Overmedicated... Or too early to tell?

[Pawnstarr]

Ok so I'm probably being paranoid here, but I've been taking Levothyroxine for 3 weeks today. It's been a bumpy journey...!0

My TSH was 8.3 & T4 11.3 and I was told to start with 50mg for two weeks then up it to 100mg for two weeks then go back to review. The doctor did a pulse check so I presume they'll check that again but I don't think there'll will be a blood test until 3 months.

I would say after about 3 days on 50mg I felt absolutely dreadful, far worse than before I started. It gradually got a little better after a week or so & by the end of the first 2 weeks I felt on even keel back where I started before medication.

After 3 days of being on 100mg I suddenly felt on top of the world (well perhaps relatively compared to the last few months anyway) - seriously, like someone switched a light on. Awake, alert, full of energy, amazing. Naturally I took full advantage of this & did loads of housework & what have you!!

So a week into 100mg and now I've come down... today I feel lethargic & achey. My eyes feel dry & I have a bit of a headache. I also had a wobble earlier this week when I felt a bit dizzy & like my chest hurt. It didn't last long thankfully mind you. So is it too soon to worry about being overmedicated? It was so good feeling well earlier this week... It proves it's possible, but I am so disappointed to feel rubbish again today - am I expecting too much too soon? Does it sound like maybe 75mg would be better?

[puncturedbicycle]

I think it is not likely you are properly overmedicated at this stage but maybe the increase from 50 to 100 was a bit much for you all at once. Speaking as a non-doctor/punter, I don't think there's any reason why you shouldn't try 75 for a couple of weeks.

What are your pulse and temperature like? Do you feel shaky, hot and/or chilled (like when you're feverish), are your bowels overactive and is your heart pounding? This is how I felt when I was on too much medication.

[Hidden]

Two weeks is too soon for such an increase. I would have thought you'd be better staying at 50 for 4-6 weeks and then increase to 75.

[Pawnstarr]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Tbh the doctor was going to start me off on 100mg straight away so small mercies perhaps she had a change of heart as she wrote the prescription I guess lol!

I'm on it now tho so I am thinking stick with it til I go back for my appointment next week... I certainly don't feel hot (I'm sitting under my blanket with the fire on as I type!) so no worries there. I had a moment of shakiness & feeling like my heart was pounding a couple of days ago but I thought maybe I was just panicking - I think I was desperate to stay feeling good & panicked when I thought the good feeling was passing.

No other symptoms really other than just feeling really tired & headachey again today, a bit fuzzy in the head again. Hrumph!

[Clutter in reply to Pawnstarr]

Pawnstar, Don't waste feel good days on extreme housework, says Waynetta Slut. If you get palpitations, shakes, diarrhoea, which are signs of overmedication, cut back to 75mcg for a week before raising again to 75mcg/100mcg alternate days for another week or two before going to 100mcg. Go back for a follow up blood test 8 weeks after you started Levothyroxine. 3 months is too long.

[Pawnstarr in reply to Clutter]

Haha sound advice all round there I suspect Clutter

[Pawnstarr]

Hiya, my Iron & Vitamin D were tested last time - vitamin D was low so I've been on 800IU tablets 2-3 times a day for the last 4 weeks. Iron result was 15 (range 7-32) so seems ok? Vit D result was 68 (range 75-200).

Not had ferritin or b12 tested tho. I'll ask for those when I go back next week!