Can anyone help? My GP recently increased my thyroxine dose from 100mg to 125mg. I've an underactive thyroid but it's been 3 weeks on the increased dose & since I've developed terrible morning anxiety, I wake throughout the night with anxiety & am exhausted & incredibly low.
Could I now be in the realms of having an overactive thyroid? The symptoms all point to it & I'm at my wits end. Am going to call my GP today to ask but is there anyone who's had anything similar or suffered when their dose of thyroxine has been adjusted? Is it a case of waiting for my body to get used to it & if so how long does it take for thyroxine to settle down?
Am at my wits end - please help. Thanks
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Luby
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I see in your post of a year ago you were suffering adrenal fatigue ? Could this still be the case ? Waking in the night and morning exhaustion does suggest it could be.
Do you have your Ferritin - Folate - B12 - VitD levels in a good place ?
Do you have any blood test results with ranges that you could post - to help people help you better
Thanks for taking the time to reply - I really appreciate it.
I was diagnoised by a private Thyroid doctor with adrenal fatigue, but no amount of supplements seemed to fix it. It was then suggested that I had ME which I don't agree with. I gave up in the end - the regime of meds and the cost were all too much.
I now take an array of vitamins instead. I'm Vit D deficient and so take a daily dose of 2000 iui to supplement this, Multi-Vits, Cod Liver oil and at least 1000mg of Vit C.
I'll get my blood test results and post these, but I'm due to have another tomorrow to see how I'm doing on the new dose of 125mg.
Sorry to hear you are still poorly and cannot get through to your Doc. Try not to worry too much - I know it can be hard though.
Multi-vitamins may not give you enough B12. Do you have a recent result for your B12 ? Also some of the other ingredients may be on the low side. Often it is suggested here to take supplements individually according to your needs. Some of the symptoms of low B12 can overlap with Thyroid problems.
Hope you will soon feel more settled.....
PS Also wanted to mention that as you have Hashimotos - it is possible to swing from Hypo to Hyper. It could also be that you are not converting the T4 tablet into the Active T3 hormone. When this happens I have read that the T4 turns into rT3 which can cause unpleasant symptoms. So again seeing your results with ranges would be helpful - and in particular the FT3.....
Thanks Marz. I'll get my latest results which are pre the 25mg increase, from my surgery tomorrow and post these.
As I mentioned before, I did see a private thyroid doctor to try & deal with my Hypothyroidism, that's how I found out I had Hashimotos, but it never made much difference to my health or my actually feeling better so I gave up.
I still have bottles of supplements such as Adrenal Extra, Adrenal support, DHEA, Have been thinking that maybe I should begin taking these again, but without the guidance of a specialist there's always the concern that I might do myself more harm?
I'm actually quite exhausted at not being able to get proper support from my GP and also from trying to understand how it all works - the T3, T4.... Just desperately want to be well and sleep through a night.
Thanks again Marz, I'll order some B12 & give this a go.
Jarrow Methylcobalamin is the one most widely suggested here. They do 5000mcg and 1000mcg - I would go for the higher one initially. Keep under the tongue until dissolved so it is well absorbed into the microcirculation and so avoiding the gut. You may need also to take a GOOD B Complex to keep all the B's in balance. I know you are not feeling good at present - just try and read the link below about B12 - scroll down for signs and symptoms.....
Sounds like hyperthyroidism. Simply skip two or three days levothyroxine and see if you feel better, this will confirm.
It shouldn't be a case of getting used to it. If you have too much hormone (from tablets or thyroid overactivity) your body does get used to it to some extent but that's not desirable.
Could you be taking anything else that is causing these symptoms? Do you have thyroid blood test results from your doctor?
Hi Luby, If you were under treated on 100mcg it is possible that you might be over sensitive to increased dose for the first few days only, then it would settle down. As you've been on your increased dose for three weeks, this is unlikely. You could test your hypothesis by leaving off the extra 25mcg and see if anxiety reduces. GPs sometimes want two months on the same dose and a test done before agreeing a change, but you would be feeling poorly for all these weeks. Good luck, hope you're soon feeling better.
