Is this what it feels like to be overmedicated?

[foreversummer]

Hi

To cut a long story short, for the last 3 - 4 months I've been suffering with anxiety at night, tiredness, lethagy, brain fog, and for a while aches and pains although these have now gone, and general low mood, basically all the hypothyroid symptoms.

My ferritin is low as is folate and last week I started supplementing with B12, folate, B Complex, iron tabs and vitamin c. (I have used these supplements before and have not have any reaction from them).

My night anxiety is getting worse and the last two nights my heart was thumping before I went to sleep and I kept waking up feeling anxious and having stupid, awful dreams although I was not hot. Yesterday and today I am having regular heart palpitations. I've not lost weight, in face I put on half a stone over Xmas and I have not had loose bowel movements.

My TSH has been very low for the last 12 months, 0.15 (0.5 - 5.5) in February 2016 when my FT4 was 19 (10 - 22), and now 0.18 but my lab no longer tests FT4.

I take 125mcgs/100mcgs alternative days and have been since this time last year. I've just spent a small fortune on quality supplements and can't stretch to private testing at present although realise that I will have to do so going forward.

Does anyone think there is a case for cutting back to say 100mgs a day to see how it goes, or maybe skip levo for a couple of days. I know it's hard without testing.

Any thoughts you have would be very much appreciated.

Foreversummer

[Learner1]

Yes, especially if your resting pulse or BP have increased.

[foreversummer in reply to Learner1]

My resting pulse rate does not seem to have increased. It's just the strong feeling like my hearts beating out of my chest. I don't know about BP as I have never measured it.

[Clutter]

Foreversummer,

You aren't biochemically over medicated because although TSH is low in range FT4 is within range and not particularly high in range. I don't think reducing dose is likely to be helpful and would wait to see whether symptoms improve when you've been supplementing for a couple of months. Make sure you take iron 4 hours away from Levothyroxine.

[foreversummer in reply to Clutter]

Cutter, I think you are right. It would be silly of me now to change my dose otherwise I will not know whether its the improvements by supplementing, or the levo change, that will hopefully make a difference. I will give it a couple of months and see how it is than.

Thank you.

Foreversummer

[Learner1 in reply to foreversummer]

You didn't provide your free T3 value. That's the active hormone , not T4.

The heart pounding coups be an indication it's too high.

[Saggyuk]

It's really hard to determine what is being caused by what when you have a number of issues isn't it. I've learnt how to seperate them more now and pin certain things to which over the years but unfortunately everyone is different. For example, my heart rate has never been effected by being low or high - it was always fast and at the same rate whether I was near unmedicated coma at the beginning to when I've become overmedicated. but now know that it is apparently only vit d deficiency that increases my heart rate and it has been proved every time, if my heart increases, take vit d, it goes down.

I used to get headaches when I was low, and my period cycle length seems to change but other than that, i often get the same symptoms either way. THe one thing I get when I'm high and only high is a feeling of toxicity/nausia especially in my arms when I take my T3 and a worsening in symptoms in the first half hour/hour after meds. Might be different for T4 though

[Saggyuk]

Oh low iron is the thing that causes dizzyness and palpitations and stronger feeling heart beats without increase of actual heart rate in me

[foreversummer in reply to Saggyuk]

Hi Saggyuk

Thank you. My ferritin was 32.5 (24 - 400) last week so I've started supplementing with ferrous fumerate twice a day so this would make sense.

It is certainly a minefield trying to work it all out and trying to feel well. I've had times over the last five years since diagnosis when I've felt absolutely marvellous. I need to start making notes for myself I think how I feel at at different times. My ferritin was low before but I can't remember what my specific symptoms were then. I shall start writing it all down. And definitely not let the iron get so low - I'm going to have to work out a maintenance dose.