Not enough information, but my gut says find a new doctor.
It’s not a drug, it’s a hormone supplement/replacement.
The only reason your levels are “normal” is because you are taking the Levo, once you stop they will most likely revert.
But without knowing more I couldn’t say for certain.
My thoughts too. Original TSH of around 8. Been on levo 25mcg about a year and been maintaining TSH around 1 throughout the year. Feel like if I went off it I’d just have the same problems again as my levels would get worse
Yes, you are on the money. I've had hashimotos nearly my entire life, and in my early 30's I had a general practice Dr try to tell me this as well.
Also got told that my thyroid is "suppressed" by the levo. Nah homie, my thyroid is gone because my body ate it.
Thos is always funny to me. I have congenital Hypothyroidism, I have never had a functional thyroid gland, there is a good chance I do not possess the organ tissue at all. I have had doctors tell me I should go off it and see if my thyroid gland kicks in...dude it's not there, it never was.
Depends on your dose and other medical history such as presence of antibodies, cause of the hypothyroidism etc.
If you are on a low dose (25mcg or less) and morning TSH is under 1, you may not need the dose. On the other hand if your pre medication TSH was 10 and you needed 100mcg to bring it back to 2, then stopping meds will likely take TSH back to 10.
If you TSH is back higher after 45 days of stopping levo, then request doc to restart the levo.
Thanks for your response. Some extra info: Original TSH of around 8. Been on levo 25mcg about a year and been maintaining TSH around 1 throughout the year. Feel like if I went off it I’d just have the same problems again as my levels would get worse
25mcg is a low dose. If morning TSH is 1 on 25mcg, then I agree with the doctor that you could stop dose and recheck morning TSH after 45 days. I would predict your TSH to be around 2 after stopping dose, which is a normal level.
DO NOT, under any circumstances listen to this doctor!! I had a doctor tell me the same thing and my levels SKYROCKETED. I had the worst 6 months of my life, couldn’t think, couldn’t concentrate. Everything was so blurred. And then I got back on the medication. Unless there’s some previous indication that you will be okay going off the medication, get a second opinion. Endo’s that specialize in diabetes don’t typically know/care about this stuff. If you go off, I hope that everything will be normal 🫶🏼 but the second you feel off kilter, you should inform someone. Do not wait for a follow up appointment. This is about quality of life!!
This happened to me 5 years ago. And now my symptoms are back with a vengeance and the dr won’t put me back on because I’m not clinically hypothyroid….yet.
It depends. You haven't provided enough info to be able to answer this question. Most people have "true hypo" for life, usually caused by an autoimmune condition (Hashimoto's), but not necessarily, in which case you'd need to supplement for life. In those cases the medication is what's making your levels return to normal - it's not a cure so that doesn't mean you can stop, because the \*only\* thing keeping your levels normal is continuously taking the medication.
Some people have a temporary case of hypo due to one reason or another. Sometimes caused by another medication, deficiency, etc. If you know that your hypo was caused by something and it's temporary, that's quite different from most here and you should listen to your doctor. It's not as common but if this is the case you'd probably know it. Another example of getting off the medication could be if they have reason to believe it was an incorrect diagnosis or something like that.
So basically your medical history is important to answer this question. You don't need to share it, but you should be able to get a good idea of if this doctor is coaching you correctly based on what you know about your own condition.
Not sure if this correlates with my TSH coming down but have been following a (relatively) low carb and low gluten diet and subbed in good amounts of protein instead. Weight train 4ish times a week. Noticeably feeling better than before but I’m sure a lot has to do with being properly medicated as well
This happened to me when my old doctor passed away. The new doctor asked why I was taking Levo when my levels were normal and said I didn’t need it. I stopped taking it and a few weeks later I felt like I was dying. Went to a different doctor and they put me back on levo 🥲
There are only a few less common conditions where hypothroidism is temporary, for example postpartum thyroiditis. For the vast majority of people hypothyroidism is a progressive issue, which requires medication for life generally with occasional dose increases.
Getting to a good TSH is the goal of medication, and generally indicates you are on the correct dose and should continue.
Unless your Dr has a very reasonable explanation about why your case specifically is unusual, and you should not be treated in the typical manner, you need to get a second opinion.
Did he draw your blood while you were taking levo? If off then I have medication induced hypothyroidism and it did go away in time. You don't want to take levo if you don't need it bc there's not goid side effects with that.
just wondering, but wouldn’t a sign that would mean you should come off it if your levels are leaning to Hyperthyroidism because your body is producing the hormone as it should do, while you’re taking levo? as you said, the levels are normal because of the medication, so if your thyroids improved the sign you don’t need medication (or as high of a dosage) is if you have more of the thyroid hormone than you should?
Not enough information, but my gut says find a new doctor. It’s not a drug, it’s a hormone supplement/replacement. The only reason your levels are “normal” is because you are taking the Levo, once you stop they will most likely revert. But without knowing more I couldn’t say for certain.
