change of levoxyl by Dr.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2004
change of levoxyl by Dr.
1
Thu, 12-30-2004 - 7:29pm
I went in Monday for my yearly thyroid blood tests to get my medication refilled. I called the Dr. the next day to find out the results and was told that my thyroid results were low and the Dr. was calling in a script for a change of medication. I am currently on levoxyl 0.075mg and he was changing it to 0.050mg. I didn't understand so I called him back and got his nurse who told me that my levels were low and that he was dropping the thyroid to see if my levels came back up. This doesn't make sense to me and I should have asked to talk with the Dr. but I didn't. Even the pharmacist didn't really understand. I have to go back for blood levels again in 2 months. Does anyone understand this and is this right? My hands are cold all the time and I am tired a lot, I have gained some weight lately so I thought my thyroid could be low. I don't like to go without my thyroid meds because I feel so lousy like a bad case of the flu and I am afraid that lowering the meds with cause this to happen. If anyone could give me some info I would really appreciate it.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2001
Thu, 12-30-2004 - 8:23pm

Hi and welcome - well, without your actual number results it's hard to know exactly what your doctor meant. But I'll *guess* that when he said your TSH level was low, he meant that it was moving down toward the hyperthyroid side. The lower the number in the range, the closer to hyperthyroid; the higher the TSH level in the range, the closer you are to hypothyroid. It seems like it goes against logic but it is really measuring the amount of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) the pituitary gland has to manufacture to get your thyroid gland to make the right amount of thyroid hormone. The more your pituitary gland has to help, the less your thyroid is making on it's own, the higher your TSH level is going to be. Phew! Does that make sense to you? It's not your thyroid hormone the test measures but the amount of stimulating hormone.

So that said, it sounds like your pituitary is not having to manufacture much TSH so your level is low. That means your doctor will *reduce* the amount of medication you're taking so that he can bring that level up a bit, closer to what he thinks is normal. A truly normal thyroid, one without any thyroid disease of any kind, has a TSH level of between 1.0 and 2.0. When you are hypothyroid, usually most doctors will consider treating you when your TSH level reads about 3.6 or higher. The labs usually set the level at 5.5 so that anything at or above 5.5 is considered hypothyroid. But there are new ranges set and the new upper limit is 3.0 so that anything above 3.0 *should be* considered hypo but is usually NOT diagnosed as hypo. That is a complicated issue as to why docs don't diagnose at that level; they really need to apy more attention to how a person is feeling instead of focusing solely on the blood tests.

If you have a TSH reading below 1.0 - actually anywhere from .3 to .6, then there is the likelihood that you are hyperthyroid. That's how the tests work. So ... for your situation, the best thing you can do for yourself is to call your doctor's office back tomorrow, or Monday, and ask the nurse for the actual results of your TSH test. Tell her you'd like the actual number because you're curious as to why the doctor lowered your medication. There's no reason why you can't have the actual results so don't feel funny about asking. Then .... come back here and let me know what they are!! LOL! You may very well be on the low side and near the hyper range but .... chances are, if you are still feeling hypo symptoms, then you are just on the low side of your *doctor's* acceptable range but still hypo!! Lowering your medication in that case wouldn't be really good for you at all. So .... I hope this wasn't too confusing. I tried to make it as logical to understand as possible. Let me know what you think. Cathy :)