Did Levothyroxin make you feel awful?

[Lei9g]

Hi all. I have been taking Levothyroxin for a couple of years. I started on 50mg in 2016 and I am now taking 150mg. I have never felt any better at all when taking it apart from when I have a dose increase I feel a little better but it’s short lived. My last does increase from 125 to 150 I felt nothing. My sysmptoms all got MUCH worse when I started to take Levo. In fact, I felt fine until my doc said my thyroid is under active and told I need to take Levo. Since then I am constantly tired, my muscles ache and tire with the lightest of use, I have put on 2 stone in weight, my jaw and neck hurts, itchy skin all over. I could go on. Did you guys get symptoms like this?

My tsh is 0.5 and my t4 at last time of testing was about 17 but I can’t remember wat my t3 was. Anyway to cut a long story short. I visited a private endo last week and he has prescribed erfa thyroid 60mg. Told me to increase dosage slowly. I have been taking 1/2 tabs 3 times a day but have been feeling hyper (racy) if that makes sense so I cut it back to 1/2 a tab 2 times a day and feel less hyper. I think I am starting to feel less like the plug has been pulled and have a bit more energy but I am still tired and muscles ache with little use. Don’t know if the effects I’m feeling are placeabo or genuine. How long does ndt take to become effective?

Thanks

[Peanut31]

Hi

I can’t comment on NDT, but my good feeling on Levothyroxine was very short lived, the more I increased the worse I felt. I experienced terrible muscular pain, neck stiffness, brain fog.

I stopped taking it, and immediately felt better, I started self medicating on T3 only.

However, I felt good on this, but my health has declined on T3 only now.

Having looked further into my issues my cortisol levels aren’t right and my DHEA is low too, so I think this is why I’m not getting better.

I’m back to the drawing board and going to start again slowly.

If you can, try and keep a diary of your symptoms, so with every increase you can look back.

Best wishes

Peanut31

[wellness1]

I did not get on with Levo and noticed improvement about 2 weeks after starting NDT. Good luck getting your dosage sorted.

[Jazzw]

It does sound like you started too high on the NDT. The most you should begin with (in my opinion - others will doubtless vary ) is 1 grain a day. 1 grain is sort of equivalent, depending on how your body tolerates it, to somewhere between 75 and 100mcg of levothyroxine - but not everyone reacts well to having T3 introduced to their medication, especially people who’ve been struggling for a while.

So. Stick with your 1 grain a day for at least a fortnight. At that point, if you feel you could use more, raise it by another half grain and then stick at that dose for another fortnight. And at that point, consider how you feel and whether it might be beneficial to raise by another half a grain. But I would recommend not raising above 2 grains a day without (1) sticking with that 2 grain dose for several weeks and (2) getting some thyroid blood tests done - ones which include an FT3 result BEFORE you consider raising your dose above 2 grains.

[silverfox7]

Agree with jazzw. I increased by a half every two weeks up to two then went ontibquarters till saw Endo when I was taking 3 grains. Iwas feeling good but not improving any more. Bloods showed o was over medicating and so he told me to drop to 1.75 which turned out to be my correct dose so I had missed it going up to 2 from 1.5.

[Hidden]

I think that you have taken too much too soon. Start with a ahlf and increase every two weeks slowly is the way forward with NDT. I agree with the quarters to reach you exact (good spot) taken in halves you can miss it and go over.