Seven Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Hypothyroidism

What thyroid hormone replacement have you prescribed for me?

Since you probably can't read the writing, you'll need to ask! The issue here is, brand name or generic, and if a brand name, did your doctor specify "no generic substitutions." Brand name thyroid hormone replacement (i.e., Levoxyl, Levothroid, Synthroid for the synthetic T4-only drugs, or Thyrolar and Armour for the T3/T4 drugs), are considered reliable. Generics can be erratic, and should be avoided for new prescriptions. (Of course, if you're on a generic and doing fine, don't worry about it!)

How quickly can we expect my TSH to return to normal, given the dosage you've prescribed?

What you want to know here, is, is your doctor giving you a teeny bit of thyroid replacement, and intending to see what happens very very slowly, or is he/she going to get you into the normal range as fast as possible. There are reasons for taking both approaches, but it's important to know. Some doctors will put you on a tiny dose, then tell you you'll feel better in two weeks. When two weeks come and go, and you don't feel better, you think something's wrong with YOU. HAH! My doctor put me on a middle-level dose, but told me that it takes a while to get hypothyroid, it takes a while to get back to normal. She said around four months till I'd feel close to normal after starting the thyroid drugs, and she was right.