Thanks for replying, I feel comforted by the support from the members here.
I've been trying to call my GP to discuss the symptoms but can't get through. I figured it should've settled by now but the symptoms are getting worse - I can't eat as I'm s nervous and feel physically sick.
I've tried sleeping pills; melatonin, diazepam, nytol and nothing keeps me asleep through the whole night. It's horrible - waking with terrible anxiety and panic.
I'm going to take your advice and leave off the 25mg for the rest of the week and see if this makes a difference. Does anyone know how long it takes for thryoxine to make a difference and to also leave your system?
Am terrified I'm getting depressed or this is a sign of something bigger. I didn't have any of these symptoms before the increase in dosage.
Luby, the higher dose Levothyroxine should have washed out 7-8 days after your last 125mcg dose. As your GP thinks you need more than 100mcg perhaps you could try 100/125mcg alternate days when the symptoms have improved.
I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.
Thanks Clutter, I'd never considered this. I'm trying to get a call with my GP but my practice are only willing to let me speak to a nurse.... Some help she's going to be. Wish the medical profession took this seriously.
It's good to know that the additional thyroxine will be out of my syetrm in a week of stopping.
Luby, if the anxiety is still not getting any better while you wait for things to settle down you might want to look into taking inositol / suntheanine / aswagandha to help with the anxiety and sleep problems...
Thanks for this. Can yoou take these alongside thyroxine? I've looked into it and there's so much info on whether these herbs interfere with your meds.
I am on 75mcg Levo, and have been taking these at least a few hours away from the time I take the levo. Haven't done much research if they interfere with levo, but from my own experience I'm guessing they probably don't. I find inositol works quite quickly, but aswagandha is worth taking longer term as it is also supposed to support brain function. Many find suntheanine helps during periods of anxiety.
These are the the ones I ordered last time, but you might want to look at other suppliers as iherb can be quite slow to deliver, specially now. Anyway, have a look at the user reviews on here
It's funny, on Mythimazole, I would get kind of fearful, like when you watch psycho and have to take a shower in an empty house kind of fearful.
I wonder if your medicine is coming from the same manufacturer or a different one? (Same as you have always had, I mean, not my methimazole manufacturer, although, that might be a valid question, too)
Well, I agree with Marz, it sounds very much like low cortisol - adrenal fatigue - and because of the low cortisol, the body can't cope with the increase in dose. Have you thought about having a private 24 hour saliva test? If you could, that would settle the question.
Thanks Greygoose, I did have the saliva tests - spent a fortune and along time working with a thyroid recommended dr. I was diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue and I didn't get anywhere, I gave up and also had enough of the intense regime of supplements as well as the costs.
Not sure how to fix adrenal fatigue. Have now cut my meds back to 100mg, am praying it'll make a difference.
I forgot to mention that I've also found 5HTP to be helpful during periods of anxiety and low mood. I get mine from Healthspan. There's no guarantee though that what works for one person will necessarily work for another, worth mentioning though. I break the 100mg tablets in half and only take 50mg, and I've never taken it continuosly for an extended period of time.
I tried the orange juice cocktail - still woke several times with anxiety & unable to go back to sleep. How long did you drink the adrenal cocktail before you noticed a difference?
Its been 3 days since I reduced my dose, waiting to see if it makes any difference.
Got my latest blood test results so both levels have increased since the increased dose. GP Says I'm still normal & that I'm don't have symptoms of hyperthyroidism but if I feel unwell, reduce the dose back to 100mg.
TSH - 0.51
T4 - 16.50
My GP won't test for anything else & never for T3.
When I mentioned the palpitations & anxiety, she said that it's something else, am under a lot of stress at work. If my palpitations haven't calmed down then I'll need an ECG.
I'm not feeling better, anyone got any ideas? Thanks in advance.
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