dosage of levo related to weight or to what?

[ketieruizguerra]

Hello to everyone.
I have read in one post that the dosage of levothyroxine is related to the patients weight?
Is because of it that some start with a dose of 50 mcg while others to 125 mcg or more?
I am super skinny I am 5.6 feet long and  95 pounds. and the doctor told me to start with 50 mcg and increase it to 75mcg. Is there a way to know if that is ok?  My tsh was 25 and my all other valued including ft3 and ft4 were normal

thanks
ketie

[Totie]

When I started out (15yrs ago) I was under 100 lbs and was put on 200mcg, BUT had a TT. As the years went by I was decreased based on lab results (TSH-only), went from 200, 175 , 150, 125, 100 back to 125mcg. Now I am still just under 100 lbs and still on 125mcg.

I asked my dr. once why the level change on TSH, (kept going hyper), he said as we age our hormones change.

[stella5349]

I really hate to have weight and dosage be the "Tell All "with thyroid meds administered and how much. I don;t believe it is that "cut and dried"

I think it is life style - weight - hormone values - and diet that contribute to medication requirements to keep us balanced.

[gimel]

It isn't miss, it's mister.  
The ranges for FT3 and FT4 are so broad that normal is totally inadequate.  Need to know the actual numbers and reference ranges, please.

[ketieruizguerra]

As you wish miss!
And yes all my results were normal, normal, ft3 and 4 and t 3 and 4. all normal , except the tsh which was 25-

[gimel]

How about if we keep all responses to you on this post, rather than two posts, so that everything is together and nothing gets lost along the way?

Also, wanted to ask what were the FT3 and FT4 results that were "normal", along with their reference ranges from the lab report?

[MANmom]

It really depends on how much your own thyroid is producing and how active you are.  I am a cancer patient and I am on .1875, a pretty high dose, but I am a runner and am very active, so I need that much.  Someone who has some thyroid function may only need a boost of .025 or .050.  I still need to lose that extra 10 pounds I gained while I had no thyroid or medication, and the weight is not dropping off quickly.

[gimel]

Your dosage really should depend on your symptoms.  Symptoms should be all important.  If dosage were only affected by weight, then treatment would be a very simple formula, but there is a lot more to it than that.  You really need to be tested for the actual, biologically active thyroid hormones, free T3 and free T4 (FT3 and FT4).   FT3 is the most important because it largely regulates metabolism and many other body functions.  FT3 is four times as active as FT4 and FT3 correlates best with hypo symptoms.  

In my opinion the best way to treat a thyroid patient is to test and adjust the levels of FT3 and FT4 with whatever type of meds are required to alleviate symptoms, without being constrained by the resultant TSH level.  Frequently we hear from members that this requires that FT3 is adjusted into the upper part of its range and FT4 is adjusted to at least the midpoint of its range.  Dependent on how the patient's body converts T4 to T3, sometimes this can require only a T4 med.  Other times it will require a combination of T4 and/or  T3 meds.

[6hashi]

the initial dose in adults is 25-50 mcg/day
the dose you will reach finally depends on your weight
it's about 1.34 mcg/kg/day .

[TamraW]

I have heard that smaller people start out at smaller dosages. 50 isn't that much. My doc started me on 50 because she said that 25 is a child's dose.

If you start out too high, then you could have hyper symptoms, racing heart, etc.

:) Tamra