Unacceptable side effects of Levothyroxine

Write to the manufacturers of the drug they are very good they will get back to you and you will find their address on the side of the box, if not then ask the pharmacist for the address they will be happy to give it to you. If we don't let them know how can they do anything about it ??. Good luck!!  C

I spent the better half of the morning looking things up , for myself, and unless your tsh is more than 10 standard procedure is not to take anything. Sweating is a symptom of hypER thyroidism so my guess is you shouldn't be taking it.

 I don't know why the doctors start everyone all over on a really low dose of 25mcg every time they switch meds. But that's a recipe for years of not solving the prolem because if they raise it every three months, it will take forever to get where it needs to be if you need a high dose. Then you also have to take time for your body to recover from all the down time where it's been rapidly aging.

Keep in mind that thyroid medication takes about three months to completely level out. There are stages along the way of course, but when you first start taking it, it will often spike your blood work, which makes it look like you're taking too much. An expert doctor generally waits the three months to look at blood work. Also, your other doctors (at least here inthe US) always want to test your TSH and will freak out if it's too low, but that often happens withthyroid meds, so it's really pretty normal. You also need a doctor who will do a clinical exam and ask you about your symptoms. For example, if  your fingertips are colder than your plam, that's low thyroid. If you are consistently having difficulty swallowing, the meds could be too high, or theyhaven't leveled out yet.

If you were not off the medication for three months, you may still be experiencing a drop in the old medication as you start the new one. And your own thyroid needs time to turn back on, which is why they like the three month time. I don't recommend not taking thyroid medication. The thyroid is pretty much paramount to all the body systems. The location alone indicates that the thyroid is intimately involved in immune system regulation, as well as water and food metabolism. Dr, Barry Sears talks about low thyroid in his book "The Anti-Aging Zone" as the number one worst health problem to have because it ages you prematurely. 

The symptoms you're having with the baggy puffy eyes, weird sweating and tiredness are typical symptoms of low thyroid. Unfortunately the symptoms of low thyroid are often very similar to the symptoms of high thyroid.

If your dosage before was high enough and you feel the levothyroxin is making you sick, you may want to switch to a compounded natural dessicated thyroid. I found it doesn't trigger my immune system as much.

In the end, my experience has been that every time I don't feel well, it's because the thyroid medication is too low.  However, with the levothyroxin, it took me a year and a half to get it up to a dose that felt like it was in the right range for me and I still felt horrible on it. Which is why I switched to the natural. Much better now, though it's only been one month. I switched to the same dose in the natural that I was on for the levothyroxin and it's somewhere in the right range because I'm finally able to function without falling apart.  Hope that helps!

Also, because of the lack of bio-identical thyroid medications and delivery systems (taking it orrally is nothing like having it produced in the thyroid), most people feel best when the thyroid levels are at the high end of normal range or just above normal. Unfortunatelyunless your doctor is a specialist, they seem to get really freaked out if your levels are high, which also zeros out your TSH. But having low TSH on thyroid medication is fairly normal.

Keep in mind that most thyroid disease is caused by autoimmune disease, so that's a huge consideration in your overall health. I found I'm doing much better on the natural dessicated thyroid. Good luck to you!

i have found out that i have somethig called fibromyalgia, it was luckly nothing to do wth m thyroids, thankyou for your hlp it was much appretiated xxxx

After reading what you have been through I feels osprey for you.

It might be a good time to try a natural thyroid, if you google it by putting natural thyroid it gives you a few options?.

Then go and see a natural endocrinologist who will help you. But if you look on the side of the medication box it will have the pharmaceutical company that make it, if you send them an email telling them all the side effects you are getting? They should contact you and your Doctor re the bad side effects you are getting?.

I hope this has helped you a little?, and good luck!!! C

I'm so glad you have found something that suits you  at last. I'm still on Levothyroxine 50 mg, I've just had a melanoma removed and they took a blood test and found my thyroid level normal?. But I am still getting hot sweats and sometimes I'm getting brain fog, but I'm trying to diet and I didn't eat anything yesterday until the evening and it was really bad!!. I seem to crave for sweet things a lot and my eye sight has deteriorated so bad also?.

I really don't know where to go from here?

Any suggestions as I have never been fat but I'm putting on weight due to me craving sweet things all the time, which is why I'm stopping all the sweet stuff??  Carole

What the other writer said is true. Acupuncture is amazingly helpful as you're going through this process. It rebalances and stablizes things. If you can't afford one, most of the acupuncture schools have clinics that are very good.

The hot flashy things you're getting are what I call thyroid flashes. They happen when the meds are too low. You also can tell lthe meds are too low because of your unusual weight gain. Temporarily you can ice the cack of your neck to reduce this problem. but really, the meds are too low.  Rest assured they are not hot flashes, as you will notice your cheeks are not hot. Right?

Because the delivery system of thyroid meds is artificial, many people feel better when the meds are on the very upper limit of normal, or even a bit above. It takes three months for the meds to level out after each adjustment. If you get bloodwork too early, you'll get a spike in your numbers that makes it look like the meds are too high.

I tried the compounded levothyroxin for a year and even when the levels were right (the top pf normal range), it didn't work right for me. I'm feeling much better now after switching 2 months ago to a compounded natural dessicated thyroid, but still haven't lost the 30 pounds I gained from the levo.

You have two choices: 1) try increasing the levo to see if it works for you, because it's obviously too low.

2) try switching to natural meds to see if that one works better.

The thyroid is intimately involved in immune system function, although western medicine seems blind to it. Just look at the location, and it's obvious. So with thyroid disease, you get immune system issues.

Try acupuncture and go gluten-free. Really give the gluten-free thing a good go because it will be enormously helpful for your immune system health. Healthy immune system= healthy thyroid, as most thyroid disease is caused by autoimmune problems, wither Hoshimotos or Graves.

Hope that helps!

Catherine

Thanks again

Carole😊

Thank you so much for your advice, I will indeed try the suggestions you have made and see if it makes a difference hopefully it will?.

Thanks again Catherine

Carole😀

You could try them, but if you're back to your symptoms and all brain fogged and can't figure out the problem, you just need to increase the meds and or change them.

I tried everything before the meds and tehre was no way around it. When the thyroid isn't working properly, the rest of the body degrades, resulting in a system meltdown. More important to keep  your body healthy while you're solving things by taking the meds than to let your whole body go down. Dr. Barry Sears in the Anti-Aging Zone book talks about low thyroid being the number one  worst problem for aging.

Keep this in mind as you're trying things! Good luck!

Thank you for responding to me...I have never considered acupuncture but I am awaiting my first appt with my natural pathic doctor. I am very hopeful and I have been asking to be taken off this medication levothyroxine and the doctors simply do not want to give me anythiong else. I know this drug was killing me. I had to go completely off of it at my own urging to find that out. The doctors were not listening to my symptoms and just diagnosing other issues. I told my doctor I do not feel that my body is not accurately absorbing this med and she just did not listen to me. I have hashimotos....I feel I need t3 along with my t4....I think after 7 months if the levothyroxine is doing nothing but lowering my tsh then there is something wrong....I still have every symptom of hypothyroidism. Thank you again and good luck on your weight loss.....

Cameron

Take care!

The sweating was indicative of lymph node cancer as well.

Try a banana a day and see if that helps ur cravings and sweaty moments. Good luck !