medicine increase

[Agnes79]

Hi. 8 days ago I increased my levothyroxine medication from 75 to 100 because I was not feeling well, being quite sleepy, fatigued, dizzy....When can I expect to see a difference in the way I feel? Has anyone got any experience with that? Thanks

[shaws Administrator]

I think it will take about 3 or 4 weeks at least for you to feel an improvement and that's because it has a long half-life.

Do you have blood test results before your increase you can post, with the ranges, which will enable more comments to be made.

[Agnes79 in reply to shaws]

WHAT DOE IT MEAN THAT IT HAS A LONG HALF-LIFE?

[shaws Administrator in reply to Agnes79]

I hope this is helpful (i.e. T3 is metabolized very quickly) but T4 is much longer):

To review some of the basics of pharmacology, medications vary in how long it takes to clear them from the body. Some are metabolized fairly quickly, while others can take a long time before they are eliminated. We quantify this with the use of the term "half-life." The half-life of a given medication is how long it takes for the body to get rid of half of the dose. When the patient is taking a medication on a regular basis, there is an ongoing process of drug absorption in the form of each dose of the drug and, concurrently, an ongoing process of drug removal with the drug's metabolism and clearance. Eventually, there comes a point when the amount of drug going in is the same as the amount of drug getting taken out.

medscape.com/viewarticle/44...

[Agnes79]

I see...so .....at the moment my body is still running on 75 levo? right? And it takes about 4 weeks for the increase to actually has an impact on how I am feeling??

[Clutter in reply to Agnes79]

AgnieszkaBrygola, it takes 7-10 days to absorb the dose increase before it starts working. You may start feeling some improvement after that but it will take 4-6 weeks to feel the full impact of the dose increase.

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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.

[Agnes79 in reply to Clutter]

I have been taking the increased dose for 9 days now....have felt a bit better so decided to go shopping....after 2 hours started feeling fainty, dizzy, exhausted!!! Why? My morning has been soo great.....is it normal after the initial increase to feel up and down......please any comments

[Agnes79 in reply to Agnes79]

Please shaws, can you tell me if that is right? Also I'm bit D deficient and on 20000 3 times a week....can this also make me feel so weak and unwell? Thanks

[decembersignup]

In my case if I decrease, increase or change a tablet I feel it within 24 hours. But we are all different.