Please Help. Is The Levothyroxine Making Me Crazy?
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I was diagnosed with hypothyroid about 7 yrs ago. I was taking 50 mcg of levothyroxine up until now. I am currently 29 weeks pregnant and my new doctor put me on 125 mcg. My doc says i have to be on a higher dose during pregnancy or the baby will be born with birth defects or have learning disabilities. The road has been really rocky. My moods have been up and down, i suffer from severe depression, mood swings, horrible anger, memory loss, bad anxiety attacks and fear of loosing myself. I litterally feel crazy. I asked my doctor and there is nothing she can do except put me on some antidepressant. I dont think i need that and i dont really like takin meds like that. I absolutely think the levothyroxine is making me worse. I feel suicidal and thats not something i want to feel esp. during pregnancy. I seriously would rather die than feel the way i have been. I never felt like this before thats why i wonder about the med. I feel like no one will listen to me and i need help really bad. Even my husband doesnt understand. I begged him to take me to hospital. He says just call your doctor. I dont feel like my doc knows much. Everything i ask her she looks it up online or asks another doctor. Actually saying she doesnt know and will research it. Then i never get an answer. Please someone give me some advice on what i can do. Is there anything else i can take? Does pregnancy hormone changes affect my hypothyroid or the medicine? I feel so alone and feel like there is no hope.

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Re: Brun (# 10)

I know this thread is old, but if someone is reading this for information, I will offer mine.
Taking too high of a dose of levothyroxine will make you hyper, which is hard on the body.
I have been over medicated on thyroid hormone and it is very uncomfortable. The extreme anxiety, fast heart rate, revved up feeling is exhausting. Plus, the OP was on 50 mcg and increased to 125 mcg. That is unacceptable. You cannot jump the dose like that unless your labs show you need it. And clearly she was having symptoms of overmedication. Labs are required 6-8 weeks after changing the dosage. Or less, if you are getting hyper symptoms. Most endocrinologists prefer their patients to take name brand Synthroid because it is more stable dosage than the generics. And if you are on a generic, make sure it is from the same manufacturer every time you get your refill. There is 20% variability in potencies with generics. I changed from a generic to Synthroid and I liked the way the Synthroid worked way better. I also had to go on an ssri for anxiety after being over medicated for 1 year. I had no idea what was wrong with me. My whole nervous system was shot. Was trusting my endocrinologist, (who failed to run labs after he raised my dose)!

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Re: Suz (# 8)

Many, many people feel better on Armour Thyroid or Westhroid. These are the "old" meds to treat low thyroid. They contain both T3 and T4 . Some Doctors look down on them. Naturopaths will prescribe it. Google Armour Thyroid vs. Synthroid and read up. Don't give up when a Doc poo poos it! Insist on one of them and try it. Good Luck!!

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Re: KRea (# 4)


Hi, I can only take Lannett. Every other brand makes me very anxious. I was increased to 125mcg just recently and I started with the anxiousness with the Lannett brand. I think there is something more in the 125mcg than in the 112mcg. I went back to the 112mcg and I am fine. The pills are completely different from 112 to 125 even though they are both Lannett. I emailed Lannett to find out but they never got back to me.

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I am so glad someone spoke about stretched throat muscles and switching brands! I have started to wonder if people can be allergic to thyroid hormone...as it makes me psycho no matter what brand or dose! So I am living hypo...really hypo just so I can maintain some balance around my kids....I don't take anything else and don't drink...but seriously thinking about starting!! Ha ha Thank you for your post!

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Get off that crap. That happened to me. Get on Synthroid. How my endocrinologist explained it to me is that levothyroxine is a generic brand of Synthroid and it's never made the same, so you could never ever count on the exact same dosage because it's never made exactly the same. With Synthroid you can. I had the same symptoms. I got on Synthroid and they all went away and then my insurance changed so I got back on levothyroxine. All the crap happened again. I'm done. Only Synthroid from this point forward. I don't care if I have to pay for it myself. I will never go on levothyroxine as it doesn't work for me. It makes me feel crazy, memory loss, the whole shebang.

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HERE'S SOME HELP , GET YOUR LEVELS TESTED AGAIN! IF YOUR ON TOO MUCH, YOU WILL STAY UP 24/7 AND WITH A RACING HEART. NOW, TOO LITTLE , YOU WILL OVER SLEEP WITH A RACING HEART WHEN AWAKE) "THIS IS SOMETHING I LEARNED IN COLLEGE."

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Wow I am a thyroid suffer. I have dealt and helped my doctor who wASN't UP TO PAR ON HIS TYROID STUFF. A long time for him. I have 5 goiters I'm pos- neg. Very hard to control. Your dose is WAY TO HI. WHEN U BECOME PREGNANT YOUR THYROID CAN CORRECT OR RECORRECT WHAT HAZ HAPPENED SO FAR. NOT EVERYONE REMAINS WITH THIS ISSUE. SOME STILL GO BACK TO NORMAL. OH WOOWW SORRY FOR CAPS.... Was paying attention.... Anyways several thing can happen. A higher does isn't just given YOU MUST go thru the blood work testing not just ur levels but your t4 t3. And how they work for or against each other. If u are cranky n agresdive ur way way to high. If u are listless then sleepy to low. Go to another doctor before he hurts u or ur baby please. YOU CAN GO TO ER N HAVE THIS CHAT WITH THEM THEY CAN REFER U. I HAD IT DONE. Thyroid controls ur whole body with the pituitary gland. Do ur self the favor... I am a thyroid sufferer. And have hoshimotos disease...and Graves ... For the last 30 yrs ....my experience...

