Levothyroxine Is Satan

I don't feel so confused anymore. Now I know all of you are going through the same thing. My doctor put me on 50mcg of Levothyroxine about a month ago and I have gain 8 pounds! I get short-breathed and winded REALLY easily when working out. I used to go to the gym for 2 hours, now I can't make it longer than 30 minutes. I wake up ALL the time with tingly fingers because my hands have fallen asleep. I have headaches, I feel 100 times more lazy than before...and it's supposed to help your energy, not drain it. I e-mailed my doctor today, this is not making me happy. Not to mention I now have an acne type rash that burns like hell on my chin and I've always had clear skin. If this drug is supposed to make you feel better it sure as sh*t isn't working for me. I feel like a fat lazy a$$ with an itchhy burning rash on my face... stay away from this drug, that's my suggestion. :(

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I hear you. I have gained 15 pounds in two months and I am only on 25 mcg. I wake up two and three times during the night. Otherwise I am OK, I think?????

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That's no good :( I am sorry to hear that. I think I gained so much because it made me hungry allll the time. I just stopped taking it on Friday. I already feel way better. The meds just aren't right for me. My doctor told me to come back in January for more labs to see if I even need to be on medication.

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omgosh me too! i just started taking the same thing one week ago and i have never had acne and i have nasty red chin pimples and i think im gaining weight! i feel worse and short of breath. did u find anything else out now that u have talked to your doctor?

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Most of these are normal side effects to using this class of medications, there are many complaints about them on here. Not everyone experiences them, but there are fairly common.

HOWEVER the shortness of breath and difficulty breathing COULD BE AN ALLERGIC REACTION and you should stop using the medication and speak to your doctor IMMEDIATELY!

You can read more on it here:

https:/­/­rxchat.com/­wiki/­Levothyroxine/­

Are there any other questions?

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OMG! I just thought it was me...I feel better, no weight gain, but I have these nasty pimples all over my chin and around the right side of my mouth. I hate it....will it go away with time? I've been taking this for 6 weeks and I don't go back to the doctor for 6 more weeks

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Hi guys, sorry it took so long to get back to you. That's so crazy that I am not the only one that got the pumply things!! I got off it a while back now when I said I was because my doctor said I was just borderline hypo and that i could stop taking it... the pimples seem to still go away and then come back... it's weird!! Did this medication give me a permanent defect?? Let's hope not... :( I still seem to be gaining a lot of weight... maybe my hypothyroidism has gotten worse, not sure.. my doc said to come back for a retest in January. I'd suggest stop taking it or ask your doctor to give u a diff thyroid medication.

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So now I have been taking levo for about a month and I feel better and im not short of breath anymore, but I still keep getting wierd episodes of chin acne and they hurt! It went away for a couple weeks and now its back. I hope this will stop because I work at a makeup counter and the acne makes the products look bad.

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Not sure what to tell you... It's still happening to me even now that I've stopped taking the medicine.. they do hurt.. I stopped working out because when I sweat they burn a lot... it's really annoying. I need to see a dermatologist now I guess.

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Hello,
I was wondering if you guys could help. I am looking up acne with levothyroxine becausse since going up on my dose I am getting horrible acne, this is the wierd part, I only get it on like my jaw line though. It is both sides but like on my jaw and where your jaw meets your neck. I have not had acne for well over 10 years. It is really bothering me. I am having just a horrible time with levothyroxine and even went to synthroid for a while to see if it helped and it didnt. I feel great for the first couple of days of taking it then it slowly wears off and i am back to being tired. But the acne is just killing me. I work with the humane officers so my appearance is important to me. are any of you having any of this?

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Hey Michele... I still get the chin pimples and I was so excited the first couple weeks because I felt so much better and never tired but it seems to have worn off now. I also just got a second blood test and my TSh levels are supposedly back to normal now... from 39.42 to 4.6 so I dont know what to do now. I want a higher dose but I guess Im cured already. Its frusterating!

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OMG! For all of you that have only been on levathyroxine for a year or less and have gained weight - be warned! It does not stop!! In 3 years, I have gained 35 pounds. My doctor says this is because of a hysterectormy 4 years ago. But truly, I have spent 2 hours per day in the gym lifting and doing cardio, then come home completely exhausted. I am in the process of seeing how to get off of this drug safely. My previously athletic figure looks more like a jellybean now, and I cannot stand it. So, thanks to all of you who have reaffirmed that this problem is common. You are not alone!!

