Can Levothyroxine Be Taken For A Long Duration While Having Hyperthyroidism?

Posted on Mon, 7 Nov 2016

Question: My mother is 91 years old and has been taking 50 mg of Levothyroxine since she went into menopause I believe. It seems the dosage is low and I cannot see any recent thyroid tests in the medical papers.It is as if this medication has just been carried forward. What should I suggest.

If I would ask a question about my own health is it priviledged between this service and myself?

Answered by Dr. Geeta Sundar (39 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Hi, welcome to HCM, Thyroid medicine cannot be carried forward continuously

Detailed Answer:
Hi, welcome to HCM, Thyroid medicine cannot be carried forward continuously without monitoring. Hyperfunction of thyroid causes increase in metabolism, and hypo(less) functioning causes metabolism to slow down. Levothyroxine is given when there is a deficiency in thyroid functioning. The dose can change according to state of thyroid which itself may change. If there is hyper function the dose has to be reduced, and sometimes when the reverse happens, the functions can reduce further, and the dose may have to be increased. If the correct dose is not given her metabolism (how quickly or slowly the body functions) may change and it may harm. Therefore a TSH test should be done 6 monthly or at least once a year. Regards
Regarding your supplementary question yes you can ask your question and it will be privileged between you and HCM. Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D