Levothyroxine Side Effects (Page 8)

I was recently diagnosed with an underactive thyroid. I have been taking levothyroxine for almost two weeks. For the last four or five days I have had a weird feeling. It is hard to explain. I don't really feel dizzy but I get a strange feeling in my head. I guess you would describe it as a head rush. Has anyone else had this feeling and will it go away as my body adjusts to the levothyroxine?

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I have been taking 50mcg of this medicine for just over a week. I also suffer from a debilitating andiety disorder called agoraphobia and these last 3 days my anxiety has been heightened and I wonder if anyone else has felt this.

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Marie, I don't even have a lot of anxiety generally and on this medication, I was in complete panic (first, I didn't suspect the meds, since the doctors told me that they don't have any side effects). I saw my endocrinologist and told him how I had horrible palpitations and woke up breathless in the middle of the night (this was SCARY!), that an EKG was done, etc. He was looking at me suspiciously and asked whether I felt anxiety about taking the medication so that THAT caused my heart to pound like a drum section. I politely asked if it is so impossible to have these side effects from the drug. Well, he said, in his 30-year career he saw maybe two people who reacted to the medication, so it is extremely rare. After prescribing 75 mg, then 25 mg, then 12.5 mg (told me to break it), now it's 12.5 mg every other day... I don't want to do this. I felt better while on nothing, honestly. They explained to me how underactive thyroid is very bad for me. Well, waking up breathless in the middle of the night, BAD palpitations, insomnia and panic felt even worse.

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synthroid 225 mcg, weird more like, on meds for over 27 yrs. today i noticed that one of my living room chairs was moved. (2/20/2011) my husband said he moved it three days ago.
Be strong, don't under estimate yourself. Think of what you have accomplished in your life. Then ask again, are you crazy ? (probably not) This might sound stupid but crazy is not us user with meds. Blame America for not letting us use bet superior quality medication, Forsay like in Japan, Canada, France, Mexico and other countrys who have cures and we are a large government with uncaring congres. Who let the pharmacutical company control are well being. When you are down, think good deeds and thoughts.

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hi im 13 and have been on the levothyroxine for a few weeks and since i have beenreally thirsty and i am always qutie cold at night my ahsma has also started playiing up since i started on the thyroxine are these all usual side affects?

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Weight gain, speech slurred. Say the same sentence more than once. Can hurt your total ability to think and concentrate, (don't drive.) Over all total health can be extremely dangerous. Can become diabetic, manic depressed, and maybe even with suicidal thoughts. I stay on my meds regardless of what the out come. That little butterfly known as the thyrid gland controlls your body. When removed the body can't function without it, for your safety take the meds. Never increase the dose on your own, can cause damage to the heart muscle. Even death can occur.

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I am 31 years old and diagnosed with underactive thyroid recently and i am taking SYNTHROID. I don't know what the difference with that and LEVOTHYROXINE. I am taking 50 mcg and I don't feel weird at all, I actually feel better and more energy for me.

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Have been on 100 mcgs of levothroxine for 65 days and my TSH is now down to 2.3. That is the Good news. However, when exercising, I play tennis, my partners have noticed that i lose focus - concentration during the match. I kind of zone out during a point. It happened today. Is this what folks are describing?