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Hello you guys I am 21 years old and I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism last summer and somehow I went from hyper to hypo.. at the time I was taking methimazole and it caused me to gain 40 of the 57 lbs I had lost previously to becoming sick in 3 months. Literally I went from a size 14/15 to an 8/9 but it was sick or unhealthy weight that came off and as I said before I gained 40 lbs of it back in 3 months. So I noticed a change in my symptoms; I became slugglish and tired and it seemed I gained weight even if I didnt really eat, and to be honest I even fasted for a couple of days but I still took my meds but I still gained weight. So I begged my doctor to take me off of that medicine methimazole and she said that I had the symptoms of hypothyroid, so she did blood test and the results confimed I had went from hyper to hypo. So next she instructed me to quit taking methimazole and take levothyroxine. So I have been on Levothyroxine for 3 months now and surprising mainted my weight, but I have lost inches rather than weight which is even better. My friends immediately noticed a difference in my weight and many have told me that I look as though I have lost some weight. But to sum it all up I am glad that Levo is working but I have broken out in my chin area with blemishes and red bumps and its very frustrating to even have to be sick, but everything happens for a reason. So basically this whole process has been frustrating and I wanted to know if there is any acne meds that I can use to help clear up my face, if so your response would greatly appreciated.

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Jennyb - That is so horrible I am so sorry you had to go through all of that!! I am glad things are looking up for you though. I know ho frustrating those chin bumps can be.. I wish I could give you advice as to what to take but I had to stop taking levo to get them to go away :( Have you asked your doctor? If he says they're not from the levo tell him you know other people who have the same symptoms and you want something done about it.. I think there are other drugs for hypothyroidism you could try... maybe ask about those. I have a friend that has acne and uses proactive but I do not know if it would work on those bumps, I never tried it. I was borderline hypo so my doc just said stop taking it... im scared to go back now, ive been dieting and exercising daily to try and solve all my problems without meds, haha... good luck in your search though!! I hope everything works out for you!! I know how frustrating all this can be! hang in there :)

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I feel for all of you. When I first started taking levo, I had the acne too and can gain and lose 5 pounds a week, was diagnosed hypo, and didn't care for the side effects. Now 5 years later, I'm at 175 mcg a day, diag'd with Hashimoto's Disease, and am fine with the minor weight problems. My energy levels are fine now, and acne's not a problem. I think once the body feels semi-normal things even out, though I hope y'all find whatever you need to get through to it. I'm happy I know what i'm dealing with for life and not sure I'd want to know how I'd be doing if I hadn't found out and gotten on the drug.

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diagnosed 6 wks. ago given levothyroxine TSH was 6.7 Free T4-was 0.93 . Now 6 weeks later repeated blood test, think doctors a little off as the TSH came back at 1.34 and the T-4 l.l notice the first test being Free T-4 repeated he did a T-4 never a T-3, changing doctors needless to say. I don't have acne maybe cause I'm 69 but I can barely walk pain in feet and legs, soles of feet burning like walking on coals, look 8 months pregnant also was 120 or under all my life now 152 most days if I starve and just drink water and a can of string beans I might see 149 big whoop. Can't breathe always out of puff, might be elderly but I'm a feisty dancing fool ride bikes DID before levo that is, and take my grands and greats wading in the river on tubes now thanks DOC. can't even hardly walk, can't tie shoes so fat only 5 feet and I just want to stay inside. My family 5 kilds are nasty EXERCISE AND STOP EATING JUNK ,,,,,,,,EXCUSE ME I am the one person who cooks healthy fresh food not restaurants and mickey d crap like the young ones of today so that don't wash, when I say me feet hurt and I can't walk the boardwalk in AC I MEAN IT THE PAINS TOO MUCH I need to lose weight whatever but these pills they said once start YOU CAN NEVER STOP WELL GUESS WHAT AT MY AGE AS GOD IS MY WITNESS I am stopping in the a.m of May 2010 at my age I'll survive with a rotten thyroid or die, and I'll only die if my number is called not because I didn't listen to doc. know it all who apparently knows nothing not even the correct tests to give before shoveling out meds,,,,,,,,,,,,, and I'm ashamed to admit this but it might help others I am a licensed retired nurse who should know better, but one day I got a call telling me to go to pharmacy that my levels for thyroid were out of whack and I needed synthroid,,,,,,,,,,,,,so wish me luck.

