I sure am glad I found you, because I'm a bit upset. I live in the United States and I'm having a rough time with my father's family doctor, which isn't anything new. My dad's on 50 mcg of levothyroxine, but gets a tickle in his throat and a persistent, frequent little cough. After his TSH 2 months ago, he was dropped to 25 mcg. The cough disappeared almost immediately. Two weeks ago, after another TSH, he was increased back to 50 mcg & the cough came back right away. My father is a strong man who has survived colon cancer, having his foot crushed by a forklift, a massive heart attack, both knees replaced, a pulmonary embolism, atrial fibrillation, and most recently, quintuple bypass surgery. His hypertension and elevated cholesterol are nicely controlled with meds. He's 78 years old and has to wear hearing aids in both ears. My mother has moderate Alzheimer's and they live together in their home, by themselves. So I handle most of their affairs, especially medical issues and medications.
My dad had just signed a HIPPA form at the end of June. Unbeknownst to me, they had him sign another one just 2 months later, when he went in for a ProTime. He didn't quite understand what he was signing, though, and listed only my mom. Now they won't give me any information!! We have to go back over to the clinic after Christmas (the holiday I'm beginning to abhor) to have my name added or a new HIPPA form completed properly and signed by him. I am the Power Of Attorney for Health Care for both of them, but that has no bearing, according to the clinic. The doctor's office called my mom and told her there is NO correlation between the tickle/cough and his levothyroxine! Luckily, they caught her at a good, lucid moment and she knew enough to write it down and call me! In the meantime, my dad doesn't care what they say. He cuts the 50 mcg in half and has no cough, so he's happy and doesn't care what the doctor says. I want to see his TSH history, but right now I can't!
Sorry for writing a novella here, but I'm so frustrated!! My mom is on 50 mcg and I'm on 125 mcg and we have no side effects or problems, so it's not that I don't like the drug.
Here's my dilemna: I take my mother to all of her appointments and watch the paperwork very closely. My father is more independent and takes himself to the clinic for ProTimes every 2-3 weeks. Otherwise, I attend all his appointments as well. How can I make sure they don't give him any more HIPPA forms to sign when I'm not there? And will he be okay taking the 25 instead of 50 for a few days until I can get this straightened out? Also, he's on a diuretic, so he gets up to use the bathroom at least once during the night. That's when he takes his "thyroid pill". Would he be less likely to have the cough if he took it in divided doses, such as 25 mcg during the night and 25 an hour before supper?
Thanks for any advice anyone can give me! Bless you, one and all! ❤️
Written by
Mishella
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Is he taking aspirin with little or no water? Acid reflux? Many antihypertensives cause a cough.
I had a cough that lasted for months, before treatment started, and have also had one - and hoarseness - since. I've only had antibodies tested twice, and don't think when they are lower I've had few symptoms.
Hi! He's been on lisinopril for years & years. He takes an enteric coated baby aspirin with lunch every day, plus he's on Coumadin. He has no issues with GERD, indigestion or anything like that. My mother and I are the ones with those problems. He is on Coreg, which I've read can cause a small cough. He's also on amiodarone. The only time he's had this coughing trouble is since his coronary bypass, when they added levothyroxine at the higher dose. It seems the other meds don't affect it at all. He was also plagued with it, at a more serious level, when he had the blood clot in his lung and kept plugging along, trying to hide it, for 4 months! He was able to take small rest breaks and not let anyone know, but the cough gave him away. I'm wondering why his doctor isn't more concerned about that. I'm becoming very disgusted with this doctor, but my dad won't switch because this one is close to his house, and his "bedside manner" is very different with men, compared to women. My mom sees the same guy and we've had a few go 'rounds about her care! It took over 3 weeks, numerous calls, trips to the ER, and more, before we finally got to the Pain & Spine Clinic affiliated with his practice. She had a herniated disc and was in agony all that time. By the time I had gotten her to a surgical evaluation, she'd had a stroke. The surgeon took her in the very same day, but she's still living with the after-effects of the stroke. We didn't picked up on the stroke symptoms because they had her on one narcotic after another, which made her totally loopy that whole 3 weeks, and she was still in agony! I'm so glad I'm able to advocate for them or they would most likely both be deceased by now.
