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Is It Necessary To Stop Thyroxine For Low TSH Levels?

Posted on Fri, 19 Jun 2015

Question: had thyroid radiated in January for hyperthyroidism /graves disease, a month later put on l thyroxine (75mg), just took a blood test and got a call that said to quit taken the medication for 2 months because my thyroid is showing it's low....massively confused..i thought it would go the other direction and my medication was be a higher dosage...maybe you could explain to me...thank you

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rovena (59 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
detailed below.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Welcome to Healthcare Magic.

I read carefully your query.

Since your doctor suggested to stop the medication for 2 months ,it means that the level of thyroid hormones is higher than normal.This causes the TSH to be very low.
Let me explain what is TSH.
TSH is a hormone produced by pituitary gland in brain ,that controls the production of thyroid hormones.So when the level of thyroid hormones( T3,T4) in blood is low, this stimulates the production of TSH ,which acts by stimulating thyroid to produce more hormones.Its role is like a messenger.
When the level of thyroid hormones in blood is very high ,the level of TSH will be very low.
TSH level is used as a test to evaluate thyroid function and the effect of the medication ,so probably in your case it was very low and thyroid gland function is low too (because it is not stimulated by TSH to produce more hormones).

I really hope it is clear for you.
Feel free to ask for any clarification you may need.I would be happy to help.

Kind regards,
Dr.Rovena Murati

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Rovena (2 hours later)

sorry for so many questions. ..so the my question is since my thyroid was radiated in January and I'm suppose to stop the L thyroxine, am I still at a hyperthyroidism level. thanks again for your time

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rovena (8 hours later)

Brief Answer:
detailed below.

Detailed Answer:
Hello again.

I really apologize for the delay in answering you.

After radiation of thyroid gland ,a part of thyroid tissue has been destroyed.You can have different results after such treatment and one of them is hypothyroidism (when the function of thyroid gland is suppressed more than necessary).
Right now ,you have a high level of thyroid hormones in blood ,that would return to normal after stopping Levothyroxine.After that your doctor may considering lowering the dose of Levothyroxine to keep thyroid hormones in normal range.
This means that the dose of Levothyroxine you have been taking was too much for you and you need a lower dose.
The level of your thyroid hormones may come back to normal after some time but you need to get tests done in regular intervals and the treatment (lowering or increasing the dose) will depend from the results of these tests.

Take care.
Dr.Rovena

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar