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Side effects

Posted , 3 users are following.

king93
king93

How long does it take for the side effects of Levothyroxine to wear off after stopping taking them? It only took 3 days for the side effects to set in. After 3 weeks I stopped taking them (with doctor's permission) and it's been 6 weeks now, but I still have a couple of the side effects I experienced, although not as bad.

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • susanna1948
    susanna1948 king93

    Posted

    Hi King93, it took about a week for most of the side affects to subside but I had been taking 100mg for close on 20 years and the side affects had been steadily building for about the last ten years. The night sweats, anxious anxiety attacks and depression went within the week, aches and pains in my joints took a little longer but for the most part have now subsided to a manageable level - I am always going to suffer some discomfort as I was in an RTA 20 years ago which is what knocked my thyroid out and this has left me with sever muscular and ligament damage that my body is just too old to repair. After nine weeks of not taking the levothyroxin I started to feel very tired so I am now taking ginsing and have just started taking a herbal thyroid support supplement that I am hoping will help with this but in myself I am feeling so much better and surprisingly my Dr has failed to pick up on the fact that I am no longer collecting my monthly prescription which I find quite amazing as I never told her I was stopping the levothyroxin. All the best to you and I hope you find an alternative to the levo as I am convinced it is pure poison to most people.
    • LAHs
      LAHs susanna1948

      Posted

      I completely agree with you, Levothyroxine was pure poison to me.
  • LAHs
    LAHs king93

    Posted

    I switched to Armor thyroid a couple of weeks ago (I have no thyroid due to Thy Cancer). As soon as the Armor hit my blood stream the swishing in my head stopped, my headache went away, I had no joint pains in my fingers nor elbows and the ache in my thighs and pain in my knees reduced by about 75%.  So, for me it was half an hour. Levothyroxine made me ill for two and a half years, I was desperate when I demanded a change of drug. I knew the doctor wanted to keep me on Levo and i kept saying that it was making me ill but she wouldn't listen. I finally went to the finance office and said that I wasn't paying them to make me ill.

    If you were put on Levo because you have low T4 and Low T3 then it seems as if you are still low in T3. Get both measured then look into getting T3 added to your T4, get the natural dessicated  thyroid if you can. Some people cannot convert T4 to T3 very efficiently OR they are on a pill whose T4 doesn't break down properly to T3. 

    Whatever you decide to do, Google T4 and T3, learn as much as you can because the more you know the faster you will heal.

    • susanna1948
      susanna1948 LAHs

      Posted

      Hi, I am in the UK and when I had my bloods done 8 weeks ago I insisted they tested T3 and T4 then ask for the results as al, the doctor would tell was they are fine but a little on the high side but she would not tell what was on the high side! My daughter is a vetenary technician and even she had difficulties understanding the way the blood results had been written up almost like they were done to confuse so I am still none the wiser. What I do know is that since I STOPPED taking the levo I feel alive again and I am now looking for someone in the states that can help me get Armour so I can give it a go as I am having problems finding anywhere on the internet that will sell into the Uk.
    • king93
      king93 susanna1948

      Posted

      I am in the UK too. My doctor told me my TSH was borderline and because i said I had gained weight I couldn't get rid of and I felt tired, and had started to suffer with constipation she put me on 25mcg of Levothyroxine. I forgot to say I had started to put weight on about 6 years ago, and i was comfort eating in the evenings and not really exercising, so all my own fault. After 3 days on the levothyroxine, the itching was almost unbearable, and the hot flushes were like being back on the menopause (I am 69) and the sleepiness came on about an hour after taking it every day. I've been off it for 5-6 weeks and going for another blood test next week for a thyroid function test.

      If I have got hypothyroidism there's no way I'm taking those synthetic poison pills again, I prefer to pay for the natural form.

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