# Thyroid doses



## Adelaide (Jul 19, 2012)

Okay. Now I'm worried. In another post someone had said that the dose of synthroid I was on was very very very high. I take 2 pink pills. Each one is .2 mg. My TSH was 50. How high can synthroid doses go in people? It's been only five weeks on this dose and I still feel hypo so how can this be?


----------



## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

Synthroid brand goes up to .3mg [300mcg].

mcg	mg
25	0.03
50	0.05
75	0.08
88	0.09
100	0.10
112	0.11
125	0.13
137	0.14
150	0.15
175	0.18
200	0.20
300	0.30

Had you been on this drug before the last set of labs? What was the dose before the current one? When are they rerunning labs?


----------



## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Adelaide said:


> Okay. Now I'm worried. In another post someone had said that the dose of synthroid I was on was very very very high. I take 2 pink pills. Each one is .2 mg. My TSH was 50. How high can synthroid doses go in people? It's been only five weeks on this dose and I still feel hypo so how can this be?


How much do you weigh?

Manufacturer recommended dosing is 1.7mcg per kilogram of weight.

That is a pretty high starting dose.

You should be taking your replacement on an empty stomach 1 hour before a meal minimum and away from calcium and iron supplements.

Going forward request your doctor run the FT-4 and FT-3 tests along with the TSH which is a diagnostic test and not meant to track thyroid replacement dosing on.


----------



## Adelaide (Jul 19, 2012)

CA-Lynn said:


> Synthroid brand goes up to .3mg [300mcg].
> 
> mcg	mg
> 25	0.03
> ...


Thanks for the information  I was on 0.2. It was bumped to 0.4 when my TSH showed at 50.

I'm rerunning labs in three weeks. Last was 5 weeks ago. I still feel hypothyroid.


----------



## Adelaide (Jul 19, 2012)

Lovlkn said:


> How much do you weigh?
> 
> Manufacturer recommended dosing is 1.7mcg per kilogram of weight.
> 
> ...


lol! Now do you honestly think I'm going to confess my weight?! That's probably it though... They had run the T4 and the T3 which were normal. They don't give values on my test results for these. They just say normal without any values given. I wonder why that is.

Good point about the calcium and iron. I don't take either actually. Should I be?


----------



## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

400 mcgs/.4mgs is a pretty massive dose. Is you doctor looking at your free t4 and freet3 along with the TSH?


----------



## Adelaide (Jul 19, 2012)

joplin1975 said:


> 400 mcgs/.4mgs is a pretty massive dose. Is you doctor looking at your free t4 and freet3 along with the TSH?


Okay. I'm going up to the doctor's office to get the actual results in my hands. Everybody seems to think this .4 mg is a huge dose. I don't feel it though... I'm still very tired.

She did test the t3 and t4. I don't know what the Free part is... is it different? There are no endocrinologists in my region to be referred to so I'm depending on my doctor here... that makes me a bit uneasy...


----------



## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/testsforthyroid/a/freet3.htm

Check out that link, about half way down the page...it explains free t3 vs total t3. Essentially, the total number doesn't provide much insight because only the free number represents the hormone that is available for your body to use. It's like saying you shouldn't be thirsty because you have 10 bottles of water in the fridge...but what if 9 of those 10 are some how locked up? You'd still be thirsty.

I have a sneaking suspicion you might need to lower your synthroid and add t3 (cytomel) or explore combination medications like Armour, etc.


----------



## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

My endocrinologist would rather resign than bump me up to double. One thing about thyroid med, it's usually best to increase or decrease *gradually*.

Perhaps not a good idea to attribute all your symptoms to thyroid. Why not ask for a complete blood and metabolic panel?

Maybe you stated the answer earlier in this thread, but am too lazy to go back and reread it......what kind of doctor is treating you for this?


----------



## Adelaide (Jul 19, 2012)

CA-Lynn said:


> My endocrinologist would rather resign than bump me up to double. One thing about thyroid med, it's usually best to increase or decrease *gradually*.
> 
> Perhaps not a good idea to attribute all your symptoms to thyroid. Why not ask for a complete blood and metabolic panel?
> 
> Maybe you stated the answer earlier in this thread, but am too lazy to go back and reread it......what kind of doctor is treating you for this?


I can't get an endocrinologist. There are none available in this area. It's the family doctor. Of her tests the only one that showed, beyond thyroid, was testosterone. Lower than normal. She said they normally don't treat low testosterone in women. I don't know if that is the right thing or not. I know nothing. Have to depend on the internet. There are alot of places SELLING testosterone treatment for women but don't know if its valid to do so. Does anyone know?


----------



## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

Is there any chance you can travel to a major city where, preferably, there's a medical school and you can make an appointment with an endocrinologist there?

Low testosterone is not uncommon in hypothyroid patients......but my gut feeling is that you need to see an endocrinologist.

Some on this board will want to hit me on the head with a hammer....but I would no sooner have a CPA work a complex calculus formula for me.....that's the best analogy I can give you. I honestly would hate for a GP with limited training and education to mess up your metabolism.

The dose does seem awfully high. It just seems like a horribly aggressive approach.


----------



## Adelaide (Jul 19, 2012)

"Horribly aggressive" is what is worrying me. What is also worrying me is her comment that "symptoms start appearing with a TSH of 50." I'm worried that she is confusing decimal points... A TSH of 5 maybe... So maybe the .4mg of synthroid is in her mind a low dose. Hell... I don't know... I can't find an endocrinologist in another province which is what i would have to do, that is accepting patients from my province. That's the hell of it all...


----------



## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

OK, if an endocrinologist is out of the picture, can you seek a second opinion from another GP? Can you ask around and find people with thyroid disorders in your area to find out who they see?


----------



## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Good suggestions, joplin. Adelaide, I am very concerned about that high dose...and I would see someone sooner rather than later.


----------

