Stopping Levothyroxine (Page 4) (Top voted first)

I have been taking Levothyroxine .88mg for the past two years. I just left town on a three week vacation and realized I left this prescription at home. Should I be concerned?

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Please be very careful with iodine. It can be dangerous if taken internally. It should only be applied topically. Get an all natural tincture of iodine and apply it sparingly to your abdomen, about a dime size circle is enough. If it disappears within 24 hours, you are iodine deficient. Apply again. Wait 24 hours. Continue until you can still see it after 24 hours. That's when you will know your body has enough.

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The same thing has happened to me before. The first two weeks won't be to to bad but by the third week you'll have significant symptoms of hypothyroidism, including, extreme fatigue, you'll be soooo tired, also you may begin to lose your hair, gain weight, dry itchy skin but what I noticed more than anything else was a change in my mood, I began feeling sad, felt like crying, flat affect, no energy, constipation, an overall depression. It's quite scary how fast it can happen.

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I was on the same dosage, still experiencing symptoms and my endo looked at my initial lab results. He said that I was never THAT far out of range and to stop taking my levo, as well. Been a week and no symptoms of withdrawal so far. Will be testing my thyroid levels again in 6 weeks to see where they're at. Good luck!

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I too had just experienced these symptons..I curable take 175 mcg of levothryoxine for a year now and seems it was too high. I had tingling in my hands and heart palpitations and severe light headed ness...The er doctor said the dosage built up over time..I too feel a need to see a endocrinologist to get it straight.

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Was put on 25mcg of levothyroxine had a very bad reaction to this Med nausea, migraines, no bm for 7 days of the 9 days I was on it,did not sleep at night went 48 hours without sleeping depression crying trance like and hours would just go by,called the pharmacy and they said stop taking this Med it was made by lannett also.i stopped before I called its some bad stuff.

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The affects of hypothyroidism happen sliwly over months possibly and the affects of stopping thyroxine will only become apparant over many weeks so forgetting the odd day or missing a week should be ok. Again the dosage matters as greater the dose ,possibly lack of ,sooner showing in the classic symptoms of letgargy , dry skin and rest.
So moral of story is take prescribed medication to order unless side affects.
Stopping for a short period in case of thyroxine which is the only medication I am comenting on here ,should be ok but GET back on track as soon as possible.

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Hello. My story is long so I will try to be concise. Your story reminds me of my own...I was diagnosed with hypo in 1991 due to fatigue and intolerance to cold. I weighed 116 and am 5'5'. I have always weighed this. I experienced no hair loss, no depression, no dry skin. Just migraines that were directly related to stimulus such as smoke, perfume...my tsh levels were just at the lowest normal range. So the doctor said I could go either way and we opted to try meds. During the next twenty years I experienced migraines, constipation, a struggle with anxiety attacks that changed into severe panic and the inability to drive, bone and muscle pain. Intermittently, and depending on where I lived I was wither told to get off the meds or to try different types of the hormone...sigh. my symptoms fluctuated accordingly. But I always felt better when off them. Though at those times I had withdrawal symptoms and had to be accompanied by acupuncture or supplements. By 2010, I was back on at this time, I started to show signs of heart being effected. Pounding, skipping, palpitations, restless sleep. So they increased, decreased and kept changing it up. 2013 I tried Armour. Months later I ended up in bed for one month with extreme fatigue and continued heart problems and insomnia. They increased the dose and though it got me out of bed I was still experiencing heart symptoms. So they took me off cold turkey...At first it was ok, but then the withdrawal started. Remember I had been on for 20 years plus.... I ended up with hypersensitivity of all senses. I was closed in my bedroom with no light and sound, dark glasses and headphones or ear plugs for about 4 months. I sometimes could drive or not to get myself to the various therapies and doctors. It went through each of my systems. The heart stuff stopped almost immediately. Then it was extreme constipation which only adjusted after about seven months. Then it was the chest and muscle spasms and tightness of the diaphragm which made breathing extremely difficult. I did acupuncture every single week for two years btw... The breathing difficulty went away about one year later. I could not work and driving was dependent on the day. I stopped having muscle and bone pain immediately. My migraines went away very quickly and were back to being provoked by "normal" things like smoke or perfume. I had the sensitivity to sensory for about the whole time, but slowly it subsided into a more controlled level. However, I could not shake the fatigue. Extreme fatigue like I could not get up...Anxiety attacks btw were minimal and more closely related to "events". My body continued to overreact easily to stressors. So, I had doctors very confused. I was very confused. My numbers went from 18 to 8. At eight it sort of plateaued and so we decided to try levothyroxine...we even tried it compounded custom...2 months later...difficulty breathing, heart stuff was almost immediate, loss of appetite. I must weigh about 111 now, tremors, gut bloating, sensory sensitivity slowly returning, three migraines this month, extreme fatigue (normally I wake up at 5 and am up by 6. Today I got up at 8). The pharmacist wants me off the T4 and on T3. So does my naturalistic doctor. My endo said no. wait another 3 weeks to take blood and go into the office. So I started skipping a day in between...today my appetite came back...hmmmmmm.....so I did not take it. The side effects terrify me. Stopping the medicine also terrifies me because I know what I went through for one year. It cost me my marriage, my business and people turned their backs because they thought I had lost my mind. So, I am stuck in the middle without knowing what to do. My gut is to stop the medicine, but then what?