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I had been taking Levothyroxine for 7 years. My original complaints were dry skin, slight sluggishness. My Dr. said it was due to low thyroid and put me on meds. At first it fixed all the symptoms but after a few years I started to notice that I was hurting all the time and slowing down. I just thought that I was getting older and it was a fact of life. The pain and muscle problems I was experiencing were coming on sooo slowly that I was not alarmed. I mentioned some of these problems when I saw my Dr. but she thought it was related to stress and being somewhat over weight. As my check up showed I continued to have low thyroid my meds were increased from 50mcg to 100mcg. My problems increased, still slowly, and I became more and more miserable. I could no longer be as active as I had been,I love being outdoors, or as active with my grandchildren as I wanted. I could not get off the floor without help, could not lift a pan off the stove with one hand, had a stiff neck so bad that I had to hold my head with my hand and lift my head back up after rinsing my hair in the shower, nor could I jump off the ground. These are the worst things I felt but there were many more. Last May by accident I did not refill my prescription on time for the first time in seven years. I was unable to get it for three days. Within that time I was 100% better than I had been in years. No more head aches, muscle aches, stiff neck, weakness and I could JUMP. I was shocked to say the least. I quit my meds and just enjoy life!!!!! I went to see my Dr. 6 mos. later and she was not real happy with me to say the least. She said she would bet her license that it had nothing to do with the meds. She wanted me to go back on them and said we could try a lower dose. I did just to see if she was right. I understand that low thyroid can do harm to a persons heart so I was willing to try again. Within 24 hours the head aches were back. Within 3 days the muscle aches were back. I took the meds for about 2 weeks, suffering the whole time and then called her. She told me to stop the meds and had sent me to an endocrinologist. I just went to see him today and he has suggested Armour Thyroid which is made from pig thyroid. I don't suggest anyone stop their meds but for those of you that are having so much trouble please continue to stay on your Drs. and get some answers. I'm not done with mine yet but I am being active in my own health care. Quality is as important if not more so than Quantity. Good luck

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I have been diagnosed with underactive thyroid recently. I was diagnosed with hashimotos disease in 2004 but the functioning of my thyroid was normal hence wasn't taking any medication. Unfortunately, my recent blood test showed my TSH levels to be 300...yes completely out of the range. Since starting levothyroxine I have been getting this funny feeling in my head almost feels like im going to be dizzy and I feel i've lost the plot, I can't focus my vision and feel lost! I get really irritated and agitated,get confused,feel like my brain isn't working and feel like im going crazy! I also experience a cramp feeling on my left hip...when I stand up I have to take a 30sec break befor I start walking. My dr has requested a cortisol test to be done but i still feel im lacking knowledge on this whole thing...any advice?

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Hi Nina, Every cell in your body needs thyroxine to make energy so when your body has been short for a while and then it gets some (levothyroxine in your and my case) everything goes a bit potty. Things that seem to help is to take it slow.... probably slower than your Gp has considered. My TSH was in the hundreds too and T4 4.6 and I started on 50mcgs which gave me so many weird symptoms.... to cut a long story short I was advised to backup a bit and take it really slowly, alternate days, and only introduce increases by 25mcs a week (yes, a week) and it really helps. Slow is OK, it won't do you any harm but just means it takes you longer to get rid of the symptoms. The consultant suggested I looked at taking maybe 18months to get to the optimum dose. Hope this helps.

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I'm taking alternates at the moment 50 then 100! Thanks for your advice...did u also start feeling funny when you started on thyroxine? I just get concerned because I seem to get new symptoms everyday but yea I think you're right maybe take of slow...do you have any suggestions in terms of diet? Thanks for replying it was helpful and hope your're doing well :-)

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My daughter was born without a thyroid gland, misdiagnosed as Downs Syndrome at 6 months and not discovered until she was about a year old. She is now 36 and keeping her on the right dosage has been a struggle. My best advice is to go to a specialist. She did the best when I took her to a pediatric spec., until she married at 21 and now has no insurance. They took her off the real thyroid and she has since been on both synthroid and levothyroxine. She never had a weight problem until forced to take the synthetic drugs, which her Dr. says are better. But, she now weighs around 236 lbs., and can't lose the extra 100lbs. She does exercise, my grand kids, her and I did a 5K last summer. She and I also did a 10K, and 2 half marathons, but it is really hard on her. Her knees hurt and she hates being so heavy. We hope to get her into a spec. this summer who deals with hormone issues. The guidelines keep changing and most G.P.'s can't keep up with everything. I know that it was recently stated by the AMA that the "traditional" dosage is much too low for most people. She suffers the typical symptoms of hypo, thin hair (almost bald) on top, unable to lose weight, always cold, tingling in her hands and feet, and yet her Dr. says that she is in the normal range. This is a very serious condition and I hope you find, or have, a Dr. that you trust and whom is willing to listen to how you are feeling.
BTW, because of what happened to my daughter, she has been written about in several medical papers, ALL states are now required to test for thyroid levels at birth, it would have saved my family a lot of hard times if she had been tested.
Good luck

