Does Levothyroxine Cause Acne (Page 3)

I have been taking 25mcg for about 6 weeks and feel much better, no weight loss, but no gain. I have developed acne on my chin and around the right side of my mouth...is this a side effect? Anyone else had this happen?

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Yes, you can be sure it is the medicine. My doctor told me that it is the filler that certain companies put into it and not the medication itself. I had a horrific outbreak (I'm 53) across my forehead, near the nose and chin, looked so bad it was like a rash. I stopped taking the Levothyroxcin and it cleared up, though I have scars on my forehead. My doctor switched me to Armor thyroid med, no side effects at all. Good luck!

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I have never ever gotten any acne and although I'm only 19 I'd say that I am a rare case as such. However, after starting on levothyroxine three months ago my skin has severely worsened and the zits are rather painful as well which my friends say is not normal. But, this only began about a month ago when I stopped waking up an hour earlier to take the pill, and sometimes took two the next day to compensate for forgetting the day before that. If you don't follow the instructions and take it at the right time one dosage at a time, I think those irregularities cause this.

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I take levorhyroxine 3 times a week only And i still get cystic acne on my forehead and chin. The medication is causing the acne problem but the pharmaceutical company won't accept the faulty. You shouldn't take the medication twice in one day, if you forgot the day before. You can cause you hypothyroidism to become hyperthyroidism.

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I've been taking levothyroxine for years and have minor acne problems but have always had some sort of issue since I was a teen (I'm in my late 20's). Maybe it's because I've been on this med for years? Anyways, 6 weeks ago a pharmacy mistakenly increased my dose 1.5X and I've been breaking out like crazy for the past 4-6 weeks and my face has never been so oily. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one and hopefully it'll go away once my dose is corrected. FWIW, my original does is 100 micrograms.

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Yes I have acne in the same places on my face and I am on 150mcg of the samething, and I have been on it for years and it just started happening to me the last month and I have tried everything, If i find out anything or you do let me know and I will let you know.

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The docs ared obviously protecting the drug companies and trying not to scare us but levothyroxine DOES cause acne i developed raging acne a week after taking it...i wouldnt mind but the spots are huge puss filled monsters and believe me i have never suffered acne not even in my teens. i look awful and feel embarressed. everyone keeps asking me what has made my face break out so badly..... any tips anyone?.

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From what my doctor told me, it is not the levothyroxine that causes the acne, but the filler in the medicine that makes the pill large enough to ingest. The medicine itself is so minute that the drug companies must add things to make the pill itself. I never had acne in my life, and as a 53-year old woman, I immediately developed it after taking this medication. It got so bad, it looked like a rash on my forehead and around my mouth, chin, and nose. I went off it and am taking Armour instead, and the acne disappeared completely (though I do have a few scars on my forehead). My advice - get off it now, and switch to Armour!

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I have been taking Levothyroxine for almost 6 months and have been experiencing breakouts. I asked my doctor if it was associated with the medication she told me no. I've experienced groups of pimples what looks like a rash on my forehead and cheeks, but worst of all painful pimples under the skin above my mouth and on my chin. I don't want to have to take another medication to prevent the side effects of this medication....this is ridiculous! THANK YOU TO ALL WHO POST NOW I KNOW I'M NOT CRAZY AND THAT IT IS THE MEDICATION. I may have to tell my M.D. to review the response of everyone else's before she tells her patients its not a side effect. Also ask her to change my meds.

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I have also started the 125mcg of levothyroxine about 5 weeks ago and that was after taking the 137 mcg in june of this year, since my dose was lowered i have gotten a horrible case of acne that my doctor is saying has nothing to do with this medicine. It is the only medicine that i am currently taking so this must be the culprit. I am in my mid thirties and even as a teenager didn't get acne this bad.

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Yes, I have been taking it for 3 years and just last spring my dose was increased and I have had painful acne on my face around my mouth. I have gone in twice to ask my doctor and she said NO. I forget my meds on a week vacation and within 4 days the acne was gone until I came back within 3 days the acne was back....I am going to talk to my doctor again.

