TSH at 7.8 whilst being medicated.

[SomewhereInbetween1]

Hi all,
I'm currently measuring 7.8 TSH levels despite being medicated with 50mg thyroxine. My doctor has decided to increase my dose to 75mg but from other sufferers I have spoken to, I fear this may not cause much of an improvement, but understand I am far from an expert. Have you had any experience with your doctor allowing you to try a higher dose than prescribed or should I wait until my next blood test in 8 weeks? I'm currently experiencing some new symptoms which I am not sure are related to my thyroid, but I'd be keen to nip them in the bud if they are.
Apologies for blathering on, just feeling like total crap at the moment.

50mcg is the smallest starter dose. They should increase by 25mcgs every six weeks or so until your symptoms are relieved, at which point your TSH will probably be in the bottom 25% of its reference range.

At the same time, FT4 should be in the top 25% of its reference range and FT3 at least half way through its reference range.

Sounds like it's early days for you and most people end up taking between 125-175mcgs of thyroxine to feel well.

Is this a recent diagnosis? If so, it can take a really long time to get to "normal "IME.

They generally only like to increase by 25mcgs at a time, and then retest at 6 week intervals. The level of thyroxine can keep rising over time when your dosage is too low, but a small increase can sometimes sort out the problem quite quickly. I had a similar reading (I think 6.9) recently and my dose was upped from 150 daily to 175 daily and 6 weeks later, my TSH had reduced to normal levels.

Good luck op, the thyroid is a proper pain to get right sometimes.

I've been on 50mcg for about two years, hovering at a high but normal level during that time in the hopes that my body would acclimatise to 50mcg. Most recent blood test was early July and the jump to 7.8 has explained some recent issues with focus, forgetfulness, lethargy, the usual picnic! I'm just worried because the next 6 months at my job is my busiest period and I cannot fathom how I'm going to deal with the stress and work load feeling like this.

If I were in your situation OP...I would pay private to see an endocrinologist.
Having lost my career and life to undiagnosed pituitary damage including hypothyroidism I would not hesitate to find a private endo in your area(most work for NHS as well). It's so worth it if you want you life back.

Thank you, I think I will see someone privately to get things clarified. 😊