High TSH Level & new symptoms

Question

I am a 50 year old woman 2 months post thyroidectomy. My doctor initially had me on cytomel after the surgery but after my follow up and a clear biopsy (most of my relatives have had cancerous thyroids) I was switched to levothyroxine. Now I am experiencing hair loss, severe muscle spasms in my left hand and I can fall asleep anywhere -anytime! I just received my latest TSH result which is 29. My doctor is uping my hormone and adding back in a low dose of cytomel also .... are these symtoms typical of a high TSH? And if so how quickly can I expect them to go away???

Taryn75 · Answer

Hi, you have had some good advice so I figured I might ask you some ?'s I had my thyroid ablated in 06' and I am on 3 grains of Armour Thyroid. I have only seen an endo once, due to my lack of ins. I am Indian and have the Indian clinic in Tulsa that can outsource me, but none of the Dr's know about hypothyroidism. I have felt like a heated, crazed, fat, sweaty, bit$h#y, nervous person and has recently gotten off Zoloft and Valium in an attempt to decrease my symptoms. I just came upon this website and now know I need to do SOMEthing i order to see my kids kids. What are the first steps I should takein order to find my "perfect dosage"? Any suggestions will help.

AR-10 · Answer

The symptoms are typical for your situation.

The symptoms will slowly go away as your levels get closer to normal. Some of them won't abate until after you have reached an optimal level and have a few months for your body to recover.

So, there is no set time frame you are looking at. It depends on how quickly your doctor can find the right combination of meds.

It takes six weeks for a dosage change to come to full effect. Retesting is done every six weeks until you are good. That can take a little time.

Sorry.
Hope this helps a bit.