Swelling In Legs And Feet Levothyroxine (Top voted first)

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I just started taking Levothyroxine 2 wks ago my legs and feet are swollen so bad by nite I can barley walk. They go down a little at nite but swell back. I am taking 25mcg and I am afraid to continue taking this med. Has any one else had this problem?

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10

Hi
I have been on 25mg of levothyroxine my doctor did a blood test & he has increased it to
50 mg. Since I have increased the dose my fingers are swollen I am always bloated & my
Feet & ankles have swollen. I hope this helps you as reading on line a lot of people are having
The same reaction & problems with levothyroxine

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4

hi do you know that i've been on this dose about 2 or 3 weeks also and my feet swell up and legs they look like mini elephant trunks will be going to doc in morning and will post up what dr, told me

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2

I am on medication for hypothyrodism and have had the swelling before and heart palpitations--so they thought it was my heart because your thyroid doesn't cause the leg swelling--my legs were so swollen during the day I could hardly walk. Had my heart checked out-everything fine-went & had blood work done to check thyroid & my thyroid levels were up-so they changed the dose and it worked. Have had it happen again since then & everytime it has been because my thyroid levels were up & medication need to be changed. It takes a long time to get the right doseage. So you need to contact your Dr. and get your thyroid levels checked again. Also I did find on the internet where one of the symptoms of hypothyrodism is leg swelling.

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11

I have been on levothyroxine for years and about a year ago my feet started swelling and my ankles also and fluid pills don't help. I think it is the filler in the pill and who manufactured it. The food and drug admin. Does Not Answer The Phone.

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3

I have been on levothyroxin since last August,2010 and my ankles are so sore I can't touch them. They remain very tight to the touch and swollen but too noticeably to anyone else. I have these nodules under the skin that are hard to see about the size of a quarter and they are so sore. Can't seem to find out anything about it; doctors don't know what it is. I am tempted to get off my medication which was recently switched to synthroid.

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8

I am now having swollen feet and am using 125mg Levothyroxine and I am thinking I should switch to Synthroid as you do not know where generic drugs are coming from - could be inferior and I at times do not take the pill. Also the swelling is new to me.

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15

YES! I have been on generic synthroid for 2 weeks. This weekend my ankles swelled up. They go back down over night but swell right back up by the end of the day. Calling my doctor this morning and Ill let you know the results.

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7

I ask for bloodtest once i sleep i can not get up also feet to swallown i am on 25mg for a year now do get test every 6 months,but now feeling so tired lazy so hard to do anything,tyroid has change me alot to,u must take ur treatment or u get lumps can be dangerous.Im also become slow,

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14

I would go ahead with the ultrasound to be on the safe side. I too take levothyrixin and suffer from leg swelling. Actually last year I had vein surgery to repair insufficient vein problem and now less than a year later the problem has returned. After reading some of these questions I'm beginning to wonder if the levothyrixine is the culprit. Planning in getting an endocrinologist.

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12

Yes, I take Levothyroxine once a day 50 mg and my ankles and legs started swelling. My dr said I need to have an ultrasound on my legs as there may be a blood clot, I just believe it is one of my medications.

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13

My feet and ankles suddenly started swelling and have large lumps on top of feet around ankles. I have taken levothyroxine for several years, no problems. Could levothyroxine have started swelling? Was told by my dr have fibromyalgia week ago. Mobility has decreased , hard to move at times.

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16

Hello,
I Too Have Had Some Very Bad Lower Leg Swelling That To The Point That My Legs Get Beet Red, At Least Twice The Size Of Normal And Skin Is Super Tight! I've Been To Dr After Dr, Had Test After Test And Now That I'm Going On About 6 Years Later, Still No One Knows The Cause! I've Been On Levothyroxine For A Decade Though And Tirosint(?) For About 4 Years, Taking Both Daily, But I Also Know That The Chemistry Always Changes! I'm Really Desperate To Have My Life Back Because I Have Many Other Symptoms That Go Along With This So I'm Wondering If They Changed The Compound A While Ago And Possibly There's A Filler Causing My Problems, But None The Less, I'm Beyond Miserable! I Know I'm Not Alone In This Battle But Something Has To Give Because I Feel Horrible, Fatigued, Depressed, Anxious And Have Severe Insomnia On Top Of Everything Else! I Really Do Feel Like My Dr Has Just Given Up On Helping Me Since No One Else Can Figure This Out Either. My Labs Always Come Back With My Levels Too High But I'm Told That It's Because I'm On Two Thyroid Medications. Please, If Anyone Has Had Similar Issues, I'd Love To Hear About It And Maybe We Can Help Each Other In This Battle!

