Graves' Disease Support Group
Graves-Basedow disease is a medical disorder that may manifest several different conditions including hyperthyroidism (over activity of thyroid hormone production), infiltrative exophthalmos (protruberance of one or both eyes and associated problems) and infiltrative dermopathy (a skin condition usually of the lower extremities). This disorder is the most common cause of...
Hi All,
First off thanks so much for always being there and so knowledgeable. I do read the forums regularly and appreciate all the wisdom and insight you have.
I am feeling the best I have felt since I don't remember when. That being
said here are the latest labs and they are up from Dec - I don't think I reported them and if I did I can't find the post - however I would appreciate your insight as regarding dosage.
1/11/12
TSH .299 range .71-5.0 It was up over 1,0 if not 2.0 last time and I believe it was because they had me so low on the meds it was ridiculous.
FT4 1,17 range .071-1.76 last month I was at .81 and had dropped
from .93 or about there so felt I was going the wrong direction still in Dec.
FT3 3.3 range 1.8-4.2 Up from about 2.4 I think it might have been 2.7
I reduced in Dec to 1.25 mg Methimazole per day in hopes I could get the levels up and feel better. Today Endo wants me to go back up to 2.5 mg per day - I am afraid of dropping too low again so she suggested alternating days of 1.25 and 2.5 since I am feeling well. She was concerned about the suppressed TSH and she meds to the TSH but uses the FT's as guidelines. I told her I wasn't surprised as I knew I had
been too low for my body and that will make the TSH rise and make it not an accurate number to rely on. I don't think she agreed with me. However she is going on maternity leave as of March and won't be back for quite a while so I can see the other endo in the office who I understand is no nonsense and its her way or the highway. So that being
said I have 6-8 weeks to find someone else and wondered what you
thought about the dosage for now and what I should be doing to stay
where I am - at least the FT4 - open to any and all suggestions..
Have a wonderful day!
Cindee
First off thanks so much for always being there and so knowledgeable. I do read the forums regularly and appreciate all the wisdom and insight you have.
I am feeling the best I have felt since I don't remember when. That being
said here are the latest labs and they are up from Dec - I don't think I reported them and if I did I can't find the post - however I would appreciate your insight as regarding dosage.
1/11/12
TSH .299 range .71-5.0 It was up over 1,0 if not 2.0 last time and I believe it was because they had me so low on the meds it was ridiculous.
FT4 1,17 range .071-1.76 last month I was at .81 and had dropped
from .93 or about there so felt I was going the wrong direction still in Dec.
FT3 3.3 range 1.8-4.2 Up from about 2.4 I think it might have been 2.7
I reduced in Dec to 1.25 mg Methimazole per day in hopes I could get the levels up and feel better. Today Endo wants me to go back up to 2.5 mg per day - I am afraid of dropping too low again so she suggested alternating days of 1.25 and 2.5 since I am feeling well. She was concerned about the suppressed TSH and she meds to the TSH but uses the FT's as guidelines. I told her I wasn't surprised as I knew I had
been too low for my body and that will make the TSH rise and make it not an accurate number to rely on. I don't think she agreed with me. However she is going on maternity leave as of March and won't be back for quite a while so I can see the other endo in the office who I understand is no nonsense and its her way or the highway. So that being
said I have 6-8 weeks to find someone else and wondered what you
thought about the dosage for now and what I should be doing to stay
where I am - at least the FT4 - open to any and all suggestions..
Have a wonderful day!
Cindee
The question you want to ask of yourself is, how are you feeling? Do you feel great having your Free Ts there? If so, these could be your set points of where you'd like to be there at.
Good luck in finding a new doctor (it doesn't have to be another Endo) who will understand that with the autoimmune Graves' Disease, the thyroid antibodies are effecting the TSH. So many doctors do not understand.
{{{hugs}}}
I feel the best I have felt since I can't remember when so that's why I want to stay where I am. What do you think about alternating the dose of 1.25 and 2.5 in hopes of holding here?
Happy you are feeling so good - I can understand why you want to keep it that way!
If you are feeling good at your current levels, that's a sign that the dose that got you there is appropriate right now.
Increasing your dose will cause your FT4 to drop....and, it's really not even at mid-range.
Proper dosing of ATD's means taking the lowest possible dose that will maintain the FT4 level at mid-range or higher, regardless of TSH.
You probably know that being hypo can cause an increase in antibody production so, you really don't want your FT4 to go any lower.
Since you are feeling good, I wouldn't be inclined to upset the apple cart and change the dose - your doctor should respect this.
Yes, as CD says, if it were me, I'd keep to the same ATD doses.
{{{hugs}}}
I feel better but know she won't agree with the dosage but oh well.
I can get the labs and go from there in 6 weeks. I wish she'd give me a standing lab but she won't.
Cindee