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I have been on thryoid meds for about 7-8 years. About 3-4 months ago I lost my job and so had to interview for another job and experienced my 1st panic attack. I literally stood up in the middle of the interview and said I had to step out because I wasnt feeling good. it was frightening! I was put on Zanax which I took twice a day until the Zoloft kicked in (it takes about a month). But that didnt take care of it completely. I had panic attacks for things like sitting in a barber chair, driving on a highway, etc. I eventually started to control them, but still get them. I wondered also if it was my thyroid meds, because when I stopped it cold turkey I felt less anxious (and for those of us who have had these attacks, we know when they have subsided or not). I believe the thyroid med increases my anxiety.

Then I realized about 6 months ago I had switched my levothyroxine from one made by the company Lannett to one made by Sandoz. So I switched back to Lannett and things seemed better (but did I really feel better because of the switch or because I have mentally gotten stronger over time?). So after a month, I took a Sandoz pill and I started feeling the anxiety signs again. it feels like my throat muscle is stretched and I yawn a lot and my gut has that fright feeling in it. If I felt this a few months ago, then I would go into a panic, but now I know how to handle it. I strongly feel that it was from the Sandoz pill versus the Lannett pill. But I looked at the ingredients and they are identical except that the Lannett pill has more inactive ingredients. So it really doesnt make sense unless the Sandoz pills are of lesser quality. The ones I had came from India, but I think they were made in Germany. So my suggestion is to try a different manufacturer or do not use the generic version. I would NOT stop taking the thyroid med because when I tried to do so, I could feel the effects of not taking it. And you do not want it to affect your pregnancy.

Do you have that yawning feeling alot and does your neck feel stretched? If so, then you probably have the same as I do. Simply try a different manufacturer to find one that works with whatever meds you have to take for your anxiety. I could go on and on, so I will try to make this short(er). My anxiety probably came from issues that I didnt know existed and were amplified when I lost my job. Psych treatments and possibly the zoloft helped me take control of these anxious feelings, although I still get them from time to time. So you are both going crazy and not going crazy. When you feel the feelings that you get before an attack, just know that these are nothing and eventually your brain will be able to control them. I feel them right now as I type this, but they dont freak me out anymore. Just because it is called an anti-depressent doesnt mean you need to be depressed to take it... it is used for many things. I am not depressed but still take them.

Hope my info helps any and all who reads it!

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I was borderline hypothyroid and was suggested to take levo 50mcg months before I got pregnant and the doc advised me to remain on the med for a healthy pregnancy. They checked my blood during each trimester to monitor the TSH level. They have different TSH ranges during each trimester. If your TSH level is within the range, they can do some adjustment on your levo dosage. I pushed them to check my blood work every 4 to 6 weeks because I was afraid that I would be hyperthyroid if the dosage was too high during my pregnancy. I am still on the med because I am breastfeeding my newborn. You should ask your doctor to prescribe different thyroid med if you have any reaction to this one. I hope this helps and good luck to you.

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From what I'm reading, the dosage should still be adjusted during pregnancy and not given as a steady high dose straight through. They should still be doing blood tests to check and adjust the dosage accordingly.

And yes, seeing an endocrinologist would be the best thing to do. If you're afraid to ask your current doctor, then set up an appointment with a new OB Gyn for a second opinion. It is your right to do so for any medical condition and treatment protocol.

Learn more Levothyroxine details here.

And it can cause these types of issues in some people that take it, there are many posts about it from others that have experienced the same.

Is anyone familiar with taking this medication while pregnant?

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I was diagnosed after becoming pregnant, put on 150 then upped to 175. I thought all the moodiness was just pregnancy but after dosage went up I got so much worse. I feel homicidal and suicidal. I've never felt this way, even my husband says he doesn't know who this person is because its not me. I stopped meds for about a week and felt so much better. Dr says its not the meds and I only felt better because in my head I thought I would, which isn't true because I only stopped to prove husband wrong because he is the one that thought it was the meds. I had to start meds again because I'm afraid of the risks of not taking them and after a week I'm back to feeling crazy, hating everyone including my 6 yr old son, crying all the time and wanting to die. I only have 6 weeks to my due date but I don't know if I'll feel better or worse after giving birth.. I'm so scared that the stress of a new baby, lack of sleep and hormones being more out of whack for a while will make it worse. husband is gone for work all week, only home on weekend. its all on me and I don't think I can handle it feeling this way. I want to see an endocrinologist but I need a referral from my Dr.. the same one who thinks its not the meds and is just me depressed.. which I've never felt before. I have no helpful advice but you are definitely not alone.

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