Is Levothyroxine causing Diarrhoea ?

[Blatentlyfat]

Hello, I am new here.

I have been taking Levo now, for nearly 2 years. (I am Hypo, following my thyroid being nuked) From about 5 days after starting on Levo - I developed chronic diarrhoea and have had it ever since. Has anyone else suffered with this symptom with taking Levothyroxine?

[Clutter]

Welcome to the forum, Blatentlyfat.

Have you tried other makes of Levothyroxine in case it is the excipients or fillers in the brand you take causing it?

My sister has it and gastroenterologist suggested it might be the Levothyroxine when Coeliac screen was negative and endoscopy ruled out bowel disease.

[Blatentlyfat in reply to Clutter]

Hi Clutter. I have tried all manner of Levo variations and my Dr Practice even offered me Armour. Nothing has worked. Last week my Endo consultant asked me to stop taking my Levo for 2 weeks - in an effort to isolate and determine that Levo is in fact the cause of my diarrhoea. We shall have to see. I too have had an endoscopy, which was clear. Have not been previously tested for any gastric specific abnormalities prior to last week (5 blood samples taken) At the moment I wait on all results.

[Clutter in reply to Blatentlyfat]

Blatentlyfat,

If diarrhoea persisted when you switched to Armour I think it is unlikely it was caused by Levothyroxine.

If diarrhoea eases off when you are off Levothyroxine for a couple of weeks perhaps your endo or GP could prescribe liquid thyroxine.

[MariLiz]

It could be worth asking your GP to test your B12, VitD, ferritin & folate levels. When my B12 was very low I had terrible diarrhoea. Since being on B12 injections things have really improved.

When we have thyroid problems we are often low in these nutrients too. B12 is needed by every cell in your body.