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I know this post is late but I always had clear skin my whole life UNTIL I went from 50mcg to 75mcg of my levothyroxine and its progressively worse with each dose increase. finally after breaking down and crying in my doctors office, he switched me to synthroid brand name only and in one week 75% of the acne is gone! im going back and he is going to give me an abx to kill the bacteria trapped under my skin, as i still have a few medium size painful cysts. But i wll never go generic again, ive been suffering for 6 months and spent Hundreds of dollars on acne treatments, washes, etc

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Hi folks, I am a doctor aged 36 on thyroxine treatment myself. I have noticed that within 2 weeks of starting thyroxine courses I develop facial acne. They subside once I stop the treatment. I did not have this problem when I was using the Eltroxin brand of thyroxine. I would advise trying to stagger the dose throughout the day or even lower the dose and the check your TFTs again after 3 weeks, and if that fails try to ask for a different brand name and see if that helps.

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I have been on 50mg Levothyroxine for about 9mo. I started noticing little bumps developing on my face (cheeks and forehead) about a month into taking the medication. At the same time, the facial cleanser I was using was discontinued and changed. I thought it was the cleanser that mine had been replaced with. It sounds like it's the medication. I'm tempted to half my dosage as an experiment to see if there is any change. Will be seeing my doctor in 2 weeks anyway.

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To my post above. I'm on 50mcg, not 50mg. I am 59 years old, and this is ridiculous.

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My doctor prescribed me levothyroxine and after a week or two of 25mcg I was breaking out worse than I EVER had in my life. The doctor insisted it wasn't the drug, but I had them write me a script for Synthroid (the non-generic) and it hasn't been an issue ever since. Now I'm on 100mcg and I occasionally breakout, but nothing out of the ordinary. If I use my proactiv everyday, my face stays almost 100% clear. If I could post a picture of my face while taking levothyroxine I would! It almost looked like a rash the pimples were so small and plentiful. My forehead looked awful and I had pimples around my mouth I've never had before. Try switching to Synthroid. It did wonders for me!

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I am so glad I found this information! I have been taking thyroid medication - levothyroxine since I was in grade school! I'm currently on 125 mcg. I have suffered from acne since high school, but the last few years have been horrible!! I am soon to be 29 years old and am sooo embarrassed of my skin! I have spent hundreds of dollars on washes, treatments, and acne devices that claim to be the answer with not a lot of luck. I was taking birth control pills for years but stopped taking them about 8 months ago or so because I thought they were causing some problems. I really hope that by switching the brand of my medication it will help with my acne.

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Have been on levothyroxin for a few years. 50mcg. Last year and a half I have had a rash on my butt and itching both there and different parts of the body. I have tried to go through the list of possibilities and decided to check "testimonials" of levo...was surprised to read about the acne problems. Has anyone else experienced "butt rash" and itching?

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I started levothyroxine on Sept 4th, 2013. (025). I started getting acne, painful cysts that don't break, all around my chin and mouth area, and could not figure out what was happening. I would use salicylic pads, and benzoyl peroxide and when three of them were starting to heal another three would pop up somewhere else. It has left scars. I am 63 and have ALWAYS had marvelous looking skin which I take care of. So this was a shock to me. I also had blurry vision and a stye on my right eye which my ophthalmologist says came from the medicine disrupting my oil glands all over. I was going to switch to Synthroid but saw that many patients got this also from that. So I just stopped the medicine altogether on Oct 30th and all my symptoms, the acne and the blurry vision have stopped. I am getting bloodwork done again to see what we can do to resolve this. I still have scars from the acne!!!

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It has to be! I was on the the generic brand and it didn't work for me. They bumped me up to the name brand and since then I've had severe acne, mainly on my chin, and behind my ear and get this, on my stomach! They even had to put me on doxycycline because the acne in my hair (Behind my ear) got infected and inflamed the glands behind my ear.

I was on the highest dose (200 mcg of levothyroxine and NEVER had a problem) I got moved to 200 mcg of Synthroid and I'm breaking out all over!)

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Wow! Very glad I read this thread. I have been on Levothyroxine for the past 5 years with worsening acne on my chin, around my lips and on my forehead. It is cyst-like and painful. I have always had good skin and this acne is worse than I have ever had. I am 41 so this seems ridiculous to me to have an acne problem this bad now. In an attempt to figure out what is going on I had my hormone levels checked with no unusual imbalances. I changed birth control to low hormone and even put a filter on my shower head to get rid of chlorine in case that was causing the problem. I have changed how much sugar I take in as well but nothing has worked. It occurred to me that the acne started when I started the Levo. I am subclinical so I don't really need to be on it so after reading this thread I think it's definitely time to switch or just stop taking the stuff. Thank you all for posting your experiences! I am certain you have helped my situation.

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