Hypothyroid test question.?
After dose adjustment, what is the TSH difference between retest after 2 weeks and 4 or 6 weeks? Will the TSH tend to be lower when retesting after 2 weeks than 4 or 6 weeks? Is the TSH level valid for indicating thyroid function when tested after 2 weeks of dose adjustment?
User Comments
- I haven't known physicians to test so soon after med adjustment. 6wks is pretty standard...it take a while to level out. If you're worrried review the list of side effects to watch for that your physician gave you. The nervousness, rapid heart beat, etc will clue you in you're taking too much medication usually within days after a dosage change. Not knowing which way you're adjusting it's hard to say what direction your TSH will be going but when working appropriately when T3 and T4 levels are low the TSH should increase because it's trying to gear the thyroid up to produce more....so likewise as the T3 and T4 levels increase the TSH level should decrease.
- If your dose adjustment was an increase, the TSH should be lower in 2 weeks, lower in another 2 weeks (4 weeks), and lower yet at 6 weeks.
If your doc is testing after 2 weeks, it's probably just to make sure the medicine is beginning to work. The full effect won't show until 4 to 6 weeks have passed.
- Ask your doctor to interpret your lab results to you...
he will explain the decrease and increase levels so that you'll be able to know the next time you do lab if your medication is working...
when in doubt about medical questions, always ask your doctor!
good luck!
- There's no way to predict what your TSH levels will be. If you've been taking thyroid hormone replacements and the dosage is therapeutic, ideally your TSH will decrease and stabilize. Keep an eye on T4 levels too. The anterior pituitary gland secretes TSH but it's TSH that stimulates the secretion of thyroxine (T4) prouced in the thyroid gland.
Now take your question to your endocrinologist where it belongs.