Jacqui's story

'I had never heard about the thyroxine dose often needing to be reduced after menopause.'

I'm 62 and went through the menopause in my early fifties.

I had been on the same dose of thyroxine since my thirties, 100mcg per day.

I had suffered from hot flushes and sweating for about eight years and just assumed it was menopause. Last summer was particularly bad in the warm weather. I got so sweaty if I exerted myself at all. It was embarrassing to be so sweaty in public, having to mop my face. Even just sitting and having a meal was embarrassing with a sweaty face.

I contacted my GP and she reduced my dose of thyroxine to 75mcg per day. What a change this has made! I still have a few hot flushes in the evenings but the sweating is nowhere near as bad as before. I had never heard about the thyroxine dose needing to be reduced after menopause. I had always assumed the dosage only ever needed to be increased, not reduced!

Women should be made more aware of this. It's hard to find anything about this on the internet.

BTF comment

Jacqui’s story sadly reflects that women and some healthcare professionals need to be made more aware that postmenopausal women, and indeed women taking oral HRT, often require a change of thyroxine dose.

Declining oestrogen levels during and post menopause may require some women to have their thyroxine dose reduced.

Women taking oral HRT, on the other hand, may require their thyroxine dose to be increased. This is because oral oestrogen changes the amount of thyroxine bound to proteins in the blood and can result in less free thyroid hormone being available to do its job. Therefore it is helpful for thyroid function to be re-checked after starting tablet-combined HRT.

When oestrogen is given through the skin by gel, spray or patch, the dose of thyroxine should not be affected. Progesterone in HRT is not expected to significantly impact thyroid replacement doses.

Read more about thyroid and menopause

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