For context I was seeing another Dr under Medicaid in 2020. Had symptoms of thyroid issues (fatigue, dry skin, hair loss, constipation, irritability, cold/heat intolerance, irregular periods). Dr tested my TSH (5.77) in 2020 along with my Free T4 (1.3). Said my TSH was high and put me on 25 mcg Levothyroxine. Never did a thyroid ultrasound but did check my Prolactin, FSH, LH, T3, T4 and free T4, and regular TSH checks which were all normal/within range after starting Levothyroxine. I’ve had other labs be abnormal/out of range since adolescents such as my OCMPAN and CBC. Was on 25 mcg Levothyroxine until 2022 when I lost health insurance and from that time until now I have been fully unmedicated. Fast forward to January 2025, I got new health insurance and visited my new Dr. I did have abnormal MPV, ATL, and very low Vitamin D but my TSH test came back completely normal, despite still feeling all my previous symptoms of hypothyroidism and also now including joint/muscle pain in my legs and really bad brain fog.

Is it possible my hypothyroidism corrected itself/went away? Or could there possibly be other issues going on that mimic hypothyroidism?

Context: I have partially-unexplained* fatigue issues, and have been tracking TSH levels since 2022, with an eye towards that as a possible factor.

Today after getting a fresh set of blood test results** back, I decided to graph all my data points so far and see if I could fit a curve to them, and I was extremely startled to discover that a simple linear regression fit with an r^2 of 0.9948.

Is this like… a known thing? You could apparently use my thyroid as a relatively accurate calendar, and I'm used to biology being more complicated than a linear function of one variable.

*I do also have severe sleep apnea, which is a completely plausible explanation, but so far attempts at treating that have resulted in not sleeping at all, so I'm trying to explore other possibilities in parallel, just in case

** Today's TSH level: 8.4

Hey all, I was just diagnosed last week and have been on meds for about a week. Main side effect has been an intense headache about an hour after taking levo that lasts all day, that seems to be getting better now (I’m hoping). I’m just having a hard time coping with the diagnosis, I’ve been subclinical for a few years now so I knew this was coming but I’m fairly young so it just feels like an adjustment. This sub has been so helpful so far! Anyone else struggle a bit when they were first diagnosed?

Hi there folks,

I'm newer to the hypothyroidism train. I started levothyroxine (100 mcg/per day) and my level has dropped drastically. It went from a 21.18 to a 2.36 (reference ranges 0.20-6.50 mlU/L). I think only my TSH was tested, not a full thyroid panel. Is this good and normal? I am assuming so. I know I was ridiculously high and the doctor and a family member who is also hypo had no idea how I was functioning. I had no symptoms to suggest my thyroid was so lazy. I also feel like I should not I'm stuck in a province in a major medical crisis and have not been able to find a doctor for almost two years. I found out my thyroid was messy from bloodwork for an ER trip for a stroke scare that ended up being bell's palsy and have had to rely on sporadic virtual clinic visits. I don't know when I'll be able to find continuity of care.

I started 60mg of armour thyroid for an elevated prolactin level in April of 2024. Since then, I’ve gained 10 pounds, have been experiencing dry/weakened hair, and sleep 10-12 hours a night. I’m always tired, and am depressed because of the weight gain and hair loss.

When I had my levels checked in September, for some reason my t3 uptake was low (at 18) and my free t4 was low (2.1)- though my TSH was optimal (1.4). When I went for my annual physical in December 2024, my dr only checked my TSH and it was optimal then as well (1.3). My prolactin in both visits was also within range (14) though I am actually still lactating.

I stopped taking my Armour four days ago and woke up with my period yesterday morning. My hair feels less dry since I stopped Armour, and I feel somewhat more alert and awake.

Does anyone have any advice as to why my levels were still off on Armour? Should I retake it? I am going to try to see my reproductive endocrinologist on Tuesday.

Hi All,

I apologize ahead of time this is going to be a long post. Looking for some advice? Hoping there might be some endocrinologists on here!

