# Minimum time frame for lab work??



## artms (Jul 23, 2011)

OK so my Dr is undermedicating me. She ordered some labs and I requested others which address the antibodies and adrenals which she will hopefully add. 
I know that I will hit the wall in about a week at this dose. At that point I will feel so bad I'll be tempted take more just to function. So, when I hit that wall, can I have the lab work done and be pretty much in the ballpark? I just don't think I can go 6 weeks...maybe 3 but not 6.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

artms said:


> OK so my Dr is undermedicating me. She ordered some labs and I requested others which address the antibodies and adrenals which she will hopefully add.
> I know that I will hit the wall in about a week at this dose. At that point I will feel so bad I'll be tempted take more just to function. So, when I hit that wall, can I have the lab work done and be pretty much in the ballpark? I just don't think I can go 6 weeks...maybe 3 but not 6.


If you are taking T4 (thyroxine), it takes a full 8 weeks to build up in your system. To get labs before that time is really a waste of time and money.

What are you taking and how much are you taking right now?

And when you get your recent labs, will you share the results and the ranges?


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## artms (Jul 23, 2011)

I posted earlier that have Hashi's with a Vitamin D deficiency.
Here are my labs on mostly 100 mcg 
Tsh 0.24 (range .35 - 3.30) 
FT4 0.95 (range 0.60 - 1.20 ) 
FT3 2.6 (range 2.3 - 4.2 pg/mL)

At the time these labs were drawn I was taking 100mcg and at least once a week an 88mcg. The lab was drawn in the morning a few hours after I took my meds so I had a low Tsh. My Dr mistakenly thinks that I had a low Tsh on 88mcg when that lab was drawn even though we had actually decided at the previous appointment that I would do a mix and take mostly 100mcg in order to find a mix that made me feel good.
So based on her forgetfulness and her medicating according to Tsh, I find myself in this predicament of being under treated.
So....
In order to start over and get a better baseline I'm willing to take 88mcg knowing from past experience that my metabolism will tank.

I think going from high to low is different in terms of levels in my system. Going from a 100mcg to 88mcg, I suspect on 88mcg my Tsh will rise to an acceptable range but my T3 will remain inadequate. So do I still need to go a whole 6-8 weeks ? 
Could it be that if I needed T3 on !00mcg I'll still need it on 88mcg and I may not have to go through 8 weeks of hyponess in order to find out? Your thoughts?

BTW as soon as I get all my labs I'm getting another Dr. 
We're done.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

artms said:


> I posted earlier that have Hashi's with a Vitamin D deficiency.
> Here are my labs on mostly 100 mcg
> Tsh 0.24 (range .35 - 3.30)
> FT4 0.95 (range 0.60 - 1.20 )
> ...


Oh yes; we went over those labs in a previous thread, I believe? You are terribly undermedicated.

If you needed it on 100 mcg. you will need it even more on 88 mcg. providing that at least some of your T4 is converting to Free T3.

If you want a true picture of what has transpired since your decrease, yes.

But you are better off to find a new doctor ASAP and just start over if you can find one that "gets it!"

Bless your little heart!! What a bad bad situation.


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## northernlite (Oct 28, 2010)

If you are taking T4 only your TSH should not significantly impacted by what time you took your medication.

Your numbers look complicated with the TSH so low and the FT4 barely at mid point and the FT3 really low. I don't have any personal experience in this but I wonder if you are a person that should be considering a combo medication or the addition of T3.

On T4, my doctor is a 6 weeks recheck person. 6-8 weeks is pretty normal.

I had a crash due to a medication change and I went back to the dr 4 weeks after the medication change and told her I did not feel well. My TSH had almost tripled in 4 weeks but who knows how high it would have gone if I waited the full 6-8 weeks. So I would call and ask for another round of bloodwork as soon as you feel yourself crashing.


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