Hypothyroidism - Reaction To Levothyroxin Pills

[Pac]

I started taking levothyroxin and after three days I'm totally freaking out - the internal shaking got very bad and my hands visibly tremble, I'm again losing balance when I look up, I got very irritable and severely depressed. Fatigue, muscle weakness and neuropathy returned too. Could all this be a reaction to levothyroxin itself or should I look for other culprits? Especially the depression feels exactly like glutening. I have a mild allergy reaction to the pill - upset, swollen stomach and itching but I thought I'd give it a try anyway (stupid me).

I'm getting quite frustrated with again. I went to my dr because I felt sick for months and nothing seemed to help - blood test showed elevated TSH. Dr assures me I can't feel any symptoms yet as my T4 and T3 level are still within normal = problem solved, I don't have symptoms. I go to a specialist, I'm told I'm still too young to feel symptoms of hypothyroidism so the symptoms are probably something else like stress. She prescribes me levothyroxin anyway and tells me to come back in three months time for blood tests (antibodies and thyroid hormones) to see if it helped. Now the pills just make me sicker. It drives me nuts. I've got enough of being told I'm not sick and getting meds that don't work. Sorry for the ranting.

[Emilushka]

Did you check to see if the levothyroxine has gluten in it?

[nora-n]

I have been on the thyroid forums for years, and it is very common to have over-dosing symptoms in the first three-four days.

This is because your own thyroid still makes some t4 and t3 (as your thyroid hormone numbers are still within range) and now you take some of the same hormones on top of that.

What will happen is that the pituitary is sensing the added thyroid hormones, and the TSH goes down, and the output from the thyroid gland decreases, and your over-dosing symtoms go away.

the doctor should have scheduled a blood test after 6 weeks, this is one way to titrate the dose, or you should have started with half the dose and increased after two -three weeks, when customarily one needs an increase.

Now you could end up either over- dosed or under-dosed for three months.

What dose were you put on??

Another thing is, that people need their free t4 and free t3 at a specific level, and it is absolutely stuptid to say that because your levels are still within range, you cannot have symptoms. Lots and lots of paitents have severe hypo symptoms and the levels are still within range. But most need their ft4 and ft3 at least halv-way up in the range, and when taking thyroid meds they usually need to be about three quarter up (because exogenous hormones work less well) or even higher.

Some pateitns ahve even reportedly been very hypo with ft4 high, just that they needed it higher.

nora

[Skylark]

"Too young to be hypo" is stupid too. I've been on thyroid medicine since I was 20. As Nora says, overdosing symptoms are really common at first. Call your doctor and ask if it's OK to break the pills in half for a little while before you go on the full dose.

[Ahorsesoul]

I have a bad reation to the stuff too. I take Armour Thyroid.

[laura4669]

I have a bad reation to the stuff too. I take Armour Thyroid.

Ditto. I take a compounded thyroid med equivalent to one grain of Armour.

[cassP]

hi Pac- ya, i am having AWFUL reactions to my pill as well. i am on a brand name Synthroid (T4 pill like u). it brought my TSH from 11.39 to 4 but did nothing to alleviate my Hypo symptoms AND gave more panic attacks and more hair falling out and a new symptom: an ACHE in my thyroid itself.

im beginning to HATE T4 MORE than i hate Gluten. no lie.

1st of all- what dose did they put u on? they started me on 50mcg, but i think they should have started with the 25... just because i ALREADY had ANXIETY, so maybe it should have been a slower adjustment.

2nd- make sure there's no gluten in your pill AND perhaps you're itching & swelling from the Lactose in it? or maybe a cornstarch filler?

3rd-> from everything ive been researching- pretty much ALL men with Hypo, and only very few women with Hypo feel great on the T4 oNLY. i am NOT one of those people. my Doc just started adding Cytomel (synthetic T3) to my morning dose at 5mcg. i already feel 50% better thruout the day untill 5 or 6pm-> when i start panicking again.

good luck- keep notes on your symptoms- what has gotten better and what may be getting worse- and keep up with your doctor.

[Roda]

Just FYI I have read on here theat some people have problems with the brand name Synthroid. I can't give you exact posts, but it is here somewhere. I take a generic from mylan and I have never had a problem with it.

[Pac]

Thanks for the replies.

I was expecting anxiety, trembling hands, but the suicidal depression and irritability was quite unexpected. All the previous times it was gluten triggering those two. I'm taking 50mcg levothyroxine and it should be certified gluten-free. I emailed the company again to make sure it is naturally gluten-free (I'm in Europe).

