The way this works....they are not measuring the thyroid hormone....they are measuring the hormone that tells your thyroid to release hormone...
THAT is a high dose...I have a huge goiter and take the smallest dose they make...and still drag butt...when they get your thyroid function balanced you will feel much better and maybe even ovulate....NOW IF"N it was me...I'd ask DR to give me ARMOR thyroid because it gives you both indicators instead of one...MINd is not gonna spit that out....but there is a 3-and a 4...and most meds only address the "3".....and Armour...addresses both levels...
Hugs
Laurel

According to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), what was normal last year,
thyroid-wise, may now be abnormal. According to the AACE, doctors have typically been basing their diagnoses on the "normal" range for the TSH test. The typical normal levels at most laboratories has fallen in the 0.5 to 5.0 range.

The new guidelines narrow the range for acceptable thyroid function, and the AACE is now encouraging doctors to consider thyroid treatment for patients who test the target TSH level of 0.3 to 3.04, a far narrower range. AACE believes the new range will result in proper diagnosis for millions of Americans who suffer from a mild thyroid disorder, but have gone untreated until now.

The new target TSH level according to AACE is now 0.3 to 3.04

At a press conference, Hossein Gharib, MD, FACE, and president of AACE, said: "This means that there are more people with minor thyroid abnormalities than previously perceived."

AACE estimates that the new guidelines actually double the number of people who have abnormal thyroid function, bringing the total to as many as 27 million, up from 13 million thought to have the condition under the old guidelines. These new estimates would make thyroid disease the most common endocrine disorder in North
America, far outpacing diabetes.

As many as 27 million people have thyroid problems under the new guidelines. AACE made the decision to narrow the range because of data suggesting many people may have low-level thyroid problems that could be improved with treatment and a narrower TSH range will give doctors reason to more carefully consider those patients.

"The prevalence of undiagnosed thyroid disease in the United States is shockingly high - particularly since it is a condition that is easy to diagnose and treat," said Dr. Gharib. "The new TSH range from the AACE guidelines gives physicians the information they need to diagnose mild thyroid disease before it can lead to more serious effects on a patient's health - such as elevated cholesterol, heart disease, osteoporosis, infertility, and depression."

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My TSH is normal, but I still feel like death warmed over!

Sometimes your TSH can be within the normal ranges and you might still exhibit the symptoms of hypothyroidism. This might mean that even though your body has plenty of stored hormone (T4), it might not be properly converting over to 'useable' hormone. This would be detected by the Free T4 and Free T3 tests. You might just need a prescription for T3 (Cytomel) in order to get back to feeling good. Armour will also work for many people - that is natural pig hormone that has both T4 and T3 in it.


Forgiveness - the path to freedom.

The world is a circus, and I'm stuck in the freak tent!

There are people out there willing to die tonight, so that you may wake up safe tomorrow.

There is no typical dose for everyone. It just really depends on how poorly your thyroid is functioning. Your dose will need to be adjusted a lot in the begining as well because it takes a while to figure out what is just right for you....Good Luck!!!

The dosage will just depend and you may have to build up to the right level...I used to be on 125 mcg 3 years ago. Now, after stopping meds and starting them again, I am on 56 mcg (as half of a 112 pill). So it appears my thyroid is "putting out" more than it used to...

I agree that the 125 mcg is a big dose to start out with - did you feel any crazy symptoms since you started the thyroid medication? (When I was on too high of a dose, I was exhausted, anxious, starving, jittery, nauseous, and just felt overall terrible!)

Good luck!

I've Googled all the symptoms, and I have to say that I'm not FEELING anything abnormal.

But, like I posted earlier, I thought me sleeping all the time, getting depressed, having a hard time with my weight, poor memory, forgetfulness, insomnia, and dry skin was normal. And I also thought that I just shed a lot. I mean, I can clog a drain in 3 days if i don't remove the hair... (I know, gross) And ever since I hit puberty, I've had irregular menstrual cycles.

I've ALWAYS had to deal with these issues.

But now it makes me wonder if I've always had a low thyroid, and if so, how come none of my other doctors had ever caught it before now? I could have been placed on meds along time ago, and have everything leveled out, and be "normal" right now!!!! (Grrrr..... Ok, now, I'm getting pissed off...)

I gotta go...

Hello,
If they the doctor keeps uping your medication, did he check for anti-bodies? If you have Hashimoto's the anti-bodies attack your thyroid and make scare tissue slowing the thyroid down, and they also target the Ovaries doing the same.

I went into menopause at 42 because of this disease, the symtoms of menopause and thyroid are so similar.

I don't know your age, but it would be a good idea to ask your doctor if he checked the TPO which is the antibodies.

Good luck,
Kathy - California

I take 125 mg. once a day...all the best to you, and I hope your doc can help!

Hi, I'm in the same boat- never knew I had low thyroid until a doctor asked me about symptoms I thought were normal (feeling cold, tired, a little depressed) and sure enough the test showed I was low. I'm now on a small dose (25mcg) of Levoxyl that works, but a couple of years ago I was switched from that to a generic which had an immediate bad result- I had all my old symptoms back even though I was taking the medicine faithfully. Luckily an Endocrinologist I went to see recognized that the generic was not performing the same as the Levoxyl and put me back on that. I felt a difference within a week. Just wanted to let you know that not all generics work on everyone. Good luck, and you will feel better when your dosage is right.

I am so sorry that you are feeling bad. There are several things to keep in mind: first the lab levels, the higher the number the worse you are (sortof backwards thinking). Second: it takes 6-8 weeks for any changes in dosage to really see an effect. Third: you need to make sure that when you fill your medication make sure that they are giving you the same "brand" everytime. Thyroid medications have actually very small amounts of medications in them and "brands" can vary by by 10-20% in their active ingredients (you can see why if you switch you brands you can be really getting a different dose) finally: everyone is different, I take 200mcg every day and 2 of those on Sat and Sun to keep my levels up (I don't have any thyroid because of cancer). It is not a contest and you can't compare you to anyone else.
I hope that you are feeling better soon, being hypo sucks!!!!
good luck,
Amy

When I started on Synthroid (generic is Levothyroxine) the dose was 50 mcg. I was in my 40's. As I went through menopause and then entered my senior years (63 now), my meds have steadily increased, now 125 mcg. I still have the hair loss. But at my age, some of that is normal.

Depression, weight and sleep issues are symptoms of Thyroid disease. And it can be passed in families like my Mother had it. I was put on Levo first for it and it didn't do anything but make me feel worse. So I got on Armour Thyroid and it has changed my life. In fact, when they said there was a no Armour around in certain doses lately the docs put me on Nature Thyroid and told me it was the same.... I don't think so. I was so sick again until they got the dose that is available and got me back on it and I feel so good! It was a great test for me. When I am on Armour Thyroid, its like I have no thyroid problems at all, and my hair is growing again... Yeah! I am sick of half eyebrows... lol!
Good luck but I would give it a try. I wish I had known about it years earlier in my life.
Best wishes Willow54