TSH Increase on Levothyroxine

[michellmybell88]

About two months ago my sister, 23, fainted (happend 4 times in the last eight years, one was a grand mal seizure) she got some blood tests done to find out why. She discovered that her tsh was 15 so her dr. put her on 50 mcg of Levothroid, now she got re-tested and is at 3.2 a pretty good range. I'm 21 and two months ago a little after her findings, I had a blood test done, on it I had a tsh level of 60, pretty surprised, and both my bad and good cholesterol were high, HDL 57 LDL 126. I dont have insurance but went to a free clinic and the dr. said she'd put me on 25mcg of Levothyroxine I mentioned about my sister and she said she would never start someone at 50 that's way high. Well now I just got re-tested and my tsh is 88. Shocked, I was expecting it to be a little lowered, not increased by 28! Well the only thing that's changed for the better is my menstral cycle seemed to be more regular but other than that I'm just more exhausted and more emotional. So now my dr. decided to put me on 50mcg and I start tomorrow but I'm worried that it'll just get worse, could I have Hoshimotos? Is that why the med isn't helping? Should I just see a specialist and get a full thyroid test? I know this is alot but I know there's someone out there going through the same thing or even worse with sound advise. thanks so much!

[michellmybell88]

hello you seemed to know quite a bit about the thyroid. i recently was diagnosed with Hashimotos I had thyroperoxidase antibodies of 1000 and the range is <35 . My Dr said he'd refer me to an endo specialist but the specialist said he wants me to have a few adrenal tasts done first, I just got back results of one of the three that went out. Its the adrenocorticotropic hormone, my level is 15 and the normal range is <46 . I dont know what that means, I'm still waiting on the cortisol and aldosteron test results. thanks, Michelle

[michellmybell88]

Thank you! On my lab test result sheet for my LDL Cholesterol Calc the reference interval shows 0-99 . It says that mine is 126 and is high. The HDL Cholesterol referance interval shows >39. It says mine is 57. Reference level for the tsh is .45-4.5 mine is 60.9 , high. The reference interval for the  t3 uptake is 24-39 mine's 30, The reference interval for the Thyroxine (T4) is 4.5-12.0 . It says mine is 4.1 and is low. This test was taken May 10th, I was put on 25mcg Levothyroxin, my second blood test was only a TSH test ordered by my clinic Dr. taken July 7th, it came back at 88. Then they put me on 50mcg of Levothyroxin so this is my 5th day on it. I'm waiting on a application to go through for Keiser care so I can get a Endocronologist and have more testing on more of the thyroid hormones, I also want to get my adrenel glands checked out cause I have constant lower back pain and I read an article that said it can be linked with Hypothyroidism. I'll just wait and see, the clinic already ordered another tsh test four weeks from now but hopfully I'll get my insurance all set up by then. I have been feeling more emotional and exhausted, body aches, my neck, annoying light headaches on the back of my head above my neck. thanks again :)

[Barb135]

Thanks for the encouragement, Deb -- don't ya just love it when things just start doing whatever they want independently of what your brain wants??         LOL

[Smilerdeb]

Your sister should be checked for epilepsy via bloods and EEG and the /small/ episodes she had may be 'petite mal ' seizures.
Barb is also right about the FREE's being done...they are the baseline figures for dosing of eds.

And dont worry Barb...my LAPTOP has a mind of its own lol !

[Barb135]

Sorry --- that last sentence should read "properly dose your med"......duh!!!    Sometimes my fingers have a mind of their own.        LOL

[Barb135]

Thyroid medication should *never* be adjusted on the basis of TSH alone.  You need to have your Free T3 and Free T4 done every time you have a TSH done.  

TSH is a pituitary hormone and is not a good indicator of what the actual thyroid levels are.  

You posted T3 and T4 levels -- what are the lab's reference ranges?  And are they Free T3 and Free T4 or are they Total T3 and Total T4?  If your lab report doesn't specifically say "Free" or "FT" then they will be Total, which is an obsolete test and of very little value.  Additionally, the reference ranges for these are lab specific, so must come from your own lab report.

I got this info from the American Heart Association: In the average woman, HDL ranges from 50 to 60 mg/dL. An HDL cholesterol of 60 mg/dL or higher gives some protection against heart disease.  

