Q: I am a 28 years old woman having high TSH level – 250. My height is 5.3 feet and weight is 42 kg. The doctor prescribed Thyronorm 50 mg for 15 days and 100 mg afterwards. My case is of hyperthyroidism and I understand that Thyronorm is taken in case of hypothyroidism. Am I taking the correct medicine? Is it curable?

A:You have hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) not hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid). TSH is high in hypothyroidism. You have been appropriately started on thyroid hormone replacement therapy, but the dose will need to be adjusted. You should take this thyroid medication regularly and your doctor should repeat the thyroid function tests (TSH and T4 in 6 weeks). Based on TSH levels your doctor can further adjust the dose of thyroid hormone till TSH is normal. Thyroid tests should be done no earlier than 6 weeks for dose adjustments.

Hypothyroidism is a long-term condition and does not go away in majority of patients, but if it is adequately treated by thyroid hormone replacement, it does not have any long-term complications.