Hypothyroid

[Roxygirl1961]

I have Hypothyroidism.  My doctor put me on 112mg of Synthroid.  I felt great on that dose, never felt tired.  Well my doctor had me take a blood test to see 3 months late to see if the 112mg of Synthroid was enough for me.  My test results came back at .02 and he decreased my dosage to 100mg.  My question is, I have been taking the 100mg for a week and a half now and I noticed I feel more tired than when on the 112 mg.  Am I feeling tired because of the decreased dosage? or is it my imagination?

Thanks,

[gimel]

Especially when you are already taking thyroid meds, a TSH that 's below the reference range doesn't mean you are hyper.  Only hyper symptoms make you hyper.  Your doctor needs to understand that, as Barb said,  TSH is a pituitary hormone and it is affected by many variables, and it doesn't correlate very well at all with hypo symptoms.  

Of much greater importance are the actual biologically active thyroid hormones, FT3 and FT4, which regulate metabolism and many other body functions.  FT3 is over four times as potent as FT4 and it also correlates best with hypo symptoms.  In my opinion the very best way to treat a thyroid patient is to test and adjust FT3 and FT4 with meds, as required to alleviate symptoms.  

If your doctor has the "Immaculate TSH"  belief, then you are going to have to feed him enough information to the contrary, and convince him to change his approach,  or you will continue to struggle to get relief from your symptoms.  Or of course, you can look for a good thyroid doctor.  Here's a good link to read.

http://www.hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html

[Barb135]

What tests did you have done?  I hope he's not basing your dosage based ONLY on TSH, and it sounds like he might be, if that's the result you have at 0.02.  You need to have Free T4 and Free T3 done as well.  My TSH stays very low, but I'm fortunate to have a doctor that goes by symptoms and other test results as well not just by TSH.  If your dosage was lowered and your symptoms got worse (fatigue), that means you are most likely hypo again.  

If you have a copy of your lab tests, please post the tests run, along with their results and the lab's reference ranges.  If TSH is the only test your doctor is ordering, ask (beg if necessary) him to please let you get tested for Free T4 and Free T3, along with antibody tests.  TSH is a pituitary hormone and not really indicative of what the thyroid is doing......

Otherwise, you might want to look around for a different doctor or request a referral to an endo.