I'm nine months into my thyroid hormone replacement and each time I go in, he ups my dose. Each time I feel better and lose a little more weight. It takes a while, so don't stress. I wish he could just give me too much, then back it off, but I guess that would be bad for some reason.

Good luck and be patient.

I take Synthroid daily. My thyroid was completely removed when I had thyroid cancer. My suggestion to you would be to do YOUR part to maximize the benefit of your medication....take it in the morning, on an empty stomach, one full hour before food. Funny, but my doctor didn't emphasize that at first....maybe he thought an intelligent professional woman would know this, but my profession is not in the medical field, so I was very much a novice. Several doctors have told me that Synthroid is the one medicine you want to take by brand name, not generic, so do this also. If you forget your medicine and have eaten, wait two hours after food. That can help you to help your body.
My doctor is satisfied with my TSH readings, but I still feel slightly hypothyroid, and I hate it. I have some issues with fatigue, constipation, rough skin, that were not part of my life before the cancer. I guess I just have to get used to this different feeling and celebrate being alive, which I am delighted to be!
I'm told the Synthroid can take about 18 months to regulate....hang in there!

Humm, I just learned something here. Thank you to Reply #2. I was on Synthroid many many years ago when I was just 13. For some reason I was only on it for 9 months. It never resolved the problem. I've never been put back on it again. And for some reason, the doctor never changed the dosage. Perhaps because of my age. Or maybe my TSH normalized. Who knows. I know that I have had a zillion TSHs since then and it was always within the normal range. What was abnormal and I can't remember if it was low was the T3 uptake that I had about 4 years ago. My parents never told me why I was on it in the first place but I do remember being in the doctor's office and him telling my mother to use iodized salt after I got off the pills. After humungus years, I must have been 40 to 45 when suddenly I developed a very rapid heartbeat. My blood work at the time showed something out of range. I stopped using the iodized salt and the rapid heartbeat and extreme nerveousness stopped in a few days.

I have a question for anyone that might know. Does Synthroid contain something that is similar to shell fish because now I am very allergic to shell fish. I wonder if it is the iodine.

I want to say thank you to all those here that gave information. I am so happy and discouraged at the same time that this information is available. I have been on this medicine for 30 days, and well, don't see any changes. I test tomorrow, but see from your responses that it is a time for patience. I have all the weight, constipation, dry skin & oh my Lord, fatigue to the enth degree!!! But will be patient and continue the joy of life as it is today and pray for a better tomorrow! Thank you again!

I took Synthroid for a whole year after TT. My GP actually printed out a graph for me to demonstrate that it did not consistently suppress my TSH. It was up and down, month in and month out. My GP was extremely worried about this. I asked to try Armour Thyroid. He'd never heard of it, but, was willing to try it.

I switched to Armour Thyroid after that. Then my levels were exactly spot on the same after that.

Just food for thought.

Also, as far as how long it takes to notice changes, I didn't notice any improvement on Synthroid until about 9 weeks along. I noticed a difference in 2 days of taking Armour.

You have to remember, tho, that it will take a full 16 weeks for the pituitary to accept the new message from your thyroid replacement circulating in your blood.

I am surprized that you did so well on Armour for me my experience was different. I was starting to loss hair and the tention on the back of my legs was almost unbarable. I most say I did become Hyper just the pain behind my legs were extreme so I had to go back to Snthyroid. I heard so many wonderful things about Armour and still have stock just I am kind of waiting for a time when I can take it.

I had thyroid cancer in 1985. I have been on Synthroid ever since. A lot can change your need for Synthroid... pregnancy, weight gain or loss. It is challenging to get it regulated, but it is possible. If you are a thyroid cancer survivor it is important that you keep your TSH suppressed..below 1.0. Anytime in the last 20 years or so when something strange was happening to my body it could usually be traced back to my TSH levels. I wish you all the best on getting your levels right. Living in a hypothyroid state is not fun. I have experienced all the symptoms mentioned. It is important to get a doctor that believes in the 0.3-3.0 range for TSH not the higher ranges that a lot of the labs still use. Good luck.