With the symptoms it's rather tricky. I stopped eating high-iodine food after the blood tests - I switched my main protein source to marine fishes before the hypothyroid symptoms started. Within the three weeks before seeing the endocrinology specialist most of hypo(?) symptoms got way better (weight issues, swollen ankles, fatigue), only my thyroid hurted at first (not any more) and the internal shaking got a bit worse. I told that to the dr but she didn't seem too interested.

[Charlie's Girl]

I have been on the thyroid forums for years, and it is very common to have over-dosing symptoms in the first three-four days.

Can you recommend a "good" thyroid forum. I too am experiencing thyroid dosing problems and would love to know which forum/s you like.

[Charlie's Girl]

I started taking levothyroxin and after three days I'm totally freaking out - the internal shaking got very bad and my hands visibly tremble, I'm again losing balance when I look up, I got very irritable and severely depressed. Fatigue, muscle weakness and neuropathy returned too. Could all this be a reaction to levothyroxin itself or should I look for other culprits? Especially the depression feels exactly like glutening. I have a mild allergy reaction to the pill - upset, swollen stomach and itching but I thought I'd give it a try anyway (stupid me).

I'm getting quite frustrated with again. I went to my dr because I felt sick for months and nothing seemed to help - blood test showed elevated TSH. Dr assures me I can't feel any symptoms yet as my T4 and T3 level are still within normal = problem solved, I don't have symptoms. I go to a specialist, I'm told I'm still too young to feel symptoms of hypothyroidism so the symptoms are probably something else like stress. She prescribes me levothyroxin anyway and tells me to come back in three months time for blood tests (antibodies and thyroid hormones) to see if it helped. Now the pills just make me sicker. It drives me nuts. I've got enough of being told I'm not sick and getting meds that don't work. Sorry for the ranting.

Hope you are finding some relief and the answers you need. I have been having problems getting my dose at the correct level. I have read many people's posts on how great they feel when they find the correct dosage. Stay strong. We're all pulling for you.

[nora-n]

About good thyroid forums, i recommend the one by Mary Shomon, at Open Original Shared Link . There is a tiny red link my forums there. It used to be in delphiforums but about.com changed formats for all its forums, but ther still are links from the delphi celaic forum to the about.com thyroid forum in related forums for example.

The people are mostly from the U.S, but the expertise there is the best.

Someone mentioned Eurpe, if you speak german, the ht-mb forum is very good.

[Pac]

Thanks everyone for your support.

I called my dr and she thinks I shouldn't be reacting to the levothyroxine itself yet cause it's very low dosage (I'm lightweight though). I got Euthyrox instead of Letrox, same dosage but only 5 times a week. Took one after two days break and everything seems ok so far, no allergy reaction either.

The manufacturer (letrox) replied and althought all ingredients are naturally gluten-free, one suplier can't rule out cross-contamination. I don't really know if I could be reacting to such a small cc. But compared to my reaction to about 10ml of tripple-distilled whisky, it seems improbable but not impossible.

[cassP]

Thanks everyone for your support.

I called my dr and she thinks I shouldn't be reacting to the levothyroxine itself yet cause it's very low dosage (I'm lightweight though). I got Euthyrox instead of Letrox, same dosage but only 5 times a week. Took one after two days break and everything seems ok so far, no allergy reaction either.

The manufacturer (letrox) replied and althought all ingredients are naturally gluten-free, one suplier can't rule out cross-contamination. I don't really know if I could be reacting to such a small cc. But compared to my reaction to about 10ml of tripple-distilled whisky, it seems improbable but not impossible.

what was the dosage?

and- i had never heard of taking 2 days off, 5 days on... your doc suggested that??

i DID also have some palpitations in the 1st week- but those went away... however the anxiety stayed and the hair loss worsened.

good luck

[Charlie's Girl]

About good thyroid forums, i recommend the one by Mary Shomon, at Open Original Shared Link . There is a tiny red link my forums there. It used to be in delphiforums but about.com changed formats for all its forums, but ther still are links from the delphi celaic forum to the about.com thyroid forum in related forums for example.

The people are mostly from the U.S, but the expertise there is the best.

Someone mentioned Eurpe, if you speak german, the ht-mb forum is very good.

Thank you so much! I'll check it out. I think getting my thyroid balanced out will be key to finding my optimal health- it's been lost for so long- I was wondering if I would ever find it again.

