synthroid not working right??

Question

Hi all.  So I'm 4 months out from total thyroidectomy due to papillary cancer.  I had my RAI and started synthroid 100mcg about 2 months ago.  I have had labs periodically to check my TSH and T4 and my doctor says the results can't be correct because one says i'm still hypo and the other says i'm hyper.  All i know is that I don't feel like myself yet.  I feel ok, but I don't have the stamina that I did before surgery and I still feel just a little sluggish.  My doctor is understanding and willing to work with me but has no real answers for me.  I don't know which lab is coming back hypo and hyper.  I will have to ask him when I see him again next week.  Has anyone else had this experience?  Is there always going to be the feeling of being a little "off"?  If you had this experience, what worked for you?

Thanks so much!

gimel · Accepted Answer

I'd bet my last dollar that the test showing hypo was T4 and the one that supposedly showed hyper was TSH.   Frequently when taking  a significant dose of thyroid meds, the TSH is suppressed below the so-called "normal range.  That does not mean that you are really hyper, unless you have hyper symptoms due to excessive levels of the biologically active thyroid hormones, Free T3 and Free T4.   For example my TSH was about .05 for well over 25 years, with no hyper symptoms.  In fact I continued having lingering hypo symptoms until I learned here about the importance of FT3, got mine tested and confirmed as low in the range and got my meds changed to include T3.  Now after adjusting to optimal level, I feel best ever.  

A good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically, by testing and adjusting Free T3 and Free T4 as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.  Symptom relief should be all important, not test results.  Test results are valuable mainly as indicators during diagnosis, and then afterward to track FT3 and FT4 while meds are adjusted to relieve symptoms.  

You can get some good info about clinical treatment from this link.  It is a letter written by a good thyroid doctor for patients he is consulting with from a distance.  The letter is sent to the PCP of the patient, to help guide treatment.

http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf

If you haven't been tested for Free T3 and Free T4 (not Total T3 and Total T4), then you should request those tests.  You should also discuss with your doctor your desire to be treated clinically as described above.  If the doctor has a problem with that, then you will need to find a good thyroid doctor that will do so.

Totie · Answer

It took almost a year to get me feeling to where I felt good. I finally got the correct dosage after a year. It will take a bit...

And my doctor only did the TSH. That was almost 17yrs ago.

synthroid not working right??

HIGH TSH

Lost and want hope

Should I increase my T4, T3 medication or both?

Should I lower my thyroid med?

HIGH TSH

Lost and want hope

Should I increase my T4, T3 medication or both?

Should I lower my thyroid med?

You are reading content posted in the Thyroid Disorders Community