Levothyroxine Side Effects (Page 3) (Top voted first)

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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my pharmactist changed my thyroid pills because my insurance doesn't cover my other ones. I am cold all the time again and i am dizzy. I came home from work today because I can't handle it. I am going to the doctor today

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My hypothyroidism began while I was in utero. My parents were very young, and didn't notice something was wrong until they saw how very short I was. I was almost 7 years behind in bone growth before my condition was figured out. I used to describe the feeling I had as the squishy crunchies.

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has anyone seen their liver funtion affected as a result of this medicine. My liver funciton was always fine until I started taking this med. Now they keep asking me if I am an alcoholic and to not drink anythink for 4 months. I never had any issues prior to taking this.

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I have taken Levothyroxine for about 7 months and I stopped taking it. I started to feel pain in my tendons and aches like when I stood on my feet, my feet would hurt for a few minutes. I also felt numbness in my hands. I feel better off of it and I am going to wait a couple of months and go and get a blood test and see if my thyroid is OK without it. I also heard taking vitamins can cause low thyroid readings too, which I took, so I am going off those as well, and then get the test. My Mom is on Levo too, for many years, and has trouble remembering things. She attributes it to taking Levo, but it could be her thyroid, since it can affect memory. Anyone else having memory trouble since taking Levothyroxine? Good Luck to all on it. Oh, I was told losing weight can cause your thyroid to function better too.

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I just got diagnosed and from reading all of your comments I am afraid as Hell to take this medicine I hope it works for me because if I feel like this I am not taking this s*** anymore that is a bad reaction

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Im glad this site exists. My daughter was diagnosis of hypothyroidism and is taking Levothyroxine now, she is 13yrs old. I wondered if anyone has experienced hair loss or damage since tahing the medication?

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I took Levothyroxine for two months because the pharmacies were out of Armor. I had terrible charley horses and leg cramps every night. I have also lost a significant amount of hair and continue to lose it although I have been back on the Armor for a month. I don't know why anyone would willingly take this drug.

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To anyone taking synthethic thyroid medication (i.e. Levothyronine, Synthroid): the following info may change your life. Try natural (plant-based) bioidentical thyroid replacement. I have hypothyroidism and have been taking T3 Triiodoliothyronine (plant-based) for a year. If you live in Southern California, look up the Holtorf Medical Group in Torrance or Whitaker Wellness Center in Newport Beach. If you can, schedule an appointment (ask re:insurance coverage first). Also, read Suzanne Somers' book,Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones. It will change your life! If you don't live in SoCal, call Whitaker Wellness and/or Holtorf Medical and see if they refer you to somewhere to go outside California for bioidentical hormone replacement. If I can help at least one person with this info, it's very much worth it to me posting this :)

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I was feeling great and my primary doctor put me on levothroxine. Ater two weeks I began to feel very bloated and pressure under my right rib and center ab. I told my doctor and she said that it wouldn't cause those symptoms so I continued to take it and began feeling depressed, so called foggy, mood swings and the pressure under my ribcage got a lot worse. I took myself off and after two weeks feel myself again, but still have bloating and some pressure under my right ribcage. I'm seeing another doctor next week and will take it from there.

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I unfortunatley have side effects you guys have too. I've only been on this two weeks. My question is if you don't take these meds what's the major repercussions that any of you have incurred?

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Marie, I don't even have a lot of anxiety generally and on this medication, I was in complete panic (first, I didn't suspect the meds, since the doctors told me that they don't have any side effects). I saw my endocrinologist and told him how I had horrible palpitations and woke up breathless in the middle of the night (this was SCARY!), that an EKG was done, etc. He was looking at me suspiciously and asked whether I felt anxiety about taking the medication so that THAT caused my heart to pound like a drum section. I politely asked if it is so impossible to have these side effects from the drug. Well, he said, in his 30-year career he saw maybe two people who reacted to the medication, so it is extremely rare. After prescribing 75 mg, then 25 mg, then 12.5 mg (told me to break it), now it's 12.5 mg every other day... I don't want to do this. I felt better while on nothing, honestly. They explained to me how underactive thyroid is very bad for me. Well, waking up breathless in the middle of the night, BAD palpitations, insomnia and panic felt even worse.

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I was just diagnosed with hypo thyroid and put on levo and fel like a new person. I felt like I was dying it was just too much effort to even breathe! They put on this medicine and it has given me my energy back and i feel like my old self. I do sweat a lot, and feel foggy in the brain at times but I would take this over what I had been going through for over a year. I had two doctors tll m my thyroid was fine and finally decided to go to an end and he said my thyroid was under active. I had lost so much hair and no my hair loss gone! I am on 75 mg and i started with that and it has bn almost 3 months. One of the most important things my doctor said it to take it on an empty stomach at the same time everyday so what I do is get u at 5 am take and go back to sleep get up at 7 and drink my coffee as usual. No milk because I was nervous about the calcium too close to taking it. It is suppose to be 4 hours at least from a taking ur dosage. It is important to stay on schedule and take same time everyday. Also to make sure that you pill never looks different when you refill that it is very important to not switch in any way. The brand has to stay the same if yo use generic you have to continue to use it. Hope this helps someone.

