Anyone suffer from swelling in the throat when taking levothyroxine ?

[Johnljc]

Hi ... I started take levothroxine 5 weeks ago but was suffering some side affects which I didn't enjoy ...... anxiety..irritable...low sex drive and also swelling in my throat that throbs......

I decided to come come the meds but after 5 days I went back on ... I didn't feel myself...dizzy .. tired ...confused and throbbing in my throat.

Has anyone else suffered these before ..... I'm 39 year old male and taking 25m of levoth roxine

Thanks

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Some people find they feel worse to start with and you are on a very small dose. 25mcg is usually reserved for children, the elderly or those with a heart condition. You could have been started on 50mcg or even more.

Also, the brand may not suit you, they all have fillers and you could be reacting to those. If you are taking Teva brand then lots on people have side effects from that one. You could ask for a different brand.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

What were Thyroid results that caused GP to start you on Levothyroxine

You should have had tested TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus thyroid antibodies

Ideally also vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

If you add results and ranges then members can advise

As SeasideSusie says, 25mcg is very small dose and can make you feel worse.

Nice guidelines saying how to initiate and increase

cks.nice.org.uk/hypothyroid...

You should have bloods retested 6 weeks after being on CONSTANT dose. So you will need to wait to retest as you stopped for 5 days

All thyroid tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting and don't take Levo in the 24 hours prior to test, delay and take straight after. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results (patient to patient tip)

[shaws Administrator]

Welcome to our forum, and we do have male members on the forum but the majority are female as we seem to develop it more than males. However I am sorry you are hypothyroid and as SeasideSusie states a low dose can backfire, especially when starting it shoud be 50mcg with 25mcg increments every six weeks following a blood test.

You will find if you read people's posts that you will slowly realise what you need to do to get the best out of levothyroxine and once you feel well with no clinical symptoms you will feel much better.

If you were very frail with a heart disease, 25mcg would be given. Normally it is 50mcg.

Next time blood tests are due you should make it well in advance so you have the choice of the earliest appointment.

The procedure to follow is:-

Blood test at the very earliest possible, fasting (you can drink water) and allow a gap of 24 hours between last dose of levo and the test and take it afterwards.

Levo is taken first thing on an empty stomach with one full glass of water and wait an hour before eating. Food interferes with the uptake of the hormone. Or - some prefer a bedtime dose - as long as you've last eaten about 2.5 to 3 hours before so that stomach is empty.

If you decide on a bedtime dose, you miss it if having a blood test next day and take after test and night dose as usual. (some people take a weekly dose of levo).

Always ask for a print-out of your results and make sure the ranges are also stated. The ranges are figures in brackets after the result. The aim is a TSH of 1 or below. Many GPs beieve once your TSH is 'in range' (even up to 5) that we're on sufficient dose but aren't.

Also ask GP, for next blood test, B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate as everything has to be optimal.

We are dealing with hormones and we cannot live without them and thyroid hormones run our whole metabolism and heart and brain need the most. List of clinical symptoms which should ease as dose is increased. I'd make your appointment earlier than six weeks and if GP states it is done every six weeks tell him your starting dose should have been 50mcg, as advised by the NHS Choices for information and advice Thyroiduk.org.uk.

We cannot rush onto a large dose and as the hormones are increased the better you should feel. It has taken years before we are diagnosed and we don't realise it early on.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

Some surgeries charge a nominal sum for the copy of the test (mine charge 30p per page) and it enables you to post them for answers. Next time, if thyroid antibodies haven't been tested ask for these too as it would mean you have an Autoimmune Thyroid Disease called Hashimoto's which is the commonest form of hypothyroidism but treatment is the same.

[Johnljc]

Thanks for the replies ...... I initially went to the docs with palpitations in early October.... I had some bloods done and it flagged up thyroid and cholesterol and to go back in January this year to have bloods done again.

Again this flagged up hypothyroidism but the doctor said it was opposite to the first test which he said was understandable because my brain is telling my thyroid to work harder..and was put on 25mcg of levothyoxine and told to go back in 6 months for another blood test ...so I'm not due to go till June.

I'm sorry I've not got any results to hand but will ask for one next time

The main thing that is worryng me is the swelling in my throat which I assume is my thyroid gland .... has anyone experienced this .

Thanks for the welcome

[Apollo11]

Hi, and sorry to hear of your thyroid problems. I was in a similar position to you with throat problems before Christmas. Symptoms were lower tight throat feeling, clicking larynx on swallowing, it turned out that a couple of small thyroid nodules were responsible (I knew this as the tightness was in the exact same location as the nodules) My TSH is 3.5 so edging towards hypothyroid, although my other results were fine and no antibodies detected. I don’t take levothyroxine but perhaps might in the future.

Perhaps this tightness feeling of your throat isn’t due to the levothyroxine, and maybe it would be a good idea to have an ultrasound of your thyroid to rule out any other cause. I had one done late 2017, if you do have one then ensure that a consultant radiologist carries it out rather than a standard one.

I alleviated my tight throat through research which led me to take certain health supplements. I would say my throat tightness is now 95% better after two months of supplementing along with a reduced thyroid nodule volume. If you would like to know what supplements I take then let me know. I’m also male, 45 years old and all of this came as a shock to me. I blame it on job stress / exhaustion.

[Frostie5o in reply to Apollo11]

Hi..could you please tell me the supplements you use to make your throat feel better...as I'm really suffering with throat tightness thank you