Thyroxine - been told to stop (not reduce)

[Remmy123]

Hi

my 15 year old has been on thyroxine for a year the GP does the bloods but he is under a endocrinologist.

he was on 0.25mg with bloods still off so upped to 0.75mg had blood test yesterday and I got a txt message at 7pm tonight from GP to say stop the thyroxine and have a blood test in three months.

its a bank holiday so i cant contact the endocrinologist or the GP i am not comfortable just stopping it? Is that unusual?

his thyroid issue showed because he has to have blood tests due to another condition but he never displayed symptoms as such (he did get occasionally shakey hands)

Im thinking I should continue until I speak to someone - I don't want him to suddenly feel dreadful with sudden drop?

any advice welcome
thanks

No medical qualifications, but 20 years on thyroxine here…

I’m not sure he’ll feel immediately dreadful over the weekend if he stops the medication tomorrow, but I can understand your concern, and I don’t think it’s great that the GP hasn’t explained. However if they’ve got the blood test results that quickly and told you to stop the medication there’s a possibility that the blood test results showed that your son’s levels had swung too much the other way. Overactive thyroid can be more of a concern than under active. And incidentally, I thought shaky hands was more associated with over active thyroid too.

I’d be inclined to do as GP said, but try to speak to get a proper explanation asap next week - definitely not just wait around for 3 months.

If you’re really concerned about just stopping, could you at least reduce back to 25mcg for the next few days then try to speak to someone on Tuesday?

I was basically I trying to write what pomegranate has said!

It can be harmful to be hyperthyroid so it’s better to follow the advice and stop right away. Something must have shown in the bloods. The shaky hands sounds like he could be hyperthyroid and/or over medicated?

It’s only a few days until you can get more information. Clearly they think he doesn’t need it, but even if he did he shouldn’t become too unwell in a few days.

Thanks very much - think the same and dropping to 0.25mg until I speak with someone makes me feel more comfortable - I really which GPs wouodjt send vague text messages on a Friday night!

the endocrinologist said a while back he needs it to get through puberty then wean off off but clearly this new dose has some something!

Thank you

the shaky hands was before he took any medication

ok now I'm thinking of stopping it and waiting until Tuesday but then I may not be able to speak to anyone then either! They will
all be so busy!

I am hesitating because GPs generally arnt great when it comes to
thyriid issues

v confusing I don't even have the test results either

The half life of thyroxine is over a week. That means that in a week's time, the level of thyroid hormone in his blood caused by the medication will have halved. (Not counting what he makes naturally.) This is why doses are normally adjusted gradually, because it takes quite a while for the body to stabilise to a new level. So it won't fall off a cliff over the weekend if you stop now, and you'll be able to contact the GP as soon as they open next week to establish the facts.

Thanks very much that is really helpful - I was worried about him feeling awful when he goes back to school (2weeks)