[Pac]

what was the dosage?

and- i had never heard of taking 2 days off, 5 days on... your doc suggested that??

i DID also have some palpitations in the 1st week- but those went away... however the anxiety stayed and the hair loss worsened.

good luck

The dosage is 50mcg. The 2 days off sound weird, but so far it's the only time I feel at least a little better. And yes, it was the doc suggesting that.

Otherwise I'm getting worse every day - terrible migraines, nausea, hot flashes, starting to lose hair again, tired and sleepy all the time (sleeping again 12hrs/day). No typical glutened symptoms like depression or muscle weakness after I switched the brand but I hate the meds anyway.

thanx for the support.

[burdee]

I started taking levothyroxin and after three days I'm totally freaking out - the internal shaking got very bad and my hands visibly tremble, I'm again losing balance when I look up, I got very irritable and severely depressed. Fatigue, muscle weakness and neuropathy returned too. Could all this be a reaction to levothyroxin itself or should I look for other culprits? Especially the depression feels exactly like glutening. I have a mild allergy reaction to the pill - upset, swollen stomach and itching but I thought I'd give it a try anyway (stupid me).

I'm getting quite frustrated with again. I went to my dr because I felt sick for months and nothing seemed to help - blood test showed elevated TSH. Dr assures me I can't feel any symptoms yet as my T4 and T3 level are still within normal = problem solved, I don't have symptoms. I go to a specialist, I'm told I'm still too young to feel symptoms of hypothyroidism so the symptoms are probably something else like stress. She prescribes me levothyroxin anyway and tells me to come back in three months time for blood tests (antibodies and thyroid hormones) to see if it helped. Now the pills just make me sicker. It drives me nuts. I've got enough of being told I'm not sick and getting meds that don't work. Sorry for the ranting.

What symptoms did you describe to your doc before he prescribed levothyroxine? Did he also give you a TPOab test for Hashimoto's autoimmune thyroiditis antibodies? People with celiac often get autoimmune Hashimoto's.

If your T3 and T4 levels are normal and your TSH is only slightly elevated, you may need a lower dose of levothyroxine (which is a T4 supplement). Your reaction symptoms of internal (and external hand) trembling, irritability, etc. sound like a HYPERthyroidism reaction or too much thyroid hormone from your levothyroxine, rather than a hypo reaction. Maybe that's why your doc lets you do 2 days off the levo. However, a better treatment might be to lower your dose to 25mcg, rather than 50. Levo has a long halflife (8 days before half the hormone has left your system). So skipping 2 days will give you slight relief, but taking a daily lower dose would be more effective in the long run IF you really need a T4 supplement.

SUE

[Pac]

What symptoms did you describe to your doc before he prescribed levothyroxine? Did he also give you a TPOab test for Hashimoto's autoimmune thyroiditis antibodies? People with celiac often get autoimmune Hashimoto's.

If your T3 and T4 levels are normal and your TSH is only slightly elevated, you may need a lower dose of levothyroxine (which is a T4 supplement). Your reaction symptoms of internal (and external hand) trembling, irritability, etc. sound like a HYPERthyroidism reaction or too much thyroid hormone from your levothyroxine, rather than a hypo reaction. Maybe that's why your doc lets you do 2 days off the levo. However, a better treatment might be to lower your dose to 25mcg, rather than 50. Levo has a long halflife (8 days before half the hormone has left your system). So skipping 2 days will give you slight relief, but taking a daily lower dose would be more effective in the long run IF you really need a T4 supplement.

SUE

I went to my regular doc first - main complains were fatigue (sleeping over 10-12hrs a day and needing several naps during the day), hair loss, swollen fingers and feet, neuropathy. I had a history of elevated TSH (resolved on gluten-free diet) so she just tested for that and then sent me to the specialist.

The specialist just gave me the pills and plans to test for Hashimoto later, whem I'm on the levothyroxine already. She's the only endocrinology doc in town so I have no choice but to try to cooperate.

[okieinalaska]

I go to a specialist, I'm told I'm still too young to feel symptoms of hypothyroidism so the symptoms are probably something else like stress.

Too young to feel symptoms? Just curious how old are you? That is something I hadn't read before is that true of most people?

I had my doc test my thyroid on Tuesday but don't have any results yet. I am not sure really what tests he is running except that they are thyroid and vitamin levels. I had specifically mentioned hashimotos though...

[wheeleezdryver]

I was diagnosed w/ hypothyroidism in spring of 2004. When I was told i had this condition, i remember going to do research, and seeing a lot of info saying that some dr's wouldn't test anyone ounger than 30 because 'they were too young to have thyroid problems. *I* was almost 27 at the time, and had been having symptoms for a year before i went to the dr about it...