A good experience with Levothyroxine Sodium (75mcg per day)

Posted , 8 users are following.

Hi all, I read this forum's discussions on the above medication before I went onto it and have to say it scared me! So many terrifying side effects I was so hesitant to go onto the meds but having had a good experience so far I thought it may benefit people to read this and hopefully calm some fears about the medications side effects.

I have been on it for just over three weeks and feel so much better for it. My brain fog has cleared, I no longer need to nap during the day (previously had to sleep 2 hrs per day just to get through it) and have lost about 5 kgs on it. Diet definitely seems to be key to the weight loss, over Christmas I gained weight by eating festively (!) and when on diet (I follow the James Duigans Clean and Lean approach) the weight comes off brilliantly. My understanding of the drug with regards to weight loss is (please correct me if I have this wrong) is that it helps your hormone system by instructing to the thyroid to perform more efficiently so for instance if i eat mince pies, stilton and champagne my body will be able to break this down easier and because I am not burning it off, it stores it as fat a lot quicker that if I was not on the meds. Conversely, if I eat white fish, greens and water, and exercise daily, my body is able to access it fats stores more efficiently and therefore can burn fat quicker. Does this make sense? My Point is: Diet is KEY when we have this condition as everything you eat has an exacerbated effect on your body because of your thyroid.

I would love to hear your experiences on this medication as we can all learn from each other.

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • Posted

    I forgot to add, I no longer run as part of my exercise as my heart rate is definitely higher than it was previously so am cautious of any anaerobic exercise until my body gets used to the meds (apparently 6 - 8 weeks). I do circuits and cross trainers now.

    Also, to put the 5kg loss into perspective for other people needing to lose a certain amount, I need to lose about 25 kgs before I get back to my old weight and within a normal BMI zone. Hope this helps

  • Posted

    I also found a grey difference in my energy levels when first put on to autumn she most 20 hers ago. I es then in my mid 50s . I was not very over weight and I had just had a hysterectomy which I think didn't help subsequent loosing weight but exercising my Labrador puppy kept me pretty level. When she died I had developed knee problems so my weight went on, bordering on obese. Just this last autumn I had an unwelcome diagnosis of diabetes which actually was short lived as the cause was a viral illness. It did cause me to take stock and I have lost half a stone and am going to try to loose more. The older you get the harder it gets but I strongly advise you to stick at it because being lighter is so much better for general mobility. Good luck. Maggie W

  • Posted

    No, levo is synthetic and as such is ignored by the body, this is why a lot of people eventually have to go over to using NDT.
  • Posted

    I take T3 10mcgms and 100 T4 and have done for the last 7 years and feel happy on this combination. My husband fine on 125mcgs and my 39 year old son is on 100mcgs. I did try Armour for a while but I didn't get to an equilibrium on that and there were a lot of issues around prescribing it through the GP I had at the time. It is a difficult health issue and unfortunately not enough research is being done to find out how best to medicate people with thyroid problems particularly hypothyroidism. MWaugh
  • Posted

    Hi Suzieg, I wanted to say thank you for the positive post. I think there need to be more of them. After suffering from fatigue, depression, aches and pains all over, to name a few symptoms, I was given 25 mcg ( I was only classified as boarderline).

    I have to say the mental changes were drastic. I have the focus and clarity of thought that I had convinced myself were gone forever. Physically, I am still improving as I've only been on the meds for a little bit less than a month but I'm improving week after week.

    I understand that not everyone is having the same experiences as you and I but, like you, I was worried when I saw all of the negative comments on sites. For anyone that stumbles across these posts, you can have a positive experience on the meds!

    I still have slight issues with fatige, and carpal tarsal syndrome ( think carpal tunnel in the arches of your feet). Like you, cardio is a bit too much but I am hopeful that my body will hit equalibrium.

  • Posted

    I think a lot of patients can do OK on Thyroxine but the results may not be optimal. Why? because medics don't appear to understand that the body produces 4 thyroid hormones naturally whilst only supplying one of these typically. In time people have reported loss of efficacy on T4 only and having tried it myslef can say I felt worse on it from the start.

    Due to resistance to new research ahveing adopted a somfort zone approach to TSH and Thyroxine leaves many under active thyrois patients suffering neglect by being ingored or pushed away to mental issues.

    This is the latest approach from the ATA [US] which is beyond the pale to me.

    They seem to be unaware that the Internet is here now and 'People Are Talking' more freely than ever before.No one wants to inefere with successful treatmentas [why would they?] -but fuller research into cell resistance, low T4 bodily conversion and unduly high TSH upper limits [compared to the rest of the Western world]  is needed.

    TSH>3 is not accepted as OK elsewhere.

    The follow on, for most so neglected, is CV disease and Diabetes- all costing the NHS and the taxpayer huge sums -and growing!

    Meanwhile, sub-optimal lives are being tolerated as a 'normal for age'. NOT!

  • Posted

    Thyroid medication should not be a 'one size fits all' approach. Some people do fine on Levothyroxine, some on T3, some on NDT. You wouldn't expect your doctor to keep you on a particular blood pressure tablet if it didn't work, or you were experiencing side effects. You would be offered something else. But this is exactly what most doctors do with thyroid problems - and it's wrong.
    • Posted

      I couldn't agree more on this post! I have been on Levothyroxine for about 10 Months after having a total thyroidectomy in June 2014. 

      Ever since I have felt completely down the dumps! 

      Low energy, weak, Fatigue, hair loss, weight gain and recently after finding random bruises on my body and contacting my GP I had a few test & have found out my liver is not functioning. So he icreased my dose from 112--> 150 to see if that will help my liver, as I was slightly underactive, now boarderline over active and have changed to 125mcg but my liver function has still come back abnormal. 

      I mean when I told him my symptoms he gave me a very "Calm down- RELAX resonse rolleyes basically; we can just play around with your doses and dont panic about your liver, lets see in a few weeks if its still the same, and when I expressed that I felt depressed and complained about my hair thinning and loss- He's response was..... " are you getting chuncks of hair in your hand or brush? if not, its fine. 

      I really do feel like the "one size fits all" approach is applied to patients and indvidual differences is not taken into account, and almost like im nothing other than a NHS number on the system. 

      I'm only 23 and feel like they brush you off their shoulder as long as you function NOT LIVE! 

      does anyone have any tips or information to help me and others that have similar symptoms.

      Thank you.

  • Posted

    The attitude of health practitioners in relation to thyroid disease makes me sick (literally). It's always 'jam tomorrow'. 'Let's take yet more blood tests and then do nothing'. The amount of money wasted on futile blood tests must be phenomenal. It would be far cheaper to treat us properly, but that's too sensible. 

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