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Been taking levo, Med 25, mcg for bout a year 1/2. I went from 180 to 217 and still climbing. I was walk and exercise daily. Some days my vision. Is blurry and other days it isn't, because of trying to wing myself off(splitting the pill)doc said it wasn't the levo!I think is was. recently, went to doc and he told me to stop taking them completely because the dose is so low. But when I researched the drug, the info stated that this drug affects your heart, and just taking them can cause problems! Wtf! So I am beginning to wing myself off again, ill see what happens.......help

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I've been on 50mcg Levothyroxine for 1 1/2 weeks now and so far I am not not noticing a big difference in how I feel except for that I can go longer periods of time without eating now. Before taking this, if I skipped breakfast I would be dragging and shaking before lunchtime but now I'm not like that. I've also had acne all my life and right now my skin is the clearest it's ever been. Not sure if this is due to the meds but I haven't done anything else differently. I'm still feeling tired and drained for no reason a lot and I always want to take a nap. Fingers crossed the levo will correct this. I wonder how long it takes...

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I have been taking Lev for 3 months now. This is my second try at this. I took myself off of it the first time and my doctor fussed at me. One month after begining Lev I began to feel terrible. I have a constent headache. At night I do not sleep. I get cramps all over my body in places I did not even know you could cramp. I get cramps in my back, in my throat, in the middle of my hands and in my fingers, and the worst is when my toes fold under and my ankles twist in. The cramps usally happen in the middle of the night. I am very agressive all the time which is not my nature. My hair and skin are dry and I just feel miserble. I also have gains 18 pounds. Is this all side effects??? It seems like more harm than good. I have tried to research the ingridents of Thyroid medication but I am getting no where.

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i am 39 yr old female an about 4 weeks ago i was also put on this med,i am barely 5 ft tall i weighed 108 when i started this mdication,i now weigh 112,iv been told there will no wieght gain after its under control an that my pain management dr was surprised i hadnt gained more yet,but when i talked to the pharmacy they said no weight gain,iv googled it an have got both answers,both weight gain an weight loss,so which is it? i have noticed since iv been on this my weight gain has slowed down but i am watching what i am eating an im always hungry as hell....also i havent gotten the red itchy rash im hoping 2 avoid that but my skin feels raw,like i have a sun burn,more so on only my face.... can anybody help me these questions an concerns,,,,weight gain or weight loss?does my skin feel burnt from this medacine or is it just somthing else,,,i have not been in the sun somthing i used 2 love now i can no longer stand the heat :(

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I have been on levothyroxine for about 20 years and in that time I have gained over 100lbs in weight to my already 140lb frame at the time. I would eat all the time because I was constantly hungry. I stopped taking this poison a few weeks ago, I have lost interest in food and well in everything really but I am going to persevere without it because despite my Doctor warning me I will be doing lasting damage, I feel that I have gained some modicum of control back. I no longer crave food and despite being tired more often I feel that in the long term the benefits will outweigh the disadvantages.

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I stopped it on my own after reading the side effects that many people were having. It was causing me more harm than good.

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Patricia, did your doctor take you off the med or did you stop it on your own?

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Update, I have been off the Levothyroxine for over a month and I feel great. I am actually losing weight, down to 121 now. I have no vertigo and no pain. I started to take multivitamins and drink protein shakes to keep me full for much of the day.

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I really can not understand why I'm on levothyroxine. I did have a lot of mixed symptoms. I also have fibromyalgia and degenerative disc and joint disease. In 2015 my tsh was 3.2 my tpo antibodies is 5ku/L...my t3 / t4 is normal. I suffer with fatigue and insomnia too but that could have something to do with my chronic pain. Cut a long story short, since taking levo my liver enzymes went up to 96........inflammation ...lymphocytes. So once I had the test results through I went on a 8 week stop of levo.
All results came back normal and my tsh was 1.2, no trace of tpo antibodies, so I stayed off levothyroxine..... Still not gone back on it... I have also lost 14lbs in weight...so I'm not taking any thyroid medication again.

