1. Community
  2. Diabetes and hormone problems
  3. Hypothyroidism

Started on levothyroxine

Posted , 10 users are following.

dawn_38361
dawn_38361

Please advise as after being on this levothyroxine 50 for 2 weeks I feel lousy. My worry is my legs below the knee hurt me like my bones are aching. Also constipation like you wouldn't believe. Is this the norm ? Also do I need to change my diet as not been on a diet for a while after being diagnosed with under active thyroid. Any advise please ?

Dawn x

3 likes, 19 replies

19 Replies

Next
  • jean34329
    jean34329 dawn_38361

    Posted

    Dear Dawn

    Please go through the constituents of this drug including the fillers and additives. I have just discovered that the magnesium tablets that I have been taking contain maize. I am intolerant to this horrid substance.

    Maize is incorporated in many medications as is GLUTEN and AMARANTH and ASPARTAME.

    Jean

  • shellyC19
    shellyC19 dawn_38361

    Posted

    Hello Dawn: 

    My name is Shelly and I am a nurse in the USA.  I have Hashimoto's thyroid disease and it makes me Hypothyroid.

    LEVO is a thyroid replacement drug and it takes about 6 to 8 weeks to build a proper level in the body.

    Some symptoms of low thyroid are: Weight gain, feeling cold, muscle aches, feeling depressed, dry skin, brittle nails and constipation, hair loss. There are more but these are common.

    The medication needs to be taken on an empty stomach and some of us with thyroid problems have low Vitamin D.  This can also cause muscle aches.  You should have a ferritin level drawn along with a mineral panel, if you are low it will effect how the hormone works and gets absorbed.

    You should take a good multi-vitamin daily.  Also give the LEVO a chance to work and build a level. 

    Diet:  Drink lot's of water, it keeps your bowel hydrated. Warm fluids like just HOt Water have helped with constiaption.  Watch carbs as they can make you bulk.  No junk foods or soda.  Apples provide good fiber and salads allow good roughage in the bowel.  Avoid Alcohol, as it is pure calories.

    Doctors tend to start you at a low level to give the body time to adjust to the hormone and over time, it may need to be adjusted upwards in dosage.

    I hope this helps.

    Shelly

    • jean34329
      jean34329 shellyC19

      Posted

      May I add that levo contains maize just like many other meds do.

      So if you have an intolerance of this then ...

      I have recently discovered I have an intolerance to wheat, soy, maize, yeast, cows milk.

      Also amaranth and aspartame both of which are not only in foodstuffs but also used as additives and fillers in medicines.

      Amaranthis also a food colourant found in gravies and sweets.

       

    • dawn_38361
      dawn_38361 shellyC19

      Posted

      Hi there, thank you for your reply Shelly. I have been worried about the side effects or whatever is causing the pain in my legs. I am back to the doctors for a blood test once I have taken a month of the Levo drug but the metallic taste in my throat is awful. I am very tired but can't sleep. Sometimes my feet feel as though they are freezing then the next minute I'm hot. Hope this eases soon it's like living a nightmare x

      Thank you for caring x each reply makes things clearer for me.

      Kind regards

      Dawn x

    • barbara98940
      barbara98940 dawn_38361

      Posted

      Dawn personally I wouldn't redo the blood test until 6 weeks have passed due to the risk of a false high reading until your body has adjusted to the medication.
    • rachael29549
      rachael29549 shellyC19

      Posted

      IAlso have the same problem and first i was hyperthroid now hypothyroid so am using levothyrocine now this is the third month using this med but i have sore throat and feeling pain
    • shellyC19
      shellyC19 rachael29549

      Posted

      Hello Rachael:

      Some people swing back and forth between Hyper and Hypo and then the thyroid settles one way or another.

      I had that for years, then it made me Hypo so, it is protocol to replace the hormone with Levothyroxine and then they draw blood and check the blood level and can adjust the medication if needed.

      Keep us posted on how you do,

      Shelly

  • LAHs
    LAHs dawn_38361

    Posted

    Ask your doc to measure your T3, maybe you are a feeble converter of T4 to T3 - as am I.

    If your T3 is low (this is the active hormone) then you need to inverstigate why. There are a series of minerals and vitamins which you will need in your body to make this very important conversion e.g. Magnesium, Zinc, Selenium, Ferritin, Vitamin D and other things, but that is a start.

    T3 is the hormone which gives you energy and a feeling of well being, without it you will feel as you do, and as I felt for 2 1/2 years.

    If you do not find a deficiency in any of those, switch to NDT (Natural Dessicated Thyroid), I switched to Armour (an NDT).

    Keep us posted.

    • jean34329
      jean34329 LAHs

      Posted

      Some of armour contaiins maize according to a website so if you are ellergic or intolerant to it then ....

      Jean

    • barbara98940
      barbara98940 LAHs

      Posted

      Hi LAHs I found your mention of the hissing noise in your head interesting as I have that and didn't realise it was related to thyroid.
    • LAHs
      LAHs barbara98940

      Posted

      For a long time I was undermedicated on Levo (because my TSH was "too low"). My unimformed Endo said that because of my low TSH I was hyperthyridic and wanted to reduce my (undermedicated) dose down to 100 mcg. After 4 weeks doing as I was told I felt as if I would die soon. One of my symptoms was a loud hissing noise in my head it started when I reduced my dose to 100 mcg and it got louder until I got onto NDT. Within half an hour of the NDT pill the noise mostly disappeared. I still have a very slight sound but nothing like it was on Levo. Conclusion, undermedication of Levo will cause serious tinitis.

      I can reduce it to zero temporarily after eating hot spicy food with red wine. I am slowly trying to find out which element of this dinner clears the tinitus. My first suspicion is that it is the garlic or one of the other spices  activated by the wine. But, as yet, I do not know for sure.

    • LAHs
      LAHs

      Posted

      The smiley face was not intended, it was supposed to be a  ")"
    • LAHs
      LAHs

      Posted

      Geez! it was supposed to be a right hand bracket!!!!
    • annas
      annas LAHs

      Posted

      whats generally agreed here to be a normal TSH? I reckon around 1.5. Mine was 5.1. Now its around 4.00.  I am being told THATS normal and no more flagging up goes on.
    • LAHs
      LAHs annas

      Posted

      That's a bit high Annas. Get your T4 an T3 measured asap and review if you are feeling any hypo symptoms particularly low energy, sleepy, pains in leg muscles. Those were my first indicators. If your T4 and/or T3 turns out to be low, consider going on NDT, Armour if possible, that will save you the nightmares of Levo.
    • shellyC19
      shellyC19 annas

      Posted

      Hello Annas:

      TSH normal range is from 0.34-5.60 and the middle would be 3.0

      Some doctors like it in the 2.0 range.

      Stay well,

      Shelly

    • sabrina1971
      sabrina1971 jean34329

      Posted

      Jean, may I message you? I don't think you have private messages enabled...
Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.