Levothyroxine Side Effects (Page 13)

I was recently diagnosed with an underactive thyroid. I have been taking levothyroxine for almost two weeks. For the last four or five days I have had a weird feeling. It is hard to explain. I don't really feel dizzy but I get a strange feeling in my head. I guess you would describe it as a head rush. Has anyone else had this feeling and will it go away as my body adjusts to the levothyroxine?

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I suffer from Arrythmia, Hypertension and prediabitis. Doctor found that my thyroid has a low metabolism and put me on levothyroxine. So far I don't have issues with the drug. I'm also taking METPROLOL SUCC ER 50MG for my hypertension and this week Doctor put me under NORVASC because my Hypertension still a little bit high. Dunno if this drug may increase my arrythmia. I was wondering if someone that has the same conditions has any issues with levothyroxine. Tks.

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I developed a goiter and was very tired all the time. My thyroid would go from slow to fast The dr treated me with radioactive iodine to stop the thyroid from functioning. Then I took Armour which stopped working after awhile, then I was given Synthroid. I was always tired, but the drs said my blood levels were fine and they could not give me a higher dosage as it would be bad for my heart. Finally I found a doctor who said I needed compounded T3. A normal thyroid provides T4 and some of the T4 changes into T3. A person needs both kinds. Levothyroxine makes only T4, but we need both T3 and T4. Now I take the compounded T3 twice a day and a small amount of Levothyroxin and feel better than I've felt for years. I also take kelp for my iodine-dependent thyroid, because the iodine in kelp is good for my thyroid. Since I started taking the kelp, my thyroid must be functioning a little, because I need a smaller dose of thyroid replacement hormone now. When my dose of thyroid hormone needs lowering, I will have high blood pressure and fast pulse. The dr says that is a symptom that the dosage needs lowering. I have Wilson's Syndrome, which means my body wasn't using the Levothyroxine. The medicine was just floatinig around in my blood stream making the blood tests look like I had plenty. The thyroid hormone wasn't getting into my cells though until I started taking the compounded T3. The T3 and the kelp made a big difference in how I feel and the brain fogginess is gone. I hope this helps someone else, too.

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I have just started taking t3 in the last two days as well as my usual t4. Hoping to see the fog lift pretty soon

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SINCE I HAVE BEEN ON THIS STUFF I HAD CURLY HAIR, AND NOW IT IS STRAIGHT AND I AM LOSING IT.

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Hi Scoop

I am 44 & have been on levothyroxin for 10 months, started at 100mcg, then 150mcg & have been on 200mcg for about 4 months. I am also going thru the menopause so I totally understand what you mean. I felt good for aboiut 4 months, not so tired etc but now I feel under the weather constantly, have constant swollen glands, feel tired, am a couch potato etc etc I dont know if some symptoms are the Levothyroxin or the menopause. My Dr keeps giving me antibiotics whenever I see him about stuff.....i also get alot of earache which Ive never had before!!!!!

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try eliminating wheat and gluten from your diet for a week and drink extra water. I had similar problems... turns out it was a gluten sensitivity

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I've been on Levothyroxine since 2 weeks after i was born. My dosage has increased now to 150mcg a day. As an 18 year old, i know i'm different to others as i can feel the cold a lot more, my brain blurs at times. For instance, i can remember what i did this time last year but it would take me a few seconds to think what i ate for tea the following night. Silly isn't it?
My finger nails are quite brittle and my hair does have stages when it falls out.So with that i lay off the straighteners and occasionally use olive oil to strengthen my nails, it really does the trick!!. Best thing i can suggest, is to take your tablets and keep off the stress and drink a lot (but don't over do it) of water !!

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I was on Synthroid for 2-3 years, and with a moderately light diet and 35 mjnutes of exercise (walking) each day, I lost about 40 pounds within 8 months. Then I stopped taking the meds, stopped the exercise, and ate whatever I felt like eating, and 7 years later I've gained all of the weight back. So I started Levothyroxine, the generic for Synthroid, at 88mg, and now I gain weight even faster. On top of that, I now have real dark circles under my eyes, I'm more sensitive to allergies and infections, and just lately, I had to see an eye doctor to clear up shingles around my eyes by using a steroid ointment the Dr prescribed along with prescribed eye drops. The redness itching under and around my eye definitely was not pink eye said the Dr, because my eyeballs were not bloodshot, not even a hint of pink. But, the skin around my eyes was all crusty and itchy like shingles. Well, the meds the eye Dr prescribed cleared up the problem in about 3-4 days. I still take the Levothyroxine, but I'm sure to take it about an hour before I eat any food, and I definitely don't take it with fruit juices. I also now Have to take Allegra for allergic reactions. It's hard not to eat when you crave the food, and I feel so wide awake all the time. Like when it's time to go to bed, I want to start cleaning the house or something. I wake up a lot now during the night, too. And, now my hands go numb more often during the night when I sleep. I am thinking about stopping the meds again, and see what happens. I don't take any other meds so I think I'll be fine. It appears that I can get stressed out easily, so I'll have to document my actions as well.

