Symptoms Worsening

[klnow]

17 days ago my Levothyroxine was upped from 88mcg to 100mcg and my symptoms are getting worse not better. I can hardly stay awake during the day and my concentration is terrible. Has this happened to anyone out there? I see my PCP today to see about getting a referral to an Endo, what should I say to him to get the referral?

[gimel]

Just a couple of thoughts for you.  FTB4 is right on that it takes a while for the effect of T4 meds. to start showing up.  Also, if you are going to go to an Endo, you need to make sure it is one that specializes in thyroid problems.  Many of them do not and  would be a waste of your time.  In the meantime, if you are going to get some more lab work done tomorrow, then insist that thyroid antibodies are tested, along with free T3 and free T4 and TSH.  If your hypothyroidism is due to an autoimmune problem, you need to know that.  It affects how you need to be medicated

From the labs you listed above from 4/8 your TSH level show as hypo t.  Also, assuming it's free T3 and free T4,  your free T4 is at the high end of its range, I expect, and free T3 is below the range I usually see.   So just increasing your T4 med. may not do it for you, if you are not adequately converting T4 to T3.  Hypothyroid patients seem to do best when their doctor regulates free T3 and free T4 to the high end of their ranges or as required to alleviate symptoms.

[klnow]

My TSH was down to 3.0 in Feb and I started to have symptoms again in late March, levels on April 8th were TSH-4.6, T3-1.2, T4-1.8.

I saw my PCP yesterday and he is going to do some more labwork tomorrow to check some other things, blood sugar, liver panel, potassium, kidney, and some others because some of these were off with my last labs (which the NP never mentioned to me).

FTB4, I will keep in mind about the brand, thanks.

[FTB4]

Changes in thyroid medication take time to react, My symptoms became worse when meds were increased also, its not an exact science, it takes at least 3 to six weeks to adjust, that is why they wait six weeks between labs. I was on Levothyroxine with a TSH of over 6.0 and it never budged, My Endo put me on Synthroid and within six weeks it dropped to 0.078, now he had to cut back gradually to bring it back up a little. If you do not see a change in your labs next time, discuss trying a Brand Name instead of a generic. Good Luck FTB4

[mtkst13]

say that you'd like an endo to take over your case since they specialize in thyroid disorders.  that should be your right.  

my pcp didn't want to treat me or even order further thyroid tests.  he sent me right to an endocrinologist.

what were your levels (tsh, ft3, ft4) when your dose was increased?