[NLH]

Hello, I'm a new poster here and just learning so PLEASE bear with me. I am a 60-year old female and weight 115lbs.

I have Hashimotos (TPA of 124 in 2016). I was stable at 25mcg for a long time then, in 2021, my TSH with reflex to FT4 shot up to 14 so my PCP went up to 50mcg. Next test showed 6 so she put me up to 75mcg and my TSH normalized. I see one Free T3 reading in 2021 which was in the middle of the normal range. My Free T4 has always been in range, around 1. My Synthroid dosage has been steady for a year at 75mcg. I have never had any symptoms of hypothyroidism really; the medication has been based on lab tests.

Well, now I am being overmedicated and because I am also in the midst of a bad bout of anxiety/depression (going on 6 mos of trialing two medications and therapy with little improvement), life is very confusing. My tests were normal in January 2022 and the bout started in November. I asked for a thyroid panel this week because my intuition told me that maybe some of my symptoms could be thyroid-related. I don't know when the overmedication started (other than after Jan 2022) because the symptoms of anxiety/depression, psych meds side effects and overmedication overlap. My TSH is 0.165, Free T4 is 1.95 (high range is 1.77) and Free T3 is 3.1 (high range is 4.4).

My doctor told me to skip one dose of 75mcg and start on 50mcg. Does the plan sound reasonable? (I haven't had a chance to talk with her yet; a nurse relayed the info.) I would like to get the extra medication out of my system asap since I am miserable with anxiety, heat intolerance, etc. And, I really don't know if they are being cause by the overmedication or are just my usual anx/depr ones. I'd like to remove one variable from the equation.

I greatly appreciate any insight or advice - thank you,
Nancy

 

[cujet]

I manage thyroid by feel now. But I'm on T3 only, and it's GLORIOUS. I do have to take it 6x per day, but so what? I can manage it with accuracy, hour by hour if necessary. This may not be for you. But it does illustrate that one can go by feel if done correctly.

I've become intolerant of T4 (synthroid) and the resulting problems. I'm not a depressive person, but absolutely, positively the switch to T3 helps immensely with my state of mind.

I understand that the prevailing wisdom is to never change your dose and wait for lab results and doctor's orders. I'm calling nonsense on that. Why suffer for months or years? If you make one change at a time, wait long enough to get results, and write down how, when and why you made the changes, I see no reason not to "adjust" a bit.

As for reducing thyroid levels fast, just skip a day or two. The levels will come down in that time. The half life of T4 is about 6 days in people with adequate levels. So skipping two days will bring it down considerably.