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Hi Nina. When I first took it I felt really weird: Hard to concentrate, muzzy headed, very nauseous and more which is why I had to give it up several times before I got the hang of the taking it slow bit. Yes, just as I thought I'd got rid of one thing another reared its ugly head (I think the palpitations were probably the worst). I try to eat healthily and have toyed with the idea of iodine rich foods etc but I figure my poor body can only cope with one change at a time so I'm sticking with the conventional therapy for a while. After all, loads of people take this for years without any ill effects so I'm giving it time. Hope the slow, step by step approach works for you.

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it was reassuring reading all the posts on this site...now i KNOW i'm not crazy! been on the meds for a few mos-dose started at 50 then went to 100 - doc said my thyroid levels were low which is why i couldn't lose weight (was trying so hard because i'm diabetic and diet and exercise is the recommendation of the doc -became frustrating-didn't lose a pound whether i ate salads all the time OR burgers and fries!!!)...i've had many blood tests over the yrs and no one ever told me my thyroid levels were low...oh well, i took the meds and i'm sitting here right now wondering why i've been feeling crappy for weeks, like having a pre panic attack feeling /depressed and down, dizzy at times, not in the mood to do any artwork or do "anything" i used to love doing...i've been working out 3-4x a week at the gym last few weeks and have not lost a pound and still feel crappy when i get home! i HATE taking this medicine-seems NOT to be doing anything good for me---i'd rather be 20 lbs overweight and my usual happy fun to be with self...going off meds asap-my doc appt is next week...
sugar is much better since i've been exercising tho, so at least SOMETHING is going right...
thx for sharing your stories i feel better now that i know it's the meds and i'm not going crazy :)

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I feel like a complete different person since ive started this medicine! Feel lost, ive also lost motivation to do things I enjoy. I still am extremely tired despite having started the medicine. I seem to have new symptoms everyday, get terrible aches in the body as if ive just worked out and my body aches. I find it difficult to be active due to the tiredness but I hope I can soon strt to lose weight.

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I have been on the meds for a little over three weeks and I feel the same thing -- like an electric current is running through my body and it especially is picking on my left leg -- i also feel tremors . My doctor feels I should go off for a couple of days then half the dose. My thyroid is low normal, and I really don't want to take it if it is causing this . . .

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well, today i didn't take the medicine and i feel soooo much better-the dizziness is gone , still feel a little anxious but i went out w/my daughter and spent the day shopping w/her w/o feeling like i was ill and unfocused-still have some aches and pains in my legs but i see now that sometimes the side effects of a drug outweighs the benefits (for me at least) AND i would NEVER recommend going off the medicine w/o doctors say so...hoping tomorrow is even better than today!
seems to me my thyroid isn't all that LOW it's prob NORMAL on the low end -i will ask for the report next time so i can see... i was miserable on the meds...but glad to hear my spaciness last few mos was due to the drug and my mind wasn't going!

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Hi everyone. Yes the bottom line is 'treat the patient not the result' but thyroxine is one of those things like insulin that your body must have..... so if you've been running low for a while (years even) it'll take time (many months) for your body to readjust to it. The way to do it is slowly. However small the amount you take it is better than not taking it so if your doctor is unsympathetic backtrack a bit yourself until you find what you can take with no side effects then once you've done that for a few weeks add a little more in every few weeks (NOT days!) until you reach the amount your doctor thinks you need to be on. You may never reach that point but taking some is better than taking none if you need it. Incidentally I've lost about 7 kg over 9 months and I'm still on half dose but I think I lost most of that in the early days when I crazily took what I was prescribed and was so nauseus that I couldn't eat for weeks!

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I have been on this med for about 1 1/2 yrs. I too have gained weight and have lost so much hair, the front is pratically gone and I am on a low dosage.

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i have tried taking this med twice and both times have had swollen face lips, tongue and found it hard to swallow. Has anyone experienced this and if so what advise have you had or other med precripted???

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