After feeling wired and restless my doctor suggested I go back down to 25mcg for a few days. So from Feb 16 until today I've been back to 25mcg. I was starting to feel hypo this past week again (more anxious mood, tired, trouble focusing, shaky muscles, etc).
My next blood draw and appointment isn't for another 5 weeks so I went and got a lab last night (on my own dime).
As of yesterday the results were:
TSH = 2.09 (0.45-4.5)
Free T4 = 1.06 (0.82-1.77)
I know I need to get Free T3 but it was going to be an extra money so I opted out of that.
My doc wanted me to stay at 50mcg until the next blood draw but I just felt so wired and restless after that dose for a few days. But I do feel too hypo just taking 25mcg for over a week. What dose can I take and stay at for the next 5 weeks? I do want to keep it steady for the next 5 weeks...
Wow thank you that's really helpful! I think you are spot on about NDT and me starting low.
I took Levothyroxine last year and it made one of my ears ring too much. So I'm not going back to that but maybe name brand Levoxyl might be better? Tyrosint sounds pretty pure so I wonder if that would be best although I'm not excited about gelatin.
I am gluten and lactose intolerant but I do eat cheese (and occasionally a little gluten) so maybe it is one of the fillers that has been bugging me.
I've stuck with the 25 ever since Friday. And I actually used to take .375 grain (1.5 tablets of a quarter grain of NT).
I did go home sick today- not sure what it is but I felt so light sensitive today, super brain fog, very tough to time focusing, headache, slightly nauseated, kinda wired but also tired....I traveled all day cross country yesterday and I took xanax so maybe it's coming down from that plus the hormone change...?
Your FT4 was very bottom of the range, which indicates, still hypo and your FT3 was slightly above mid range, which is "okay" - neither hyper nor, really hypo, but you need a better balance between FT4 and FT3.
Most of feel best with FT4 at about mid range and FT3 in the upper half to upper third...
Just so I understand - when you say "then switched to Naturethyroid for 3 months. The most I could tolerate was 0.375 grain." Do you really mean you were on 1/2 grain or 37.5 mg, since 1 grain of NatureThroid is 65 mg?
There are a couple of things that could have happened...
1) Anxiety is a symptom of hypothyroidism.
2) As I noted, it can take time for the body to adjust to having hormones again. Some of us do okay riding it out for a bit longer as it does take 4-6 weeks for the med to take full effect. Some have to back up and try something different; I'd say that's you... :-)
3) You could be reacting to a filler/binder or dye in the medication (some people do).
Desiccated hormones have more T3 in them than humans would normally produce and since your FT3 was much higher in its range than your FT3, it's possible that your body didn't need the extra T3 present in the NatureThroid.
Since it takes 4-6 weeks for the medication to take full effect, staying on a dosage for only 4 days (as your doctor recommended you do with the 25 mcg), is not nearly long enough for your body to adjust to it.
Since you'd been on 25 mcg of Levothroid, previously, I'd say you might be reacting to a filler/binder or dye in the med; however, 50 mcg pills (as the Synthroid) has no dye, so dye can't be your problem there, but Synthroid uses acacia in their pills and some people do react to that. In addition, Synthroid may also contain lactose or corn starch, both of which some people react to.
Every manufacturer uses different fillers/binders/dyes... since they all leave their 50 mcg pills white (no dye), so I'd suggest that you talk to your doctor about trying a different brand of 50 mcg pill (no dye) and split them in half to get 25 mcg for a few weeks to see if that helps...then you can increase to 50 mcg, but be sure to retest before you increase to make sure you need it. My "go to" brand is Levoxyl because everyone I know who has tried it has had good luck with it...
Another option is Tirosint, which is a gelcap and is considered hypoallergenic since the only ingredients are the active ingredient - levothyroxine and inactive ingredients - gelatine, glycerine and water.
Staying on 25 mcg for longer period will cause you to be more hypo and it will take longer to get where you're going, but giving your body time to adjust will make the transition smoother over the long run. At least, that's what we tend to see...
I hope this makes sense - I was kind of typing as I was thinking... feel free to ask for clarification if you don't understand something I said...
When testing, always make sure your doctor orders, both Free T4 and Free T3 "every" time, because TSH does not show the entire picture...it does not correlate with actual thyroid hormone levels...
Sure. Here ya go: 1/16/2017 TSH 2.4, Free T4 0.8 (range 0.8-1.8), Free T3 3.3 (range 2.3-4.2).
Repeat TSH only on Feb 11 = 3.2. I don't have the range with me.
What are your actual thyroid hormone levels? You should have been tested for Free T4 and Free T3 prior to making a switch in medications.
It's not unusual to feel a bit worse, before feeling better when starting a thyroid medication, as it can take the body some time to get used to having the hormones again.
If you'll post your actual thyroid hormone levels, with reference ranges, we'll be able to help you more easily.