My psychiatrist prescribed Levo. I started on 25mcg and was increased to 50mcg after 10 days . 10 days on 50mcg I started experiencing my old symptoms of non stop pounding heart ( for no reason) and feelings of anxiety which kept me awake all night. Plus my digestive issues were extremely bad and I had really bad heartburn and pains in my back . Just felt worse than ever.
Is this just something i should work through or does the Levo not agree with me ?
( Advice from pharmacist was to leave off for 2 days, and if better, to restart and see if I get the same effect again )
Xx
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wiiliamsa
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That's actually a very short time frame to increase levo. Normally it's 6-8 weeks after starting on the initial dose after retesting thyroid function tests. I'm wondering if your body didn't have enough time to adjust to taking levo before the increase.
Do you have any thyroid function test results? 25mcg is a very small start dose, it's usually 50mcg unless the patient is elderly, a child, or maybe rather petite in stature.
Are you actually taking the levo for diagnosed hypothyroidism?
Hi SeasideSusie and Mango_555 It's a really long story . I've not been diagnosed . But shortly after having my last child 10 yrs ago I became very ill with extreme fatigue and weight loss, loss of hair, including body hair , digestive issues, gynaecological issues , brain fog , dry skin hair and brittle nails . Hoarse voice , lump in throat etc. My memory is so bad now I can't remember them all .
But the worst thing for me was the chronic fatigue and exercise intolerance as I've always been so fit and strong . Exercise was my passion.
I suspected I had overactive thyroid at first and one by one my systems seemed to be affected .
Doctor said nothing wrong all due to anxiety and depression .
I've changed doctors surgeries 2 times and I feel my 1st doctor has put something in my notes and so this " depression" has followed me .
Through lots of trying to research and solve this nightmare I'm trapped in, i came across this fab forum .
I paid to see a psychiatrist as a very last resort 2 yrs ago, when I started having " panic attacks" and a pounding heart which could last from hrs to all day . I felt my body was missing something, be it a vitamin , a hormone , whatever . But something was wrong as I felt my body was going to collapse and break down . I wondered of I was having a nervous breakdown !?
But I know all this time all my symptoms were being caused by something .
Anyway sorry about long post .
I went to psychiatrist . He prescribed anti d for the "anxiety etc " I was so house bound reacting to anything I ate or drank, super sensitive to meds and vitamins I was willing to try anything at this point. It took me 2 weeks to pluck up the courage to take the anti d due to all previous reactions. I have never been a worrier or panicker in my life.
It has worked to stop the " panic , collapse " feeling . But all the other symptoms are still there . So I asked him if he would be willing to try me on t3 , as I'd read that can help some people with depression . ( even though i dont believe it was depression that got me where i am today) Plus my t3 and t4 are at the low end of normal . He agreed that it was a good idea but prescribed t4 !
He's a lovely man and has vowed he will help get me better. He is the only person who hasn't told me to practically go away .
I haven't had bloods done before the increase in meds but I've reduced my dose back to 25mcg, and I have bloods due in 2 weeks.
I just feel so rubbish there are days like others here, that I wonder if I have a future . After 10 years of existing,I feel no nearer to getting rid of that brick wall in front of me . I am usually a very positive person and anything I am faced with I always approach with a positive attitude , but right now I just want to lay down and say that's enough.
OK williamsa thanks for telling us your story. Something is obviously going on and goes back a long way and, like so many, your doctors didn't try to get to the bottom of it.
If you haven't already done so, I would suggest what we recommend most people to do, and that is get a full thyroid function test and also vitamins and minerals tested. If you want you can get them done privately at a reasonable cost through Blue Horizon. If you go through ThyroidUK you get a bit of a discount thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin... . The Thyroid Plus Ten gives TSH, FT4, FT3, total T4, TPO and TG antibodies, ferritin, folate, CRP and B12. For just a bit more the Thyroid Plus Eleven adds Vit D. That will give a good picture of your thyroid status and also tell whether you are deficient in any vitamins and minerals which might be causing some of your symptoms. You can do both by fingerprick test if you wish.
If you've got any test results at all you could put them in a new post for comment, or as the BH service is very quick you might want to wait. When you have all your results, make a new post, give result plus reference ranges and also not any medication you are taking. Members can then make suggestions.
Sorry about the long winded info . There's so much more but I didn't want you to rusk falling asleep on me lol
I have had the private tests done a few times .
My ferritin was v low. Folate pretty good . B12 in 300 's so low again . Vit d low .
I wasn't able to tolerate any of the above vits they would all cause racing heart and uncomfortable anxiety .
So I have started introducing iron but not the others yet as I'm so fed up of making myself feel more ill. Silly I know but I've struggled for so long If I can't improve things then I prefer to stay on the "tolerable" level I have become accustomed to .
I am having ferritin and thyroid done on the NHS in 2 weeks but I'm going to have to get private tests done to get a full picture, as you said .
Hi williamsa - have I recovered? No, not yet. Another long story (most in my profile) but I've come to realise in the last 12 months that it's not simple and there were other things involved that probably came about because of long term ignorance/non treatment of problems caused by long term hypo, although treated. Recognition of adrenal problems along with almost non-existent sex hormones plus addressing these problems seem to be helping and I'm in a better place than I was, hopefully there will be further improvement.
You obviously need to find a way of improving your vits and mins and maybe you need the most pure forms you can get, with no fillers or other recipients to cause any problems. Worth looking into, maybe something like these
please google Kelly Brogan MD, who is a holistic psychiatrist who has found food triggers for this kind of thing. She has a great website with all kinds of info to help you get well and take a different approach to mental health issues. Levo, is just the worst, in my opinion. t3 thyroid meds help depression, but not leveo. Have you been tested for hashimotos disease? Do you have any thyroid labs at all to list here. I have been and met many people, with your symptoms. You should not take psychiatric meds..in my opinion either, for a physcial issue..its not mental.
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