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I had to tske myself off if because my blood pressure was so high.. blood pressure meds weren't the answer.. my blood pressure was oerfect before.iwas also thirsty, and had alot of anxiety .. but dr says can't be the meducine, even after i proved it to them

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Try to relax people ....i have been on 200mcg of these meds since 1985 and had almost all of the feelings described in these posts. It gets better year by year.
A couple of things i want to throw in the mix.....when i was first diagnosed the Doctor who gave me my first presciption ever instructed me to take 1 x 100mcg tablets twice a day, my fuzzy head was always all over the place, then, a year later a different doctor told me too take both tablets together ( 200mcg) as soon as i got up in the morning..Hey presto!! what a difference.
The other thing i wanted to add which was my decision was to take the tablets with nothing but water, and not just a sip, i mean a full glass. The reason i decided to do this was because somewhere in the depths my of memory, i had recalled someone, somewhere telling somebody to never take medication with anything but good amounts of water and especially not with beverages that where especially milky. This seemed logical to me. Please understand that taking medication other than the dosage states should be discussed with your own GP. We are are not all the same!!.
In the main, most of you will settle down with your medication and wonder what all the fuss was about.
Good health to you all in the future !! and remember if you think all is not how it should be ....tell your GP and keep telling them...It's their job and you right to do so.

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Johnny, I have hypothyroid and take levethroid. I've been taking it since 2005 as it runs in my family. I went to my dr today to discuss my lack of sex drive, weight gain and other symptoms im concerned about. He is requesting more blood tests.

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That is one of the effects that your thyroid is out of range... found a website the other day stopthethyroidmadness.. it lists all rhe sideeffect...

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Hello all. I found out back in June that I have an under active thyroid. I actually found this out first my my financees mom who had done iridology (reading of the eyes) and told me exactly that, and that my body was overworked with stress, ph in body not balamced. And the list goes on. Anyway, I started taking supplements because I do not like taking medications. I was starting to feel better somewhat.. however, I then felt really ill and decided to Get blood work, and they told me exactly what I already knew.. under active thyroid. Of course they wanted me to go on medication, which I have yet to call them back to tell them that I am not. So I have been taking supplements since , however I do see that it gets worse after my period so I have added iron to my supplements. Now, things have changed, and I feel it has gotten worse .. I started feeling really depressed lately, fatigue and just no desire to do anything. I decided to get checked out again by my fiance mom. She did her iridology thing and said some organs are healing and cleansing for to supplements I am taking but she still sees to much stress, ph not balanced, nervous system overworked..
Since my ph is not balanced, meaning to much acid in my body, my body can but absorb theses supplements I am taking like my body should be. Therefore, I am now on a strict diet, plus taking my supplements.. she also ordered a supplement called laminine, which is suppose to help with a lot. Only time will tell. I wanted to share my story because there are other optins.. I have yet to feel my normal self but I have hope and prayer that this will work.. medication is definitely my last resort. P.s I'm sure I have tons of misspelled works or in correct grammar.. I wrote this on my phone and really quickly:)

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Taking T3 helped me get more energy, but when I started taking kelp, my brain fogginess disappeared. The kelp supplies the iodine that the thyroid needs.

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I'm a 56 year old female and I started Levothyroxine in November 2011, 25 mcg. I was retested in late January and was told I had to increase the dosage to 50 mcg. After about 2 weeks on this new dosage I have noticed that I just don't feel right; I felt better at the lower dosage. For a few days now, I've noticed a tight feeling in the chest. I mentioned this to the doctor and she said I needed to alternate the dosage; 25 mcg. one day, 50 mcg. the next day. Even though today was the first day of the lower dosage, I still feel the tightness in the chest. Is this something I should be worried about?

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Louise, I bought sea kelp and mentioned it to my dr and he advised me not to start the herb due to not being prescribed by him and not advised..

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Dal, It takes time to adjust to thyroxine so your doctor is right ...take it slowly.. It's also useful to know that it takes about 6 weeks for thyroxine to get to the maximum provided by your dose. If you felt fine on 25mcgs but need to take more...go back to 25mcgs until you feel better again (remember this could take up to 6 weeks but probably wont) Then start to take the higher dose say once or twice a week for a month...if you feel fine after that increase it a little maybe a day a week at a time, if you feel weird slow it down a bit.... It's taken me 19months to get to 100mgs a day because it upset my heart rhythm and made me feel odd but I can truely say my patience has paid off. I feel so much better than I did, my skin is less dry, my hair is thicker, my libido has been reinvented. I need to increase the dose again now so I will introduce it one day a week and slowly work up so I don't get any adverse side effects. Stick with it but go slow.

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Johnny, I am sorry that your doctor is not aware of the benefits of kelp. My doctor prescribed it for me and said that all his thyroid patients really benefit from taking it. The thyroid needs iodine for health. Kelp supplies the needed iodine, especially in the Midwest, where iodine is lacking in our environment.

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PJ,
So I shouldn't worry about the tightness in the chest? I'd better check with the doctor before slowly increasing the meds; she was specific about alternating days right away. I'm wondering if taking my Nexium at the same time as the Levothyroxine is a bad idea; just wondering if the chest tightness is really my Nexium NOT working.

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Hi Dal, You should always consult your doctor about health concerns or changing medication. Unfortunately mine is less than useful and it is only now he appreciates that I needed to slow things down rather than take heart meds but at least he acknowledges this and is willing to try..... Back to you The other drug you are taking is a PPI which decreases your stomach acid. A frequent side effect of taking thyroxine is a sudden increase in stomach acid for the first few weeks (It's the stomach cells suddenly being able to go crazy due to the presence of thyroxine...it's the same sort of thing that happened with my heart) It can cause raging indigestion or even a weird burning feeling so to take it for a few weeks makes sense (after that it will have settled down so you wont need it). The best bit of advice I was given was to expect to feel better in months (18 months was mentioned!) rather than days or weeks....and yes recently I have started to take a kelp supplement. I left it til now because I only wanted to change one thing at a time and I knew I needed to get more thyroxine into my system. I may have been right or It may have been best to do it earlier..I really don't know. Good Luck

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