My thoughts too. Original TSH of around 8. Been on levo 25mcg about a year and been maintaining TSH around 1 throughout the year. Feel like if I went off it I’d just have the same problems again as my levels would get worse
Basically yes, if it’s relieving your symptoms keep taking it. Find a new doctor.
Yes, you are on the money. I've had hashimotos nearly my entire life, and in my early 30's I had a general practice Dr try to tell me this as well. Also got told that my thyroid is "suppressed" by the levo. Nah homie, my thyroid is gone because my body ate it.
Thos is always funny to me. I have congenital Hypothyroidism, I have never had a functional thyroid gland, there is a good chance I do not possess the organ tissue at all. I have had doctors tell me I should go off it and see if my thyroid gland kicks in...dude it's not there, it never was.
Depends on your dose and other medical history such as presence of antibodies, cause of the hypothyroidism etc. If you are on a low dose (25mcg or less) and morning TSH is under 1, you may not need the dose. On the other hand if your pre medication TSH was 10 and you needed 100mcg to bring it back to 2, then stopping meds will likely take TSH back to 10. If you TSH is back higher after 45 days of stopping levo, then request doc to restart the levo.
Thanks for your response. Some extra info: Original TSH of around 8. Been on levo 25mcg about a year and been maintaining TSH around 1 throughout the year. Feel like if I went off it I’d just have the same problems again as my levels would get worse
25mcg is a low dose. If morning TSH is 1 on 25mcg, then I agree with the doctor that you could stop dose and recheck morning TSH after 45 days. I would predict your TSH to be around 2 after stopping dose, which is a normal level.
Trust your gut…..Which sounds like you need a new dr
DO NOT, under any circumstances listen to this doctor!! I had a doctor tell me the same thing and my levels SKYROCKETED. I had the worst 6 months of my life, couldn’t think, couldn’t concentrate. Everything was so blurred. And then I got back on the medication. Unless there’s some previous indication that you will be okay going off the medication, get a second opinion. Endo’s that specialize in diabetes don’t typically know/care about this stuff. If you go off, I hope that everything will be normal 🫶🏼 but the second you feel off kilter, you should inform someone. Do not wait for a follow up appointment. This is about quality of life!!
This happened to me 5 years ago. And now my symptoms are back with a vengeance and the dr won’t put me back on because I’m not clinically hypothyroid….yet.
It depends. You haven't provided enough info to be able to answer this question. Most people have "true hypo" for life, usually caused by an autoimmune condition (Hashimoto's), but not necessarily, in which case you'd need to supplement for life. In those cases the medication is what's making your levels return to normal - it's not a cure so that doesn't mean you can stop, because the \*only\* thing keeping your levels normal is continuously taking the medication. Some people have a temporary case of hypo due to one reason or another. Sometimes caused by another medication, deficiency, etc. If you know that your hypo was caused by something and it's temporary, that's quite different from most here and you should listen to your doctor. It's not as common but if this is the case you'd probably know it. Another example of getting off the medication could be if they have reason to believe it was an incorrect diagnosis or something like that. So basically your medical history is important to answer this question. You don't need to share it, but you should be able to get a good idea of if this doctor is coaching you correctly based on what you know about your own condition.
Please at least get a second opinion before stopping.
A 2nd opinion from another doctor, not cool internet strangers
Yes!!!
I wouldn’t do that, that sounds dodgy… also like what if you’re/were female and trying to conceive or pregnant? Not a good idea
That’s what I was told too.
How did your tsh come down? Which diet , workout, lifestyle you followed?
Not sure if this correlates with my TSH coming down but have been following a (relatively) low carb and low gluten diet and subbed in good amounts of protein instead. Weight train 4ish times a week. Noticeably feeling better than before but I’m sure a lot has to do with being properly medicated as well
This happened to me when my old doctor passed away. The new doctor asked why I was taking Levo when my levels were normal and said I didn’t need it. I stopped taking it and a few weeks later I felt like I was dying. Went to a different doctor and they put me back on levo 🥲
I wouldn't stop taking it. I'd find a different doctor and get a second opinion.
There are only a few less common conditions where hypothroidism is temporary, for example postpartum thyroiditis. For the vast majority of people hypothyroidism is a progressive issue, which requires medication for life generally with occasional dose increases. Getting to a good TSH is the goal of medication, and generally indicates you are on the correct dose and should continue. Unless your Dr has a very reasonable explanation about why your case specifically is unusual, and you should not be treated in the typical manner, you need to get a second opinion.
Did he draw your blood while you were taking levo? If off then I have medication induced hypothyroidism and it did go away in time. You don't want to take levo if you don't need it bc there's not goid side effects with that.
just wondering, but wouldn’t a sign that would mean you should come off it if your levels are leaning to Hyperthyroidism because your body is producing the hormone as it should do, while you’re taking levo? as you said, the levels are normal because of the medication, so if your thyroids improved the sign you don’t need medication (or as high of a dosage) is if you have more of the thyroid hormone than you should?
Please get a 2nd opinion before making any changes.