Headache

[Thyroidprobs]

Hello,

I was told by my GP yesterday that I have underactive thyroid.

Today I started taking Levothyroxine 50mcg and since around lunchtime I've had the most horrendous splitting headache.

I've taken ibuprofen & aspirin but nothing's helped.

Can anyone advise me if this is normal when you first start taking it??

I'm in the uk if that helps

Thanks

[Nanaedake]

Could you ask your doctor if you could take 25mcg for a couple of days or maybe a week while you are getting used to it and then increase to 50mcg? Ask if you can take paracetamol, it might be better than ibuprofen. Do you need an anti-inflamatory or just pain relief?

If you find you are still getting headaches after a week or so then try a different kind of Levothyroxine. Which brand have you been started on?

[Thyroidprobs in reply to Nanaedake]

Thanks for your reply. Should I just halve the tablet or ask the gp first? I can't get hold of my gp now till Tuesday as it's a bank holiday weekend.

I can take paracetamol it's just I've always found ibuprofen better for my headaches in the past.

The brand I'm taking is Artaris Levothyroxine.

Thanks

[Thyroidprobs in reply to Nanaedake]

Sorry the brand is Actavis not artaris!

[shaws Administrator]

As Nanaedake suggests try 25mcg for some days. You can halve the 50mcg tablet.

You take levo with one full glass of water on a fasting stomach (usually when we get up) with one full glass of water and wait about an hour before eating. Food interferes with the uptake.

[Thyroidprobs in reply to shaws]

Thanks for your reply. Do I need to check with gp before I cut the dose.

My headache is a lot better this am but it's still niggling away at one side of my head.

Yes I took the tablet as soon as I woke yesterday with water and didn't eat for about an hr and a half afterwards. Maybe I need to drink more water with it?

Thanks

[silverfox7]

Tablets have fillersand binders in them to bulk them up but also to keep them stable and it is possible that you could be allergic to one of the fillers. The easy way to test is to take an anti histamine one hour before your meds and see if that stops them. If so that it's the fillers. The pharmacist should be able to suggest another bland then get a new prescription from your doctor and try the other brand. You may not solve it straightaways as there are several fillers in each but not all the same but some overlap so you may have to change again till you get the right combination.

But welcome to the forum which is run by Thyroid U.K. There is lots of useful info on their site which may help you on your journey. Shout out if anything you don't understand. Also ask for a printout of your bloidsas well and their ranges and put your dose on them. This is a good way to fillow your progress plus if you have any queries it's useful if you are able to give us your last results. The ranges are important as they differ from lab to lab so without them we would only be guessing.

[Thyroidprobs in reply to silverfox7]

Hi,

Thanks very much, I'll try that, unfortunately I've already taken my tablet for today so I'll see how today goes first.

Yeah I'll ask for a printout of my results next time I'm in, I have no idea of what my result was as I was so busy taking in what the gp was telling me, prior to my holiday I'd been told I was perimenopausal so was expecting that to be confirmed!!

I've always had high cholesterol with no explained reason for it for many years, could this be linked??

I've had so many symptoms that I didn't even realise were symptoms until I started reading up on it!!

Thanks for your reply

[silverfox7]

Cholesterol will most likely come down when you are correctly medicated

[Thyroidprobs in reply to silverfox7]

Interesting as the gp has constantly been on at me about my diet, despite my BMI being normal. I wonder if it's always been related! Thanks