mine lol
Thanks for all that good info iam making an app monday i will get them printed off and post them to try and make sence of this , much appricated
What is T3 meds av never herd of them , i would never know all this stuff if i never joined this site crazy eh , Good couple of months do you thing thats not enough time to be on 50mcg just felt i wasnt sleeping and warm and couldnt sleep i really dont kno how to reculate it , driving me crazy , thanks
I did RAI a year ago, and started thyroxine 7 weeks ago... It's taken me 7 weeks to build up to 25mcg a day!! I'm kind of dreading having to get up to 50mcg, but will be doing it with an extra half every other day or so until I get there. I started with only a half tablet a day and then slowly added a full tablet every few days. I'm desperately trying to stay ahead of the rate at which the thyroid is dying off.
Many have mentioned that it's low adrenals that cause the side effects to the thyroxine, and I will mention that to my doctor, but, my body seems to cope okay if I take the increases very slowly. How long ago did you start needing the medication? (I did 15mci RAI in Nov 2010).
Many have mentioned that it's low adrenals that cause the side effects to the thyroxine, and I will mention that to my doctor, but, my body seems to cope okay if I take the increases very slowly. How long ago did you start needing the medication? (I did 15mci RAI in Nov 2010).
Not sure what the reference ranges are for those results, but it sounds like you are still pretty hypo. How long did you give your body to adjust to 50mcg? You may also need to add a low dose T3 medicine. I had the worst dark circles before adding T3!.
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Typical rule of thumb is that to feel well many people need their FT4 in the MIDDLE of the range if not a bit higher AND (that means in addition to) their FT3 in the UPPER 1/3 of the range.
TSH is little more than a screening tool. Some would say that a TSH of 3.5 is OK. But MANY if not most people will have Hypo symptoms.
T4 meds take a LOOOOONG time to build up in your system since T4 is a "storage" hormone. It must be converted into the only used hormone by your body's cells which is T3. Typically altering or a response to T4 like you mention does not occur because of this delayed action response. T4 can take up to 6 weeks to stabilize. So any one day USUALLY has little effect upon symptoms felt. Unless of course you are having a reaction to the fillers in the medicine and not the hormone itself. This is not uncommon.
25 mcg or 50 mcg is usually starter dosage of T4 medication.
Also you want to verify if the T3 and T4 tests are for TOTAL or "FREE". Usually if they are not specifically noted as "FREE" (meaning that the hormone is free or unattached to a protein) then they have tested total T3 or Total T4. "total" are outdated and of little use.
You truly must demand FREE T4 and FREE T3 to be tested. It is especially important and seemingly the hardest to convince Dr's to get the FREE T3 test. It is most important because the body can ONLY utilize the "free" Hormone. Once a protein attaches to the T3 molecule it is useless. TOTAL measures free AND attached T3. So it doesn't actually tell you how much ACTUAL hormone that does all the work is available. ONLY the "FREE" T3 test can tell you that.
If your Dr ONLY uses TSH. Run, don't walk away to find another Dr.