How much Thyroxine should I take for my Hashimoto's thyroiditis and hypothyroidism?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am a 37-years-old female, unmarried, and my weight is 99 lbs. I am under medication for Hashimoto's thyroiditis and hypothyroidism for more than twenty years. I was taking tablet Eltroxin 100 mcg and discontinued the medicine because of frustration before two months. My TSH is 219.34 mIU/mL, T3 is 0.56 ng/mL, and T4 is 0.72 ng/dL. TSH levels are extremely high.

Kindly advise me on how much Thyroxine I should start taking right now (in mcg). Should I take 200 mcg or 150 mcg?

Please help.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I recommend you start at 100 mcg of Thyroxine. You should take medicine regularly without missing even a single dose on an empty stomach, that is one hour before any food, tea or coffee, or other medication. Your dose can be even less unless you have an absorption problem. It will help if you take Thyroxine lifelong. But imagine, compared to so many other diseases globally, low thyroid is easy to manage. So start with 100 mcg of Thyroxine and recheck TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) and FT4 (free Thyroxine) after eight weeks. You cannot stop the medicine after eight weeks, depending on the levels, but we can reduce your dose.

Thanks and regards.