Long story short: My doc has increased my Levoxyl from .112 to .125 in an attempt to bring my TSH down to 2.0 (I am currently at 5.3 out of 5.5.). How long before I feel any different?
I felt a little jittery today on a few occassions but I suppose that will level off. I've had a tremendous weight gain and I'm hoping to see some improvement in that area as well as reduction of major fatigue.
There's really no way to tell you how long it will take. Most people see subtle differences within 2 or 3 weeks. The full effect of a changed dose takes about 6 to 8 weeks.
The thing is.... Your MD should be targeting a TSH even lower than 2. The largest endo association in the US says that a TSH above 2.5 is hypothyroid. TSH averages .8-1.5 or so in the healthy population without thyroid disease. You may not feel your best if he believes 2 is "normal". It may not be normal for you.
The other thing, too, is that you will have to do some sort of diet/exercise plan to lose weight--your balanced thyroid will just make it easier to lose weight than it was when you were hypo. The medicine won't "melt" the weight by itself more than maybe a few pounds.
Good point bookishmomma makes. Thyroid hormone, by itself, hardly ever results in weight loss. It just levels the playing field so that your efforts toward weight loss will have more chance to succeed.
It's taken me about 4-6 weeks to adjust after med changes. I started to loose weight when my TSH was below 1 but my doc wasn't happy w/ it being too low. He said, "yep, you may feel great and may loose weight but this level is not healthy for you long term." He uped my dose now my TSH is way too high and I'm gaining weight. One of the greatest improvements has been increased energy. I hope that happens for you quickly b/c it makes a world of difference. Good luck!
Just so you know, I am working my *** off in the gym 4 times a week with an hour of moderate aerobics plus light weight lifting. I am also watching my diet. Hopefully, this will allow the hard work to actually make a difference.
Just so you know, I am working my *** off in the gym 4 times a week with an hour of moderate aerobics plus light weight lifting. I am also watching my diet. Hopefully, this will allow the hard work to actually make a difference.
Good job! I hope the weight starts coming off for you. I am pretty much in the same boat...so far, I am just trying to maintain the healthy habits, too, so as the thyroid stabilizes I might see results.
I hope the weight starts coming off for you. I am pretty much in the same boat...so far, I am just trying to maintain the healthy habits, too, so as the thyroid stabilizes I might see results.