In September 2024 I had my thyroid tested at a routine physical. TSH came out 5.78/ml. I was ordered to go back in three weeks to retest. The retest came out as 6.95/ml. I do want to mention at the time of the retest I was pregnant.

Since I was pregnant my doctor put me on Levothyroxine 25mcg once a day. I began taking that daily however with morning sickness I’m not too sure how much stayed in my system. I was restested 6 weeks later and my TSH was 4.36. At that time my doctor asked me to take two 25mcg pills on weekends and one during the week.

For a completely unrelated reason the pregnancy ended at 12 weeks. I continued taking the dose my doctor had recommended for about a month. About a month after the loss I began feeling really anxious! My doctor tested my TSH and it was 2.3 so “normal”.

At this point he had me drop down to just one 25mcg pill a day instead of the double dose on the weekend. My TSH was retested 2 weeks later and came out to 1.34.

I guess I am wondering if I was possibly over medicated for a while or if I still am. Some symptoms that make me think this are

• High Anxiety
• Weight Loss
• Ketones in Urine 1.0mmol/L

I’m honestly starting to wonder if I ever needed the medication. From what I read my beginning numbers indicated sub clinical hypothyroidism.

Just looking for some advice. Do you think these symptoms will disappear shortly. I’ve been on the new dose for almost 4 weeks! Should I advocate more that I might be over medicated even though my levels are “normal”!

I am taken Finasteride 1mg + 2.5mg oral Minoxidil. Ontop of NP Thyroid 75mg. I spread it apart. I take the NP Thyroid in the morning and the Finasteride before bedtime.

I noticed when I started taken Finasteride, I cannot move my bowels (#2). If I stop taken it, a day or two later, my bowels goes back to normal.

Has anyone else experience this?

I’ve been pretty miserable for about two years with sudden weight gain over that period (30lbs), extreme fatigue, brain fog and mood swings. I’m 43 and I was in decent shape before this started.

In December it got so bad my husband insisted I go to the doctor. She did bloodwork and came back iron deficient with TSH at 6.4. Six weeks later and having been on high dose iron supplements my iron levels are up and TSH is 4.2, which is in clinically acceptable range. Along with anemia she suspects I’m in perimenopause and started me on an estrogen patch and progesterone oral pill.

I’m starting to feel better but definitely not myself yet.

Should I insist on frequent thyroid testing or wait and see if the exhaustion doesn’t completely go away and ask for a recheck? How long should you wait between testing?

Hypothyroidism has occurred in the last 4 generations of my family with my uncle having thyroid cancer.

Bonus points if anyone has found a weight loss “plan” that helped them lose thyroid induced weight gain.

Thanks!!!

Any migraine sufferers notice that their migraines disappear (or significantly decrease) after starting treatment for hypothyroidism?

I started 25mcg Levothyroxine 10 months ago, and my migraines have practically disappeared. I still get a few, but nothing like before. I’m not on any preventative medication for migraines. I’m curious if others have experienced this as well.

I’ve been on levo for a week now and can’t seem to get rid of stomach ache in my upper abdominal area. It comes and goes but especially after food. I already don’t eat gluten. Does anyone have similar experience? Is there something I can do about it?

Has anyone experienced a late diagnoses for Hypothyroidism? My OB didn’t do a blood panel for me until 12 w + 2, and my TSH levels came back 11.5. I have never tested my thyroid before to know to do that. I am now 13 weeks and 2 days and started Levothyroxine yesterday. I can’t help but worry I caught it too late? Please give me reassurance my baby is cognitively okay.

Are tsh levels of 4.83 causing my extreme fatigue all day , cervical pressure , anxiety etc?

I'm an mma fighter and currently on a fight camp to fight in march and my recovery is getting worst and worst so i had my thyroid tested and this was the level for my tsh . My doc didnt get back to me so she was not concerned but she hasnt even called to ask about my symtoms or anything . I'm currently cutting weight also with diet and its going well . I heard people with hypo usually gain weight.

