It's normal (and prudent ) to start at a very low dose then gradually increase until blood tests are within the desired range AND you're relatively symptom free. The reason it's done this way is because there could be side effects, especially racing heartbeat and increased blood pressure. If you've been low thyroid for a long time ... and most of us are that way for many months, possibly years before it gets diagnosed .. you don't want to suddently blast in the full dose of hormone.

What constitutes "the right dose" is highly individual .. some will require more, some less. And as noted in my previous post here, there are many reasons why our individual needs can vary too during different points in our lives. Other hormones have a big impact on thyroid function .. if you're perimenopause or menopausal, that can have an effect on the thyroid.

It's possible too, that you need to add some T3 hormone for optimal levels. Synthroid and levothyroxine only contain the T4 hormone. There's more information about T3 hormone here, so you might want to talk to your dr. about that.

hth,

Doreen