Coughing and feeling ill

[mrneduc]

I have been coughing all night not slept at all. I think I have chest infection. Does infection affect the amount of Levo we need to take? I'm going to try to see GP today and want to know beforehand if possible

[Pixielula]

Levo has a very long half life around 6 weeks I was once told. In order for it to be effective it has to be converted into the active hormone T3. So any extra Levo you take will start to show effects around 6 weeks from now, so no you don't need extra Levo for an infection, but it's worth pointing out unless you are optimally medicated you will be more prone to getting infections, and not being able to get rid of them as you normally would they tend to drag on.

[SilverAvocado in reply to Pixielula]

Pixielula, the half-life of Levo is about 6 days. It can vary if you're very hypo. 6 weeks is the length of time recommended to stay on a particular dose before it will be settled enough to have a blood test.

[Pixielula in reply to SilverAvocado]

Oh ok my professor of endocrinology was wrong!!! i was told that little snippet many years ago when I was on Levo.

[Pixielula in reply to Pixielula]

Levothyroxine half life

Levothyroxine is also considered to have a long half-life; so a dosage's peak therapeutic effect can take up to 4 to 6 weeks to be achieved. Levothyroxine tablets are generally taken once a day in the morning.

What Is Levothyroxine Used For? | eHow

ehow.com/about_5030300_levo...

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[SilverAvocado in reply to Pixielula]

Half life is the amount of time it takes for half of the medicine to be gone. So for example if you have been taking 100mcg of Levo a day for some time and have been stable in it, and you completely stop taking the tablets, the next day you will have almost the same amount of it in your blood.

After one half life (approx 6 days), it will be as if you've been on a 50mcg dose, what's in your blood will have halved. After a second half life passed you'll have the equivalent of 25mcg, etc. Pharmacologists consider you to have zero of the drug in your body after 10 half lives. This is similar to the amount of time you have to give up Levothyroxine if you're trying to come off it to have Radioactive Iodine.

Waiting 6 weeks to be stable in a new dose is to do with how long it takes your body to start utilising that dose fully. Although its only a rule of thumb. When you reduce your dose it will take longer for your body to completely settle, as your old dose has to clear from the body before you are getting the effect of the lower dose.

I hope that helps!

[Pixielula in reply to SilverAvocado]

Um it doesn't help me but I'm sure you feel better!!

[mrneduc in reply to SilverAvocado]

It's helped me to understand so thanks SilverAvicado. Steep learning curve

[Sylvia22]

I recently had a virus which made me cough gave sinus and made me incredibly tired. It took weeks to go and even now after 3 weeks get occasional coughing fit. My Daughter had same thing. I took lots of vitamin C and slept when I felt the need. I didn't! Change my thyroxine dose.

[Lily288 in reply to Sylvia22]

Sylvia22.

I wonder if you could elaborate on your virus episode etc. I understand the first part but I do not know what you mean by..."it took weeks to go"

Do you think maybe you've developed an allergy instead of a virus. I'm interested because I suffered same as you and I'm at the point where I think I may have developed an allergy to nuts of which I had been eating for a long time... 😊

[Sylvia22 in reply to Lily288]

No don't think its an allergy. My Daughter had it and also people she works with. We all said the extreme tiredness was the worst thing.

[JOLLYDOLLY]

Sorry you are not feeling well mmeduc I have a lot of chest infections but I just carry on taking my normal dose plus any antibiotics, always have and no side affects. The only time they reduced my dose, was when I was in hospital with pneumonia, but not sure why it was reduced, other than my heart was under stress due to the respiratory problems. As soon as I came out of hospital, I was back on my normal dose.

Hope you feel better soon and that you feel ok with the meds.

Take care

[mrneduc]

Ok I get that I stick to same regime- thx everyone. Been to GP useless locum who sticks to NHS guidance without looking at individual needs or history and that wasn't about thyroid. He didn't ask me a thing about the op or T levels or make any connections. I'm going to have to buy antibiotics off prescription from goodness knows where. I've had these infections many times and after coughing my guts out for weeks fighting the 'virus' it clears in days with ampicillin type drug

[Raucous]

If it isn't an infection have you tried eliminating gluten? I had a persistent cough (especially at night) which disappeared when I went gluten free.

[mrneduc in reply to Raucous]

I should try to go gluten free for a few weeks. Often thought wheat disagreed with me

[Raucous in reply to mrneduc]

If you try it strictly for 3 months, then test by eating some gluten (bread or pasta or something) you will soon know. I did that and when I ate 1/2 slice of cheap white bread I was coughing all night and it carried on for over a week. it was only then that I actually realised my persistent cough had gone once I was GF.

[UHelga]

Hi mrneduc . I've had a cough like that for months now and simply can't shake it off although it's being investigated now. I've been picking up more viruses generally in the last couple of years and they seem to hang on despite me being gluten free. I personally wouldn't change my dose unless there were definite thyroid symptoms which would indicate a need to do so. Good luck and hope you get better soon.

[mrneduc in reply to UHelga]

Thanks. I hate this deep coughing that shakes my whole body. Hope it goes soon

[mrneduc]

Had an awful day with flu like symptoms and coughing. Temp is over 38C for third day in a row. Heart racing and I'm feeling very weak. However I staggered to the GP who has ordered bloods including Free T3. So pleased

[LAHs]

Just my personal experience: I did an experiment to see what happens when I was under medicated. The first symptom was my inability to fight off a virus such as the 'flu. I have done this twice, once by accident obeying a stupid Endo and the second time just out of curiosity to find out when serious hypo conditions set in (for me it was TSH = 1.0 mIU/L). On both occasions the first symptom was the 'flu followed by a long series of unshakeable "colds".

I did this experiment so that I knew what my minimum and optimal doses should be, so that I was not at the mercy of a stupid Endo telling me to reduce my dose because my TSH is too low (for him and his course at medical school).

So, mrneduc , look into your dose of Levo you may just be under medicated like pixielula said.

Oh and btw, T4 has a half life of a week and hangs around in your system for about 6 weeks. After that it is not completely gone, just hardly discernible.

[mrneduc]

Thanks for this. I'm definitely under medicated at present waiting for blood results to up my levo. Today I feel sooo tired. The flu is better other than the cough. However the fatigue is a double whammy. Friend has given me some T3 so I'm taking 10mcg per day to get me through. I want to buy my own without prescription but don't know of a reliable source. She gets hers from the states but when I went on line there was a huge red warning against the pharmacy. So confused and fed up