Hi there I’m 35 female, 5’6 120 pounds. I eat healthy, real food. I watch my sugar intake and I’m an avid runner. I am extremely healthy in general. But my thyroid is really weird and I’ve been feeling exhausted with my hair falling out, etc., and hypothyroidism runs in my family big time.

So I got blood lab tests: TSH 4.4 (ref range 0.4-4.5) T4 free 0.8 (ref range 0.8-1.8) T3 total 96 (ref 76-196) Thyroid peroxidase antibodies 50 “high” (normal is <9)

It is my understanding that the above values indicate a person who is more hypothyroid than hyper.

Then my primary care doctor sends me for a nuclear thyroid test using I-123 radioactive iodine. The thyroid uptake value is 59.5% at 24 hrs (ref range is 6%-24% at 24 hrs).

Why are these indications (uptake versus lab values) contradictory?

I’m going to ask for an endocrinology referral because I’ve been feeling like crap, all foggy headed and depressed. Especially when I haven’t ran yet on a given day. I just feel off.

What does this all mean and why do the tests contradict? I’m so confused and frustrated. Thank you for any information I am going crazy over this. I was hoping I would know how to feel better after the uptake test but now I’m so confused.

Hello - for context, I am 23 years old, 112 LBS, and have a major family history of hypothyroidism.

My family is all very thin, but we all have thyroid issues. I have suspected for a long time that I already have / will have it at some point.

My symptoms I experience are:

• Insane fatigue. No matter how much sleep I get I feel awful when I wake up.
• Thin / brittle nails
• dry skin and ALWAYS freezing
• Irritability
• Constipation, always!
• No sex drive. Like at all
• Terrible appetite
• brain fog and inability to concentrate. My memory is also fleeting.
• muscle twitches
• sluggishness
• Depression / anxiety
• Heart palpitations

The last test I got was November, 2023:

TSH - 1.410

T4- 5.4

T3 - 2.7

Why do I have all the tell-tale symptoms but every time I get bloodwork it is ‘in range’ ?

She constantly forgets what we talked about from one lab to the next and changes her responses to things.

When we first decided to try levo she said she will treat me based on symptoms and if we get my tsh down and I still feel crappy we can talk about introducing t3.

Last lab she didnt test my t3, but she did up my dose. I have another lab in a couple of weeks and sent a message asking if she would add ft3 to the labs and she replied yes but it doesn't really tell us anything when treating hypo, it's more for hyper.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding but everything I've read tells me that if my tsh is going down (which it is slowly), my t3 should be going up. Last time I was tested it was in range but in the lower end. My t4 has been at 1 regardless of tsh.

Am I missing something? She said she would test it, so I'm happy, but I'm worried she's not looking at the big picture.

PS I have Hashimotos

T3 and T4 are in normal range, but TSH is 4.67. I tried going without treatment for many months but I started to get concerning heart issues. I’ve since started levo 25 mcg but I feel it is too strong for my psyche. I also have an option to take Armour but I am concerned with the added T3 and the effect on my heart. Would the ideal option be to slowly titrate the T4 mono therapy by taking 12.5 mcg daily for 6 weeks?

Some people say they can’t or can loose weight? What’s your experience

Just wondering if you had something similar

I recently had bloodwork done in Dec 2024 and showed TSH 25.6 and T 4 within normal range (1.01) . I do have a lot of symptoms of hypothyroidism including fatigue, brain fog, hair loss, weight gain, dry skin. PCP started me on 50 levothyroxine and an ultrasound of my thyroid which came back normal texture& size, small 2 mm colloidal cyst TIRADS 1.

Recently had bloodwork done and came back negative for antibodies and TSH improved to 19 and T4 to 1.13. PCP increasing dosage to 75 levothyroxine. She is referring me to an endocrinologist because my antibodies were negative and she was pretty sure I had Hashimotos.