hello, I took lisinopril for about 3 years and had to stop. I had a dry annoying cough for 6 months and was diagnosed with bronchitis twice before switching from lisinopril to Benicar and the cough was gone. that may be the cause as well. your dad could try to take the levothyroxine in the morning 30 minutes before he eats and then again in the evening 30 minutes before supper and see if it helps. I don't think taking half a day for a few day will cause any problems. I hope you can get the HIPPA issue corrected quickly.
Hello Mishella,
Welcome to our forum and sorry to hear about your problems.
Levothyroxine has a long half life so does not require multi dosing and reducing your fathers meds to 25mcg for just a few days should not have a great impact on his health.
Coughing can be a symptom of unbalanced thyroid hormones in Hashimotos autoimmune disease. Before being diagnosed I coughed for a year whilst having chest X-rays and taking antibiotics. The cough disappeared once medicating thyroid hormone replacement and has never reappeared.
PPI's can also cause a cough by irritating the oesophagus.
Sjogrëns is an autoimmune disease (sometimes associate with Hashimotos) that dries the mucus membranes and can induce coughing as well as dry eyes, nasal passages, etc.
Disclaimer: 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.
Thank you so much for your insights! Some of his meds do dry out the mucus membranes and I'm always after him to drink more water!! Once I get the new HIPPA forn taken care of, I'm going to get him set up with his clinic's online source for lab & test results, etc. That way, I can monitor all his levels. He doesn't know at all how to use a PC, but he does have a tablet he likes. I've tried to get him on the website twice before, but you have to log in, then wait for the clinic to send a temporary password by snail mail. By the time it's arrived, he's forgotten that I told him it was coming, doesn't know what it is, and shreds it! I'll give it one more try. Maybe they'll send it to my house? I wouldn't hold my breath on that, but one can always hope!
It's hard to believe, but I have 4 siblings who live even closer to my parents than I do, but they won't lift a finger to help. "Too busy". My parents are very, very thankful to have me, especially since I'm a retired nurse!
Has anyone ever mentioned that amiodorone (which contains iodine) can cause hypothyroidism? It sounds like the reaction your father is experiencing is something to do with the interaction of the drugs he's taking. It might even be that he doesn't actually need the Levothyroxine.
I hadn't thought about that. Thank you! I know he needs the amiodorone to prevent a recurrence of the atrial fibrillation. The coreg, coumadin, lasix, and amiodorone are all prescribed by his cardiologist. He was left with only 25% function of his heart and we were told that's the best it would ever get. Hah, "miracle man" showed them! He's at 50%! I'm wondering if maybe he's on the levothyroxine to give him more energy, since he tires out easily. I think the direction I should go is to make an appointment with his cardiologist. Perhaps I could get more cooperation from his office. Good thoughts!!
Thyroid and other hormonal imbalances. Many people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia simply have low levels of T3 thyroid hormone. However, standard thyroid tests completely miss T3 levels, and Synthroid (T4) doesn’t help. It is estimated that 10 to 15% of all nursing home residents may be there because of low T3. More on hormones: sharpagain.org/thyroid-defi...
Some of us cannot convert levo into sufficient T3 which means we cannot function properly. I take T3 only - cannot get better on T4 so assume I might have a defective gene but not had the blood test. I don't need to because I'm well but others have found that they do indeed have a defective gene.
P.S. I have been taking Turmeric (curcumin) capsules(2nd part of link) for quite a few months now as it is said to be helpful for all autoimmune diseases.
NEVER take levothyroxin at night, it keeps you awake! I am having the same problem EXCEPT that I reduced back to the 25 mcg dosage and my cough will not go away! I would love to know what is going on as well!
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Hypothyroidism and dry throat
Switching to Armour from Levothyroxine
Levothyroxine and Atorvastatin
Is Levothyroxine toxic?