Your LDL (Bad) Cholesterol Level

The lower your LDL cholesterol, the lower your risk of heart attack and stroke. In fact, it's a better gauge of risk than total blood cholesterol. In general, LDL levels fall into these categories:

LDL Cholesterol Levels

Less than 100 mg/dL         Optimal
100 to 129 mg/dL              Near Optimal/ Above Optimal
130 to 159 mg/dL              Borderline High
160 to 189 mg/dL              High
190 mg/dL and above         Very High

The above information can be found at the following website:
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=183

According to this, your HDL at 57 and LDL at 126 are not bad at all. That said, we are all different and there may be other factors in your life that would require different limits.  
High cholesterol is common with hypothyroidism, so it's a good idea to start watching your diet and getting plenty of exercise now, in order to keep it from getting bad.

I'm not sure what you mean by "my blood pressure was already bad because of my tsh level".  Was your blood pressure too high or too low?  Hypothyroidism can cause low heart rate.  Keep in mind that TSH, itself is not what causes the symptoms; the symptoms are caused by the lack of thyroid hormones (FT3 and FT4).  That's why it's so important to get those tested EVERY time, along with TSH.  

If it's at all possible, you should get tested for Hashimoto's.  The tests you need are Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin antibodies (TGab), but even more important than that -- you must get the Free T3 and Free T4 in order to properly does your med.  

[michellmybell88]

thanks for the info! No my sisters never been put on seizure medication, she only had a seizure once and the day after went to the hospital er for testing and the dr. said i don't believe you had a seizure. but there were two nurses with her at a clinic when it happened and she had bruses on her arms from a chair she was sitting in. I personally think when she passes out those are small seizures because she cant tell when anything is coming on it just happens, these have only happened 4 times, when she was 13, 18(the grande mal), 21, and 23(a couple months ago, thats when she got the blood test and found out about her tsh, so I got tested a couple weeks later). Hypothyroidism is something my father and grandmother have but it's very small, my sister's fine now as far as her tsh goes. She's 23, 5' 2", 135 lpds. I'm 21, 5' 2", 183 lpds. I gained 50 lpds in the last 5 years and was able to lose 20 of it in the last year and a half, I have irregular periods, cold sensitivity, deppression, hair loss, weight gain, and  anxiety. As for me I am concerned that my tsh will just keep rising. A couple of months ago right before I started on the 25mcg of my medication my first blood test showed my tsh was60, t4 was 4.1, and my t3 was 30. My HDL was 57 and my LDL was 126.  Since I've started taking my med I've felt even more emotional and in only the first week of taking it I had a few headaches and a few small heart palpultations but it went away.To get checked all I took was a tsh test a few days ago to adjust my medication. Yesterday my doctors office called and said it's now at 88. So today they're starting me on a higher dosage of Levothyroxine, 50mcg, and my blood pressure was already bad because of my tsh level, so I'm afraid it'll get worse and who knows what can happen! I'm aware that with Hashimotos ones can die from heart failure, though idk if that's what I have, I have a strong feeling.

[Smilerdeb]

It looks like both you and your Sister are both Hypo and being tested for Hashimotos would be a good idea.
As for your sister being on a higher dose of T4 med...it all depends on what her FT3 and FT4 levels were...they may have been higher than yours.....you dont say as you havent posted your FT3/FT4 here.

Also your sister would be on an Epilepsy medication and sometimes this can affect the T4 med by counteracting against it ...hence the higher dose.

For your sister to have an epileptic fit...as you know that this causes lack of oxygen to the brain and your sister may need a higher dose T4 med.
Because Grande Mal seizures can get very bad, it would be wise for your sister to have her blood tested every 2 months for her epilepsy medication level...because usually the seizure occurs because her medication level is either too high or too low.
Its important that your sister does have the epilepsy levels checked all the time and having them checked at the same time as she has her thyroid levels checked would be a good idea.

Epilepsy is also hereditary so it would be a good idea also for you to have an EEG (electrical scan) of the brain and its activity.
Most times Epilepsy will skip a generation but not always.

Your sister has to be careful that her seizure medication doesnt counteract with the T4 med so if its possible...to take the T4 med as soon as she wakes up and her epilpsy meds an hour later.

I hope that explains things a little better for you.
Both of you get tested for Hashis ;o)