Not getting any better with increased dose of Levothyroxin

Hi

If you have only been on Levo since March you won't be feeling better yet, it takes ages, several months ( or more ) usually.

It is common to have anaemia as well, if you have iron tabs don't take them at the same time as Levo.

You could be feeling worse as you aren't on the right dose yet, also any change in dose can make symptoms worse for a while. 100mcg was quite a high dose to start on, 25 or 50 is the usual starting point then increasing very slowly, usually about 6 weeks in between any changes.

Iv'e been hypo for many years but still have to cope with some of the symptoms. If you google other thyroid forum sites you will find out that it's not an easy thing to treat and many people never feel ' normal' again.

If your GP is wanting a TSH of below 1 that's good, many don't like going that low but to feel well that's were it should be.

I hope you get sorted soon, good luck.

:lol:

Hi Guest,

Thanks for sharing your experience and advice.

It's so frustrating to feel like this all the time when you just want to get on and do things, especially now the summer is coming.

I've got an appointment with my doc next week to discuss the anaemia issue and I think he is thinking in terms of a course of iron and multivitamins. Also have an appointment on the same day with the dietician. I don't eat red meat (only chicken occassionally), mainly fish and veg so maybe I am not getting enough iron in my diet anyway.

Stay well.

mercurius

Hi there I was diagnosed 18 months ago with a TSH level of 75 Im only just on 125mgs of levothyroxine my doctor started me on 25mgs my levels last month were 14TSH and I am beginning to feel more like my old self I also was severley anaemic and was put on a bumper dose of iron the important thing there is you must leave time between taking iron tablets and thyroid tabs I also stepped up my red meat consumption as I didnt eat any meat at all. The thing with this condition you have to be patient it takes a long time to sort out. take care fleetwood :D

I've just had my ferritin level tested and it is coming out at 9.

Doctor is sending me for a gastroscopy tomorrow (yuk!) to find out whether there is any internal bleeding that could be causing this depletion in my stored iron.

I understand there is a link between hypothyroidism and ferritin levels, but have not seen any good articles on this.

Anyone got any links / articles / advice to share on this issue?

Thanks,

mercurius

A friend of mine is a doctor and advised me when your thyroid is not functioning properly, your body does not always extract all the things that is should through our digestive systems, this includes iron. Hence the reason our iron stores (serum ferritin) can drop. My iron stores dropped to 36, although within levels was considered low and was put on iron tablets. My levels are now 64 and dont need to take tablets anymore.

I always take my levo first thing in the morning, preferably 1 hour before food and would take my iron later in the day.

Be patient, its hard, we all know how frustrating it can be, hopefully things will improve for you as it has for many others.

Take care.

Hi there, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in February, my Gp started me on 50mcgs of thyroxine, then increased it to 100mcgs 5 wks ago as my TSH hadn't improved and I was struggling with fatigue +++, my bloods showed I had a ferritin of 3 so my iron stores were basically depleted and my Hb started to drop 10.4, I started on ferrous sulphate 200mg twice a day. Two weeks ago I felt awful, tired, palpitations rapid heart beat,Chest pain, dizzy & blurred vision, I was convinced I was having a heart attack, Gp did ECG all normal diagnosed panic attacks I disagree!! Yesterday I was pleased to find my TSH is now 2.09, however my ferritin is only 14! Has anyone else had any of the symptoms I had two weeks ago due to low ferritin levels?

Hi

Not sure if links are allowed but if you google thyroid uk forum you will get loads of info about hypo and all things related to it.