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I've been on levothyroxine 112mcg for awhile now and lower doses for about 4 yrs.. Well I stopped taking it about 5 weeks ago and I'm having horrible pain in my shoulders, neck and arms since... Could this be a result of this? I've been to several Drs and had several evaluations trying to find out why I'm in so much pain.. Just remembered I haven't been taking thyroid pills.. Maybe this is why??? Lying down is so painful and sitting for any length of time!!! My muscles and joints hurt but no tests show anything... Cat scans MRI's ex rays.. At wits end!!! Please help.

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I tried Levothyroxine, Unithroid (generics), and finally brand name Synthroid, which was so strong that I stopped after 3 days. I finally begged my doctor to put me on natural desiccated thyroid hormone, so he put me on Nature-throid. I'd been trying for 8 months to find that tiny window of optimum dosage that's supposed to exist with the synthetics, and never did, going from 12.5mcg to as high as 100mcg and everything in between, up, down, up, down. It was insane and I couldn't function. At times I thought I was going crazy. I'm currently going through what I can only guess is withdrawal from the synthetics, with extreme muscle tension, jerks and twitches (baclofen helped a lot, but must be weaned off when you stop), a dis-associative feeling of living inside my own skull and observing the world from there. The worst was loud tinnitus and ear drum pain, with heightened sensitivity to noise; startle reactions; migraines that were really tension-related; and feeling like my brain was being squeezed by a body-builder, with a tight rock-like mass of solid tension at its center. These symptoms were with me 24/7 for 2.5 weeks, never let up. I slept 1.5 to 4 hours for 3 weeks, spending most of it in bed because of the severe tension, physically and emotionally, yet I also felt restless, couldn't relax. I tried introducing natural Nature-throid along with the withdrawal, then couldn't differentiate which symptoms went with which thyroid med, so stopped everything until I couldn't stay awake due to being in hyperthyroidism. I continued the natural thyroid yesterday, and today felt something different. That knot of tension at the center of my brain is smaller and lighter, my muscle, while still very tense, especially shoulders/neck/down my back, are a little less tense. I'm hoping I'm finally clearing the synthetic to the extent that the natural has a chance to work. It's been a long, difficult ride. My advice - go to the naturals and get off the synthetics. Check the website StopTheThyroidMadness. Compare blogs for others' experiences on synthetics vs. natural thyroid. God bless.

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Sorry Daniela, I typed your name wrong

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I would call your pharmacy or doctor's office.

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I have been taking levo 88mcgs. for about 4 months due to underactive thyroid. I gained weight and have not been able to lose. Prior to the 88 mcgs. I was on 100 mcgs. and was doing well, when my TSH level went down I was put on 75 mcgs. and then changed to 88 mcgs. This is the first day I didn't take it and want to know if this is good or bad.

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I'm having similar thyroid issues. How are you doing? What was the final result? Were you able to reduce your levothyroxine dose or stop taking it altogether? I'm at the first panic attack stage and am hoping this won't be a downward spiral...

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@Les I do not normally recommend this but I would find a different endocrinologist. Synthroid aka levothyroxine is something that should be taken the same time every day and at least 30 minutes before the ingestion of anything containing iron, calcium or magnesium.

It has a half life of 6-7 days and so taking it whenever you happen to feel like you need it is terrible advice, It takes too long to get into your system and too long to eliminate from your system

Have your levels checked T3 T4 and TSH at a minimum and see what a doctor then advises.

As for other people's questions as to alternatives the only other alternatives on the market are:

Armour AKA Desiccated Porcine Thyroid (Dried pork thyroid gland) it does have the advantage of containing T3 and T4 in near idea ratios but can be more difficult to get balanced right.

Cytomel AKA T3. Most doctors will not prescribe T3 since it is what results when your body first pass metabolizes T4, but can be necessary in some instances.

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I was diagnosed with over active thyroid in sept of 2013. After 2 unsuccessful attempts at drug therapy (due to having allergic reactions) I had iodine radiation twice. I have now been on 100mcg of levothyroxine for about 6 months, I have gained over 25lbs and continue to gain. Also my migraines have gotten worse & was wondering if it could be from the drug. I still am tired all the time & don't know if I should stop taking it to see if it helps with the headaches or wait and talk with my neurologist in April before I do anything.

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Hi everyone well I got my family doc to switch me from levothyroxine to a natural desiccated called at our about two months ago, got my labs back today my tsh levels are 12.2 , that's extremely high I do believe. I had the doctor take me off levothyroxine because of the side affects. I also was diagnosed with hoshimoto, anyone have experience with armour.? And what can I do for my tsh level I'm so tired and weak

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Synthroid is covered (for me where I live) under a discount card and can be used instead of your insurance. It might be helpful to check it out to help lower your cost.

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You should never stop a long term medication. I'm a nurse, and your thyroid runs your hormones. It can make your hair fall out if not on the medication. I've been taking it for 10 years. I will never stop without my Dr.s ok.

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what happens if I stop my levothyroxine due to the fact I can not afford the blood test have no insurance and living off of my husbands s.s.

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2 Days ago I decided to stop the Eltroxin 50mg I was on. I am on bloodpressure tablets like Tenopress, Adalat and a water tAblets. So today I went to check my bloodpressure and it was sky high 147/92 and pulse 105. Could it be I stopped the Eltroxin?

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I was recently diagnosed with an underactive thyroid. I have been taking levothyroxine for almost two weeks. For the las...

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