Headache

[Malteser56]

Hello again, would going from 50 mcg to 25 mcg of Levothyroxine 2 days ago give me a banging head? I had to lower the dose fat to strong for me ? I have taken paracetamol not working, then tried ibruprofen still banging don’t know what else I can do?

[BadHare]

No idea about headaches specifically, but why take such a low dose? 25mg is not enough to be useful, but can reduce your body's hormone production. 50mg is a starting dose.

[Gingernut44]

What make of Levo are you taking? It may be the excipients causing you problems. Try a different brand and go back to 50mcg and see if that helps. There's a list of Levo on the Thyroid UK page which gives the excipients in each of the brands. Actavis (Northstar) and Mercury Pharma both gave me terrible headaches, stomach ache and horrendous bloating and constipation.

Btw, I started to take Wockhardt brand (unfortunately only available in 25mcg) and the symptoms disappeared except for some lesser bloating

[Hidden]

Are you prone to migraines? I used to be but they drastically decreased after the menopause.

However, during the long (and in some cases complicated) process of trying to get the right amount of levothyroxine, I have sometimes had headaches. Except they have usually been before rather than after an increase in levo. They seem quite similar to migraines, but not exactly, and are hard to shift. Maybe it has to do with our bodies adjusting to a change in dose. Every change has to be gradual with thyroid medication and two days is unlikely to give any idea how you will react long term. Some need slower increases than others. Maybe you are one of those.

One thing is not to give up. If the headache really does seem to be caused by too fast an increase, try taking the increased dose every other day. If you don't have enough 25mcg left you could ask the doctor if a more gradual increase would be best, such as 50 and 25 every other day, or even every 2 or 3 days and gradually increase. Most of us seem to have far more problems getting the increase we need, so asking to take the increase more slowly should be acceptable!

Another possible problem might be that a small amount of levo (even 50mcg is more of a starting dose) can suppress the normal function of what thyroid you have (which is already struggling and needs a break!)

Hope you feel better soon x

[HarmonyAngel]

Firstly I agree about 25mcg being too low a dose.

What brand of Levo are you using? It could be the fillers though a reduction in dose is unlikely & most likely to a coincidental migraine.

When I get bad headaches or migraines then I personally take ALDI's equivalent of Anadin Extra - same yellow & red box but only 40p a pack!! I also struggle with the fillers in meds, I know Mercury Pharma's have got worse over the last few years so i now only use TEVA's for my Thyroid meds plus a couple of others.

I hope that helps & also that by now your headache has gone 😊

[jgelliss]

You might try switching to another brand with perhaps less fillers /dyes and see if your headaches improve .

[McPammy]

Could you try liquid Levothyroxine. It has less fillers in. Also it is drawn in a syringe and you can take more tailored doses like 30,35,40 etc. It’s a little more expensive than tablet form. Ask your GP. I get it in the NHS.