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Has anyone experienced headaches or dizziness? I've recently started experiencing headaches and blurred vision and noticed that is on the list of side effects. I'm on 50mcg, and have been for approx 6 months. I want off this horrible medication! If I have to remain on it, I'd like to try the Armour but it's too expensive.

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I've been on Levothyroxine .75 mcg for about 2 years now. I am borderline hypothyroidism. I really hate the side effects. I have severe pain throughout my body, I can barely sleep during the night hours, I end up sleeping during the day. Before this medicine I had tons of energy and now barely any. I could go to bed around 12 am and wake up at 7 am refreshed and ready to take on the day, now go to bed if I can by 3 am and wake up around 7 am take the kid to school and crash almost all day long until I have to pick her up. I could drive my car without any pain while driving except during the cold days of the year, now in constant pain when I walk or drive. I can't lose weight. I've been trying to get down to a healthy 105 pounds from my current weight of 123-127 pounds ( I'm only 5 feet tall, so 105 is considered a healthy weight with 20% BMI which was normal for me). I used to control my body temp, now body is always freezing cold and my head is hot at the same time. I used to not get vertigo, but now I do. I really think this medicine is not helping me at all. I really think that I should quit taking this medication to see if it is the problem with my health. I really don't want to get a Permanent Handicapped Placard before I turn 40.

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Hi all, I also struggled with all sorts of symptoms for the past 8 years. I will share some things that helped me get almost back to normal in hope to save everyone else the pain.

I had my thyroid removed and now I am on 150mcg levothyroxine. I had side effects like:
- anxiety & panic attacks
- easy to get tired
- trouble sleeping
- muscle cramps
- joint pain
- inflammation
- mood swings
- depression

Doctors were for the most part ignorant as long as the blood tests were fine. I did complete blood work (not only thyroid) and looked perfect but I was feeling like crap. I tried myself multiple things to improve my life quality and the things that worked are:

1. Try different brands of hormones, even though all have levothyroxine, the body reacts differently to each one. The best I found for me is Levothyrox [Image]. At first I was on Euthyrox and it was completely bad. This helped improve things by 20%

2. Split the dose during the day. I take 150 as 25 in the morning, 50 before lunch, 50 before dinner, 25 before sleep. Also at lunch I take it with a complex supplement of magnesium, calcium, D3, B6. This helped improve things by 20%

3. Exercise to burn all the extra adrenaline. Gym, sports & jogging work very well, yoga also helps, but better to have action exercises. This helped improve things by 20%

4. Eat properly. I gave up all animal protein a couple of months ago and that has been going very well so far. No refined sugar, less salt, no dairy, no junk/fried food, no alcohol is a must. Meat I choose to gave up for moral reasons but try to reduce at least. Plant-based food is what I eat (fruits, legumes, veggies, smoothies, juices, grains, seeds). There are plenty of resources online for plant-based cooking recipes. This helped improve things by 20%

5. Try to get good sleep. For me, the sleep quality decreased on this medication. Get a quiet, dark room, try some stretching before sleep. Use plant-based tea/drinks to help you get deep sleep. I also use an anti-inflammatory cream for some muscles that ache. This helped improve things by 20%

Good luck and I hope my experience is helpful.

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I did not know this thank you for the information I've been taking my meds every morning with coffee and with my vitamins too and my thyroid has now morph into full-blown Hashimoto's and I'm sick as a dog and gained 65 pounds so they change my meds to Armour Thyroid just yesterday cuz I cannot get out of bed hopefully it works but thanks for the information

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I detest the thyroid meds. I cant get Armour a natural one. I think ill find a thyroid specilist too.

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I have gained 50 lbs this past year. I overall feel horrible, I've been on levothyroxine for about a year and a half... I stopped it today, cold turkey! My blood work, so my Doctor said, was 'borderline' hypothyroid. That was 2 yrs ago... 'borderline'...this is bulls***. I never should of agreed to start this medication before seeing a specialist for thyroid disease. I made an appt. to see my doctor next week and will ask for a referral, BUT WILL NEVER GO BACK ON SYNTHROID! The other MAJOR side effect I experienced is upper body INTENSE HEAT, and my cheeks are always red and burning. My face is so bloated it hurts, my neck also! We know our bodies better than anyone!

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