Does anyone have any insight as to what might be going on? Everyone I’ve seen who has subclinical hypothyroidism their TSH is much lower -around 8-10 even though technically I fall under this category since T4 is normal.

I’m trying to understand my husband’s hypothyroidism as I don’t feel he looks too deeply into his test results.

He started off taking 50mcg of Synthroid. I noticed that his TSH level would then be “normal” (between 0.82 - 1.77 per his doctor’s office). However, after a certain time, his TSH level would increase again and it would be “high” (over 1.77). His doctor would then increase the Synthroid dosage, and the TSH went down to “normal” again (with a 88mcg dosage). But then, once again, the TSH would rise and he would then be in the “high” range. His medication then increased to 112mcg and now he is currently I believe on 135mcg. His last test which was last March, his TSH was still in the “high” range though it was lower than what it has been in the past.

I find this very confusing and I’m wondering if this is very common? Will they just keep increasing his dosage? Is there a maximum dosage and if so what would the doctors do then if his TSH level is still not normal?

Or, is this a sign that something else is going on, and a potential new treatment plan should be considered?

Thanks so much!

I’ve been feeling pretty bad for some time with intense fatigue, brain fog, depression and started experiencing some major hair shedding.

I got bloodwork done to look into this on Jan 10, my TSH came back at 4.41 and Free T4 at 15 pmol/l. The last time my TSH was tested was in 2022 and it was at 1.01. I have access to my bloodwork results from the last few years and my TSH was consistently between 0.9-1.2.

After looking into it, hypothyroidism seems to explain a lot of my symptoms. Prior to my initial test, I had been taking a supplement that had a high dose of biotin for my hair loss. I stopped taking that on Jan 13.

I got repeat bloodwork on Jan 29, my TSH had significantly dropped to 0.64 the lowest it’s ever been, Free T4 at 16 and a negative TPO at 7.

From what I understand, biotin can reduce TSH in testing, but my TSH was a lot higher while taking the biotin.
The fluctuation seems significant as well, going from 4.41 to 0.64 in 19 days, the highest and lowest level I’ve had.

My symptoms lean more hypo than hyper, but I’m confused about what could be happening, particularly with a negative antibody result.

Hi I’m so sorry if this has been asked before here but I’m genuinely confused. I’m still waiting to get my entire thyroid panel results back and I’m anxious because my mom had hashimotos and it developed into thyroid cancer.

I got a few results back. T4 Free is 1.21, T3 Total is 163.0, but my TSH is 3.75. Reference range has it in the higher normal side, but I’m reading on the internet it could be an indicator of early hypothyroidism? There’s so much conflicting information and if anyone who might have actual experience/knowledge on this topic that might be able to help I would genuinely appreciate it.

So, I've been going through phases of fatigue last year, and the only thing in my exhaustive blood tests that has come up outside of the normal range is my 'Serum TSH level' - last march it was 5.47 mlU/L and this month it was 5.19 mlU/L - the normal range is listed as 0.27-4.20. What got me was the Healthcare professional's comment (presuambly the one who tested my blood?) as 'Needs Action', but the text from the doctors said I was stable and to repeat this test in one year?

I guess what I'm asking is, Is this nothing, or a level that could potentially impact my life? I find info online confusing. should I (or would you) pursue the Thyroid thing with my GP to get medication given this reading? What is the level that symptoms typically appear? I thought the whole point of 'normal range' is to do something about it outside of that? I don't honestly know what is causing my fatigue (i'm 47 and 12 stone), but I've just given up vaping and that appears to be helping, but it's early days - I'm going to try other things too, so suggestions welcome.

Hi all,

looking for some help and support in the long term managment of my condition. I have been treated for graves with radioactive iodine. This was about 5 years ago. I had a side effect of the iodine treatment that makes my free T4 unreliable so I am supposed to only reference my TSH. This meant it was a long road to getting me on a stable dose.

