# Feeling worse after being on Levothyroxine for a while



## slate1284 (Dec 20, 2010)

I'm new to this whole experience. I was diagnosed with Hashi's about 8 months ago. I was started on 75mcg, didn't feel any different for about 3 months, then was bumped up to 88mcg. After about the 5-6 month mark I started to feel quite a bit better, my anxiety and fatigue faded away. Several weeks ago I started to feel worse again, and went to see my endocrinologist. After listening to what I said my symptoms were (increased anxiety, dry skin, fatigue, general feeling of 'crapiness' all over) he quickly decided to ramp my dose up to 112mcg. I went for more bloodwork after he prescribed the increased dosage. I haven't heard back on the results though. My question is, is this normal to be feeling better and then fade back to feeling not well after being on levothyroxine treatment for a while? I'm hoping the increased dose will take effect soon and I'll start to feel better. Any experience y'all might have in this would be great to hear!


----------



## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

Sometimes it takes a while to hit the sweet spot.

Make it a point of telling your doctor to put "cc to Patient' on the lab orders so you can have the results as soon as he gets them.

Presumably the doctor's been running blood work every time s/he changes the dose?


----------



## slate1284 (Dec 20, 2010)

CA-Lynn said:


> Sometimes it takes a while to hit the sweet spot.
> 
> Make it a point of telling your doctor to put "cc to Patient' on the lab orders so you can have the results as soon as he gets them.
> 
> Presumably the doctor's been running blood work every time s/he changes the dose?


Yes, he does blood work each time. He is also more concerned with how I feel vs. what the blood results show, which is nice. I believe my TSH was still below 1 last time, but that's been several months ago.


----------



## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

slate1284 said:


> I'm new to this whole experience. I was diagnosed with Hashi's about 8 months ago. I was started on 75mcg, didn't feel any different for about 3 months, then was bumped up to 88mcg. After about the 5-6 month mark I started to feel quite a bit better, my anxiety and fatigue faded away. Several weeks ago I started to feel worse again, and went to see my endocrinologist. After listening to what I said my symptoms were (increased anxiety, dry skin, fatigue, general feeling of 'crapiness' all over) he quickly decided to ramp my dose up to 112mcg. I went for more bloodwork after he prescribed the increased dosage. I haven't heard back on the results though. My question is, is this normal to be feeling better and then fade back to feeling not well after being on levothyroxine treatment for a while? I'm hoping the increased dose will take effect soon and I'll start to feel better. Any experience y'all might have in this would be great to hear!


Hi Slate1284!

Titration "is" unpleasant for many of us. It takes you to all the places you would rather not go. If you can, hang tough on this.

And......................when you get your labs, we sure would like to see the results and the "ranges."


----------



## daisydaisy (May 12, 2010)

my endo said nothing above 2.3 TSH.... so...keep your numbers closer to the .1
She also said she has seen the best results on Eltroxin meds in her experience.


----------



## slate1284 (Dec 20, 2010)

Ok, I just got the lab results from the Doc's office.

Free T4 - 1.26 (.73-1.95)
TSH - 1.8 (.3-5.1)

My TSH in 3 month increments for 2010 were:
March - 2.8 (First Blood test, diagnosis, and started on 75 mcg of levo)
June - .8 (Had just started feeling better)
Sept - 1.1 (Feeling worse, bumped up to 88 mcg)
Dec - 1.8 (Most recent visit, feeling terrible, bumped up to 112 mcg)

Next time I'll have him run the FT3 again. He's run it before and it is right in the middle of the range so I think it's fine. Does this all sound like the normal titration ups and downs to you all?


----------



## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

Just my personal experience, and it may not be yours.....but I notice that too often my endocrinologist is "chasing the values." That is - and I probably won't do a good job explaining this - too often it seems like the dose isn't enough to get me back to the safety zone. But I have learned from experience that it is better to titrate SLOWLY that jump up quickly. Did that before and I ended up in Graves.

Hang tight and go slow. Just know that it will be resolved.


----------



## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

slate1284 said:


> Ok, I just got the lab results from the Doc's office.
> 
> Free T4 - 1.26 (.73-1.95)
> TSH - 1.8 (.3-5.1)
> ...


My humble opinion is that in June, your doc should have run more than just the TSH. At a certain point in the titration process, FREE T4 and even more important, FREE T3.

Most of us feel best when FT3 is above mid-range; about 1/2 way between the mid-range and the top of the range. As long as it is not over range. After all, this "is" your active hormone. It is what you rely on for energy, healing and good mood.

Free T3 is very important because you may not be converting. If doc keeps on bumping up your T4 and you are not feeling better, it becomes suspicious that you are not converting well. Also, the T4 could be converting to rT3 (reverse T3.)

Thank you for the labs and ranges; very very helpful.


----------