Blessings And Peace,
Tanja

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1

Have you contacted your doctor?

It sounds like you might be having a bad reaction to this medication and it may not be the right one for you, or may be too high of a dosage. Generally, the symptoms of a dosage being too high will start to manifest 6 days or so, after you start taking it and this type of fluid retention can be one of them and there is a chance that it could lead to congestive heart failure, if that's what's causing it and it isn't rectified.

You should really contact your doctor immediately.

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

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5

Your doctor should be checking your hormone levels regularly, while you are taking this medication. It is actually completely normal to have to adjust the dosage on a regular basis, as the levels fluctuate.

Levels that are too high may cause some of these types of symptoms.

There are very few people that manage to find one dose and stay there, with it maintaining their levels appropriately.

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

If your doctor isn't checking them first, to see if they are out of whack and causing your symptoms, then it would probably be advisable to see a different doctor.

Are there any other comments or questions?

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18

I switched to Synthroid from generic but I do not see great improvement so I went back to generic as Synthroid is expensive. I want to know where the Levothyroxine is made - what possiblle foreign countries and what are the inert fillers.

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19

If you need 2 thyroid medicines, ask about switching to armor synthroid from the generic levothyrixine. Levothyrixine has lots of fillers one of which is lactose. Now I never realized I had issues with dairy until I stopped taking my thyroid med. My leg pain went away and the swelling went down considerably especially after I went dairy free. I am dairy free and gluten free now because those two foods can effect the thyroid. I am taking tirosint only for now. Recheck in 2 months. Somedays my legs still swell a little but no more pain. If your still hypo that can cause leg swelling also. It's important to have a complete thyroid function test and not just your tsh. Also ck to see if you have hashimoto thyroiditis an auto immune disease of the thyroid.

Ask for an endocrinologist if you don't already have one.

Good luck!

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53

I am not surprised at all that your swelling issues have resolved. Armour is a glandular product and contains both T3 and T4 as well as T1 and T2. Glandular or compounded bioidentical products are far superior to Synthroid (levothyroxine) for treating hypothyroid conditions. Synthroid is a pure T4 product. Many with hypothyroid have plenty of T4, but have difficulty turning it into T3 which is the bioactive form. The body converts T4 to T3 as the body's energy requirements change.

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17

The same happened to me. I thought that I had edema. I was taking 25 MCG's as well. It also caused me to have chest congestion and night sweats.

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22

I would not recommend going off your meds. Not sure what you are taking but you can find a doctor that is willing to try a different medication. You should also be checked for Hashimoto thyroiditis if you have never been tested. Hashimoto is an autoimmune disease of the thyroid. It differs from regular hypothyroidism in that your hormones fluctuate. Test for thyroid antibodies.

Also I recommend going gluten and dairy free. I used to have severe leg swelling and redness before my diagnosis of Hashimoto. I actually told my doctor to test me for it because of all my different symptoms and food and drug sensitivities. I switched from levothyrixine to tirosint because levothyrixine contsins lactose in the inactive ingredients and that was causing me swelling all over. Still not 100 percent better 6 weeks later but my legs are good most days.

Good luck!

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39

Thyroid problems can most certainly contribute to leg swelling. It is one of the manifestations of myxedema and a well known problem of hypothyroid. I have been having some of the same issues being off thyroid medication for a couple of years. I am not a fan of Synthroid. Most physical medicine specialists, integrative MDs and Naturopathic MDs will use either desiccated thyroid or a bio-identical compounded med. We need both T3 and T4. Often those with hypothyroid have difficulty converting the T4 to the bioactive T3. I just read an excellent article. Here is the link. It explains many of the potential manifestations of hypothyroid.

tuberose.com/HypothyroidSymptoms.html

Hope this helps.

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