thyroid level is low now what?

So my doctor just left a message on my voice mail and told me my thyroid levels were low again so he wants me to come in so we can discuss treatment.  I have been trying to lose weight and can't and overall I have many of the symptoms that are listed for hypothyroid.  

My questions are this...  

What questions do I need to ask when I go in to the doctor?  

What should I expect from the treatment?  

Is there a certain type I should request?  

Will my symptoms get better as in my energy, moodiness, and inability to lose weight?  

I am just nervous and don't know what to expect or anything.... Any help would be great.  

The treatment is usually very simple - a little pill of synthetic thyroid hormone, to be taken on an empty stomach at least a half hour before a meal.  I know I'm feeling better already after only a month.  The dosage will be based on your TSH levels. 

Thanks for replying.  Do the pills have any negative side effects?  If I don't go on medication are there any long term effects.  I guess I want to feel better but I don't like taking medicine so I am trying to weigh my options.  

the pill is simply a replacement of the hormone you aren't making.  It doesn't do anything differently in your body than the thyroid hormone you lack.  There are pretty much no side effects of synthetic thyroid hormone - really, the only thing that can go wrong is that your dose is too high, and then you may get symptomatic hyperthyroidism.  This is prevented by both blood monitoring, and also symptomatic monitoring.

There can be significant consequences of not treating hypothyroidism - all of the typical symptoms can increase in severity, and your thyroid will progressively grow larger (since it keeps getting stimulated to produce something it isn't able to produce), creating a goiter.  It's really rare, but you can even get severe cardiac problems from untreated hypothyroidism, that can lead to coma and death.

Thanks for the help!  It is much appreciated!

my best friend has hypothyroidism to the extreme. shes been on the pills for years. good news. i think youll drop weight like that once you start treatment. shes very thin now and eats kind of alot and doesnt really exercise much. i think the only side effects she really has is anxiety every now and then but thats about it. good luck!

Thanks again.  My doctor said my levels weren't really low but they were low so I am not extreme by any means but I am hoping to start feeling better. Clairelaine said she felt better after one month.   Is that about normal for the amount of time to wait before seeing conditions improve?

How quickly you feel normal depends on how much Thyroid hormone you will need to take and also how long you body has been deprived of the proper amount. If your requirement for the supplement is quite high, then your doctor will not be able to put you on the full dose immediately as it can be too much of a shock for your body. The same applies if you have had this problem for some time, but have only recently been diagnosed.

It can take up to six months for your body to feel normal again, as your medication is adjusted by your doctor over several months and checked with blood tests to find the correct level for you (everyone is slightly different in that respect).

The bad news is that you wont necessarily drop any weight you gained "like that", since the hormone you will be taking is a fixed amount and when this hormone is produced naturally by your body it is adjusted according to your activity. The thyroid directly effects your metabolism.

As the previous poster stated, too little thyroid hormone will affect your mood, (depressed) hair (thinner), nails (weak), weight (goes up) and energy levels (go down) making you tired all the time. Too much Thyroid hormone is nearly as bad, and can make you jittery and unable to sleep, your skin may become contantly itchy and you would probably have heart racing and palpitations that feel pretty nasty.  

My mother had all of the above problems, as her thyroid was not working for a long time before she got treatment, so then had to go through a really gradual introduction of thyroid hormone and at one point her meds were adjusted too high and the got hypERthyroid symptoms with the itching and palpitations. She said she did not realy feel right for about seven months.

I hope it is not as bad for you. Good luck!

My husband has low thyroid and it is very important that you go on the medication and stay on it faithfully. Without it you can progress to memory problems, fatigue, hair loss etc.  

It is the one medication that they do not recommend generics as the +/- of generics as far as % of active ingredient can vary more than in brand name. The brand I know is Synthroid. As medicines go it is cheap so get your doctor to prescribe the brand name one. In New York they have to write 'dispense as written ' on the prescription or else they give you the generic whether you like it or not.

There is a great thyroid group on yahoo groups. If you have a yahoo account you can join and read up on it there.

Funny thing is that I went to the doctor as I wasn't losing weight and he thought it was thyroid. As my husband was with me he tested both of us. Husband was low in thyroid but not me ! No idea why I don't lose weight !

Really no side effects of taking the medicine, but plenty if you don't !

Good luck and don't worry about it. Not a big deal.

Carol

Doesn't he mean your thyroid levels are high? If they're low then that would indicate hypER thyroidism, not hyPO thryroidism?

My Doc told me that if you went for a long time without medication then your body would slowly start to shut down. He said that your thyroid is like the body's 'engine', and thyroxine is the engines 'oil'. If your engine isnt' getting/using enough oil, then it won't work properly. I thought it was a good analogy!

thyroid hormone (T4) levels are low when you have hypothyroidism.  What is high is your TSH (Thyroid stimulating hormone) which is produced by the pituitary gland in response to the low T4, in order to try to stimulate the thyroid to produce more.  Some doctors may only check TSH to monitor thyroid disease, which is why you may be confused irishmum. The hypo is referring to the low T4 - the direct product of the thyroid (which makes sense when you think about the Greek word, hypo means below, hyper means above).  TSH is just an indicator of what the thyroid is doing, but is not produced by it.

In hyperthyroidism, the reverse is true.  T4 levels are high, and TSH levels are low or non-existent (The pituitary is not trying to stimulate the thyroid in the presence of so much thyroid hormone).

You guys have been really helpful.  My doctor prescribed my some levrocthyrine ( I have no idea on spelling) so we will see if that helps things out.  I really appreciate all the info.  You are all a wealth of information!!!

Your medicine is levothyroxine . Try to stay on the same brand if at all possible insurance wise. It is cheap anyway.

Go to 

www.thyroid.about.com ;

For good information and also for info on the FDA tightening the specifications on levothyroxine. Don't buy it too far in advance as it degrades says the FDA.

Glad you are sorted out.

Original Post by butterflymed:

 Some doctors may only check TSH to monitor thyroid disease, which is why you may be confused irishmum. The hypo is referring to the low T4 - the direct product of the thyroid (which makes sense when you think about the Greek word, hypo means below, hyper means above).  TSH is just an indicator of what the thyroid is doing, but is not produced by it.

I know that- but someone newly diagnosed mightn't?  I just thought he was being 'blase' when he said her 'thyroid levels were low'- to me that would mean her TSH levels? I guess there was room for confusion?

Lorime- make sure you get your bloods re-done in 6-8wks to see if your dose is adequate/too much? It can take a while to get it 'right'?

Definitely- my doctor wants me back in 2 months to recheck everything.  Thanks again for the help!

I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism in April of last year.  In the time since, I have been back to the Dr. 4 times for rechecks and have had my dosage changed that many times.  The first dosage I was given was WAY too high & that caused all sorts of problems: Extreme cystic acne (ping pong ball sized!), inability to sleep (would go 2-3 nights with NO sleep), shakiness, dizziness.  With the next dose, I felt much better & I slept better, but tests showed that it was too low.  The third dosage was too high, then my Dr. suggested that I switch to the name brand Synthroid.  I will find out how well its working in May.

I am only eightteen and i just got back from my doctors today july,29,2009 and she told me that i have low thyroid and she put me on some medication . she is doing a t3 and t4 whatever that is blood test on me and i originally had symptoms as

loss of hair

depression

can't sleep

always tired

no appitite

really horrible headaches with a fever of 101 most of the time!

i start the medication tomorrow so i will see how it goes. i originally just went to check and see if i had diabeties and i didnt have that but i did have this issue!