Asking for my mom-Thyroid medication

[alexL103]

My mom has been taking thyroid medication (Eltroxin) for 10 years or more now.
Originally, she was sick with some kind of liver infection, and she was taking a very strong medication that supposedly effected her thyroid causing her to be hypo. I'm saying supposedly because they just said she has a thyroid problem without further explanations and started her with Eltroxin. She does not know what her TSH, T3, T4 etc. were either, and if all blood work that needed to be done was actually done (they usually just check TSH and T4).

As for symptoms she was very tierd but that could be because of the strong medication she was taking at the time.
Now she does feel tierd too but that could be because of work or something else. She has thin hair and nails but that is one of the side effects of Eltroxin.

Her TSH is still high with medication, Is that normal?

Also she feels the medication is not doing anything to her, she took it for a while and stopped, she didn't feel any worse when she did not take it for a few monthes, but then the doctor said she has to take it for the rest of her life.
Can she stop taking it or switch to something else?

I'm concerned for her because Eltroxin has been known to do some pretty bad things to the body, and although she doesn't feel any difference with or without it, it still worries me she is taking something that maybe she doesn't even need to take.

[alexL103]

She did mention her doctor wants to higher the dose. She is taking 100mcg and once a week adds 50mcg with the 100.
Her T4 is around the 13 range (10-20) and TSH is 6/7 (0.40-4.20), but these were done last year.
She will be doing her blood work soon anyways so she will request to add the ones you metioned, I don't think they will refuse.
Will update when all is done, thank you!

[gimel]

Those side effects you mention are not from the Eltroxin, but typically from an inadequate dosage, which leaves the patient hypothyroid due to low levels of Free T4 and Free T3.  If her TSH remains high while on the Eltroxin, that is another sign of being under medicated.  

You cannot know for sure about the need for the med without adequate testing.  Since you mention a high TSH, I'd start with the assumption that she is hypothyroid because of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and request that she be tested for Free T4, Free T3, TSH, Thyroid Peroxidase and Thyroglobulin antibodies (TPO ab and TG ab), Reverse T3, morning serum cortisol, Vitamin D, B12 and ferritin.  If there is resistance to doing all those tests, you should mention all the symptoms that she has and insist the tests are needed to diagnose her status.  

Once you have those test results we can better assess her status and advise further.