To be honest I have never felt well treated and Im really just looking to take some control over my dosing and understanding of my treatment as I'm now being managed by non doctors under my GP practice who seem to say they need to ask a GP about everything then dont get back to me.

My latest results are

T4 29.1 pmol/L - normal range 10.5 -24.5 -- THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE DISREGARDED AND GENERALLY IS ALWAYS A LITTLE HIGH

TSH 0.24 mU/L - normal range 0.27-4.2

Right now Im feeling quite strung out with poor sleep.

I wondering what kind of range I should be going for on levothyroxine. and given im only just out of the normal range could this actually account for my symptoms?

If there is any reading or advice on how to start taking control of my dosing i would really appreciate it.

Thanks so much.

I have been on the same dose of thyroid medication and I thought that losing all my weight means that my tiredness and some of the other symptoms would be gone but it's still there. I was just asking to get a better understanding of this. I have my good and bad days One day I can be full of energy and the next day I can be extremely exhausted and in bed where I feel out of energy. I've been on the same dose of my thyroid medication and my labs are normal but I asked Endo if I can do anything about my energy levels and she said no there isn't and since my labs are normal she's not really concerned about my other symptoms. Although the positive thing I can say is that my hair is not falling out and it's easier to brush than it was before I was medicated. I finally lost my weight and she is pretty happy with my weight. How did you guys deal with having hypothyroidism regardless of your weight and how did you guys help your symptoms when doctors would not? I am currently in the middle of changing primary doctors and I've tried going to a different endocrinologist but there's just not much in my area and I can't drive so it wouldn't be realistic to go to another city to find one unless they do a Telehealth but most of them do not at least on the first visit.

What’s your drink/ food order? Anything that’s better for people with hashimotos that’s like gluten free, soy, dairy free Etc. Thanks for you input!

Im 35y old F .From Past 4 years My TSH has been in the range of 4-4.5 .It doesn't increase nor decrease .My other parameters are normal range such as T4,T3,Free T4 ,Free T3 .My primary care will only focus on TSH and push me to start medication.But I am not pursuing pregnancy nor am I feeling any usual symptoms of hypothyroidism. Anyone facing out of range TSH levels and normal T3 T4 levels and not on medication.Is my TSH really highto be on medication .Please looking for general advice

I don't always eat at the same time and if I eat at 7:00 then I have to wait until 11:00 p.m. at night to take it and then I had to wait another half an hour to take my sleeping pills or probably an hour. I mostly try to eat before 8:00 p.m. but sometimes it's not possible especially with family events or hanging out with friends. I got so tired of it so I decided to just go back to taking it morning time. There is no way I'm going to wait until 12:00 p.m. to go go to sleep or possibly 1:00 a.m. or 2:00 a.m. I wish we could just take this with other pills but we can't because it won't absorb.

I (26F) just got my second round of bloodwork done this week for elevated TSH levels 6 months ago. My doc reviewed them and said I have subclinical hypothyroidism but not Hashimotos and that it would likely resolve itself in a year. However, when I look at my bloodwork it says I have elevated thyroid cytoplasm antibodies. When I asked her if this meant it was Hashimotos she said no, that would be for hyperthyroidism and that this is a non specific immune response.

Am I missing something? I was reading about silent hypothyroidism which sounds like what she was describing but everything I’ve read matches hashimotos.

For reference I have TSH of 8.9, T4 of 14 and am very symptomatic (fatigue, brain fog, weight gain). Thyroid cytoplasm antibodies in the 400s but no TSH receptor antibodies. She started me on 75 of Levo, saying I can hopefully come off it in a year.

I’m so confused and frustrated and am worried something was missed.

I want to switch to taking it at night, especially because I need to get my iron up and the 4 hour wait rule for that is really inconvenient for me.

I’m wondering if taking it at night will give me an energy boost and make it harder to sleep? I know Levo has a long half life, but I swear sometimes I can feel it “kick in”!