Treatment for underactive thyroid - how quickly will I feel better?

[Bloomcounty]

That's it, essentially. I've only just been diagnosed and started treatment for an underactive thyroid and very low folic acid. I'm very much looking forward to feeling better and a bit more "alive" than I do at present, and am wondering if anyone can give me a rough idea how long it'll take for me to feel a difference.

Are we talking weeks? Or months?

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Thyroid issues run in my family. I have been on levothyroxine for around 12mths now and i still am not seeing any difference.
My sisters got worse and had to have her dosage put up considerably and she still feels tired all the time. Unfortunately there doesnt seem to be a fix it pill..that solves all the issues for underactive thyroid.

It may depend what dose you've been given. Although there is research that suggests anyone under 60 without heart disease should start on 100 mcgs, which makes sense given that most of us settle between 125 and 175 mcgs, GPs are still starting young and otherwise healthy people on 25mcgs.

25mcgs is enough to knock out what's left of your own thyroid function, without giving you the boost you really need. Make sure you go back every six weeks for a re-test and an increase until you really do feel better, after all the object of treatment is to make you well.

I felt benefit after just a week or two, but needed to increase the dose from 50mcg to 75mcg. I tried 100mcg for a few months, but became thyrotoxic - hot and irritable, and my blood levels showed I was overtreated. 75 seems a good balance point for me.
See how you get on, and be prepared to juggle dosage until you get it right - it’s very individual.
The tiny 25mcg dose is usually only required as a careful starter dose in elderly patients or those with heart disease. Most young adults need at least 50, and often considerably more.

They should slowly increase your dose until you feel more 'normal'. I've lived with hypo since mine was removed 24 years ago. I've been on every dose under the sun and pregnancy totally screwed me up so I am now having a T3 as well as T4 supplement. And I fear I am hypo yet again so will increase by another 25 in November to 175 a day of thyroxine. I used to be on 225. Lowest has been 150 which I'm on now.
Be patient and write down symptoms. Become aware of your body, hair, skin, mood, lethargy. I hope you get sorted ASAP.

Hmm. I've been put on 50mcg to start with, and have blood tests booked for mid January. Initially my dr was just going to treat the folic acid deficiency, and see if that helped the thyroid, but after a moment or two, she decided to treat me for both.

From what I remember, my thyroid reading is low, but not terribly low. There was another reading that she referred to, that showed how hard your brain had to work to make the thyroid work. Apparently that reading on me is about double the maximum reading. What I was told was that the thyroid function was on the verge of collapse anyway, so they might as well get me going.

I have the added complication of taking epilepsy meds, but apparently mine aren't known for causing folic acid problems, so I've absolutely no idea what could have caused that. I eat pretty much everything on the list that you're supposed to to get this through your diet.

Thanks for all the help, ladies. I'm just so looking forward to feeling better and will try to be patient.

Hair isn't a symptom I know much about. I do know about the eyebrow thing (mine have disappeared) but what else? Does thinning hair happen all over? Because my leg hair has all but vanished, now I look. I've never been particularly thick haired, anyway, but I don't need to shave my legs at all now.

My dose has been 50mcg from the off, a couple of years ago (I'm 57 now) and I started to feel better quite quickly, weeks not months.

DH also has thyroid problems, hashimotos; in his case the dose does sometimes need adjusting (he has heart problems too) - again, I think he notices the difference quite quickly.

Note that the half life of thyroxine is quite long so it is always going to take a couple of weeks for the levels in your body to equilibrate when you start or change dose.

Hope you're feeling better soon!

Sorry, another question.
Can you point me at any online resources that could be useful? UK ones? There's lot of info from the USA and I've got the NHS website info to look at, but it's not terribly detailed and I'd really like to know a bit more, but from a trusted source. Any suggestions gratefully received.

Look at the ThyroidUK forum on www.healthunlocked.com. They'll put you right.

Thank you!