synthroid

[islandgirl808]

I was put on 150 mcg of Synthroid for over a year and recently received a call from my doctor saying my levels were low and prescribed me 125 mcg of Synthroid.  I don't understand why he did that.  Isn't 150 mcg a higher dosage than 125 mcg?

[stellabellarn]

Call him back, and talk directly to him, esp if you didn't before. Alot of times the "nurses" that you talk to are not real nurses. They are medical assistants and some  have had no  formal training.  Yes 125 mcgs is lower dose than 150 mcg.

[Totie]

It means you are being over medicated.

The lower the TSH, the lower your dosage needs to be. The higher the TSH the higher the dosage needs to be.

It is backwards, but that is how it works.

[dani2776]

Your medications were lowered because your levels were low.  In order to raise your levels you need less medication.  Does that make sense?

[goolarra]

I suspect Totie's right...islandgirl's doctor was probably talking about her TSH when he said her levels were low.  She's also right about how TSH works.

You should get in the habit, islandgirl, of getting the actual results from your doctor along with the reference range of any thyroid tests for your records.  Make sure your doctor is testing FT3 andd FT4 as well as TSH.  Adjusting meds based on TSH alone is not a good idea.

I also agree with stellabellum that it's worth the effort to call the doctor again and verify.  Even if you do talk to a real nurse, there's no guarantee that they know anything about thyroid.  I recently was talking to an old friend, who's an RN, about my thyroid issues, and I was amazed what I had to explain to her!