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Gosh, I've been taking Levothyroxine for 7 months now following a TT in April. I have all the weird symptoms people are describing (drunk feeling/ brain fog / memory loss / cognition difficulties) and it's just been discovered that I have anaemia and a Vit D deficiency (I think my B12 is low too at 222). Hopefully once I get straight with my minerals and Vits, then the thyroxine will balance me out too. I've been very up and down and not got balanced yet or anywhere near (TSH from 0.11 to 15.!)

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Laura.It really doesn't adversly affect everyone just us unfortunate few so take it if it is offered but go slowly if you start to feel odd. It's taken me 19months to get to 100mcgs a day and my bloods are still low BUT I do feel better. At first I took it as they prescribed (50mcs daily and increasing every 6 weeks). It gave me an abnormal heart rhythm, stomach pains, head fog, nausea etc etc so I stopped and then started again 25mcg alternate days or even less (I figured 'any' was better than none) and then I got to daily then slowly I increased the dose stopping or reducing it each time it made me feel ill (or mucked up my heart rhythm). Also don't expect 'instant' results. It takes the body a long time to get back to 'normal'. Think in terms of months rather than a quick fix thing. Hope this helps

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I have been on Levothyroxine for approx 3 months, my dose has been increased to 75mg. In the last couple of weeks, i have noticed that i seem to have acid reflux and a feeling that ive not correctly swolled my tablets correctly. Just wondering if im going mad or has anyone else experienced the same thing. Ive taken various indigestion tablets but nothing has worked. HELP!!

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One thing that could be causing the head rush, is that you are not suppose to be eating or drinking things with caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant which can mess with the hormones in the Levothyroxine.

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Pretty normal Johnny. Everyone has various side effects with Levothyroxine, some more intense then others. The head rush, feeling weird, flushed face is normal and for me and many others this happens the first couple weeks of taking as your body is adjusting to the medication, or an increase in dosage. If this would continue for more then a couple weeks at most contact your doctor who prescribed the medication and let them know how your feeling. The constant ? with most of us on the board is getting on the right dosage and even switching to a different medication. I've been on Levothyroxine for over a year now and I've had 3 doctors for legit reasons put me on different dosage of Levo. I'm now on 75mcg and it's finally where I need to be. Like many of us the symptoms can be numerous and constant. Anxiety is a big one. I was getting allot of weird chest sensations, not really palpatations, I wasn't really sure and it scared me really bad. Muscle tweeks, cold and hot feet and numbness. Also with the hands. I've compared the thyroid to the thermostat in your car in how in controls temperature of the car, the thyroid controls so much of your bodies functions. Thyroid hormones control metabolism, growth, body temperature, muscle strength, appetite, and the health of your heart, brain, kidneys, and reproductive system. Allot of us have gained weight and a few have lost weight with the Hypo- The best advice I can give you is to exercise daily and try and eat right. Let us know how you feel in the next couple weeks, and don't feel you are alone with this. It can be scary and frustrating but it's manageable. Take care.

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I have been taking only 50 mcg of levothyroxine for about 7 years. One year ago - that's 6 years after I started taking it - I began to get hip and knee joint/tendon pains out of the blue. I had no idea that this could be a side effect of levothyroxine since I'd been taking it so long. This week - mid-October 2015 - I am stopping taking it. I recently wasn't able to get my meds for 2 weeks. During that time, my joints felt better. As soon as I started taking lvthxne again, the joints hurt so horribly I couldn't walk. Two days later, after stopping taking it, my joints are close to normal feeling. The physician in charge of me never once looked up the side effects of the two common drugs she prescribed even when I complained for months. Older women- who are the main ones who get low thyroid and tiredness from it - seem to be held in low respect as far as intelligence. Please do not accept this treatment from your physician. They just hate when you look things up on the internet (which i can understand if you are someone who doesn't understand how to do scientific research) however, they sit there in the consult room and do exactly the same thing on the internet while speaking to you, because they believe their training has provided them with superior access to facts. Fortunately, those of us who understand are also able to access that information and make our own self-diagnoses with success.

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After a year on this medication, I have started to get dizzy, feel extremely tired, can't sleep, left side of throat hurts & hard to swallow, feel like my head is in a fog. Just a down right sick feeling. I want to stop taking this. Felt better before starting this medication.

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Yes, as if I am coming alive but don't know what to do with it. As if my brain is rewiring. I feel calm but tingly. Hard to explain. Lack of appetite after an insatiable long life appetite. "Who is this person" feeling. Just started my levo 6 days ago after a long RAI-131 battle of a severe edge of Graves' disease.

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