MS

[MARGYDAN]

IVE JUST STARTED TAKING 50MG SERTRALINE 3 DAYS AGO AND IVE BEEN ON 150MG THYROXINE FOR QUITE A FEW YEARS. IVE FEEL ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE. PALPITATIONS. HAVENT SLEPT, CANT EAT AS HAVE TERRIBLE TASTE IN MY MOUTH. ANYONE ELSE FELT LIKE THIS. SHOULD I PERSEVERE?

[shaws Administrator]

Welcome to our forum and I'm sorry you feel so awful.

I am assuming SERTRALINE is an anti-depressant but I think as you feel more awful taking it I would phone surgery and ask if you can stop taking it.

What to do is to get a print-out of your latest blood test results for your thyroid gland with the ranges and if you don't have them today put them on a new post.

Your levothyroxine may not be optimum for you even though GP may tell you so. The aim should be a TSH of around 1 or lower so phone the surgery re the above and ask what your TSH was on your latest blood tests plus the ranges.

It's bad enough being unwell on one prescription medication without being given another which makes you feel even more unwell.

Have you ever felt well on levothyroxine?

If you are due a new blood test for your thyroid hormones, make the appointment at the earliest and fast. Leave approx 24 hours between your last dose and the test and take levo afterwards. If you've not had B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate tested recently ask for these too.

There is a way forward but we have to ask questions, learn more in order to do so.

The doctor cannot expect you to feel much worse on the anti-d

[MARGYDAN in reply to shaws]

thankyou so much for your reply, very informative.. i am due a blood test as they increased my thyroxine over 6 months ago. to tell u the truth was going to ask for form at doctors and forgot. you think they would have mentioned it wouldnt you.?

[galathea]

Well the dosage instructions in the. Bnf say start on 25 at night and increase if neccessary after a couple of weeks....

The list of possible side effects is daunting..... I would query the dosage....

evidence.nhs.uk/formulary/b...

Are you depressed or do you have undertreated thyroid symptoms?

G x

[MARGYDAN in reply to galathea]

im suffering from both unfortunately hypothyroidism for long time but only recently with depression.

[shaws Administrator in reply to MARGYDAN]

Probably better than an antid could be some T3 added to T4 as I assume your have a very low T3 which is the active hormone converted from T4. You may be on too low a dose of T4. If your Free T3 is too low you will not feel well:-

stopthethyroidmadness.com/t...

"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"

[sBurg]

Start lower than 50. It takes a couple weeks or more. But if you feel horrible on it, it may not be right for you. You may have plenty serotonin already.

[MARGYDAN in reply to sBurg]

im going to cut them in half from now on. see if that helps. thanks

[jjlily]

Hi Margydan,

Is it for nerve pain? I had terrible side effects from antidepressants used for nerve pain also with most of pain meds as well. On one of the PIL leaflet it actually said to talk to your doctor if on levothyroxine.

I put my reactions down to Hashimotos and Gilbert's syndrome.

[MARGYDAN]

no its for depression but thanks for answering me anyway, i think the worse side effect is this awful taste in my mouth!!

[dolphin5]

I've taken Sertraline, and I took 50mg from the outset. I was told to feel side effects initially, and I did feel rough! This lasted two or three weeks, but then they helped. I'm sure I wouldn't have needed it if I'd had enough T3 swimming around my body, but in the absence of T3, it gave me a welcome break from depression. It may be worth persevering, and starting on half a tablet sounds wise with your side effects.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do!x