Wow, that's a long time to wait!
It would be interesting to see if your symptoms subside on no meds. If you didn't want to cut it out altogether, you could try halving it??? I've been overmedicated, and I have to say I prefer being a little hypo any day.
Thank you so much for the advice, you have been so helpful! i finally have some answers that all the doctors couldn't give me!
I did have symptoms before, but they could have been a result of other hormone imbalances.
I have an appointment with an Endocrinologist, but the earliest i could get was October. Really considering stopping the medication until then.
No med changes. I was on eltroxine before the June 2013 labs, there was no TSH.
Unfortunately, you were diagnosed on TSH alone. Once the TSH test came back slightly high, your doctor really should have tested FREE T3 and FREE T4 to verify low thyroid function. The whole endocrine system, which includes both thyroid and reproductive hormones, is interdependent, so one has to wonder if the high prolactin might not have been effecting your TSH.
I'm assuming you were on 50 mcg Eltroxine before the 6/2013 labs? At that time, your FT4 was at 77% of range, on the high side even back then. FT3 was above range. Was there any meds change after those labs? Was there a TSH with those 6/2013 labs?
I think this was before medication. This is the earliest test I can find: June 2012.
TSH 4.58. Reference 0.39 -4.0
Prolactin 32.94. Reference 2.5-18
These where my results from June 2013:
FT4 : 1.27 reference 0.5-1.85
ft3. : 5.33 reference 2.1-4.7
Thank you so much for your help!
Your FT4 is quite high in the range, it's at 80% and the guideline for FT4 is around 50%. Your FT3 is at 78% of range (guideline here is upper half to upper third), which can be too high for many people. However, your pituitary, for whatever reason, seems to think your levels are pretty good.
It looks to me like you're overmedicated. Have you ever been diagnosed with a cause for your hypo, i.e. do you have Hashi's? Since you're on a low dose of only 50 mcg, I'd have to wonder if you need to take it at all. There are some temporary forms of thyroiditis that resolve spontaneously. Do you have the labs that you were diagnosed hypo on?
Thanks for the response. I am still on the patch. i stopped taking the prolactin therapy after a few days (with a doctors approval) so never really took it.
these are my latest blood tests: 10 MARCH 2014
THYROID FUNCTION:
TSH: (ROCHE) 1.87 REFERENCE:0.27-4.20
T4 (ROCHE) 20 REFERENCE: 12-22
T3 (ROCHE) 5 REFERENCE 3.1-6.8
Do you have recent thyroid labs to post? If so, please do and include reference ranges as they vary lab to lab.
Some of the symptoms you list could be hypo, some sound more hyper (overmedicated), and some could be either.
Are you still on the patch? How long ago did you stop the prolactin therapy?
With only TSH to go on, it's difficult to see what the basis of your doctor's diagnosis of hypo was when you were originally tested. Had you been having hypo symptoms? I also don't understand why meds were not reduced after your 6/2013 labs, since FT3 was over range. How had you been feeling then?
It's all rather puzzling. I'd want to ask my doctor the basis for her diagnosis. Your current symptoms sound overmedicated (i.e. hyper), so if I were you, I'd consider asking my doctor to reduce or discontinue meds and see how you feel. Ordinarily, that recommendation would be to reduce, but you are on such a low dose that discontinuing is also an option.