Thyroxine hypothyroidism and epilepsy seizures

[Brumhoy68]

I wonder if anyone else can help. I've been an epileptic since 2006 I've had radio iodine treatment and i an now underactive. Ever since I have been taking 100 my of thyroxine I have been suffering multiple seizures Hospital consultants reject the link between epeilspy medications and thyroxine anyone ever had the same problem.

[greygoose]

I don't have the same problem, no. But, being curious by nature, I found this:

clinicaladvisor.com/home/fe...

[Hidden]

A full panel of your thyroid levels should be sent to administrators including your vitamin d vitamin b12 ferritin and calcium levels. If you have a vitamin d deficiency this can affect the metabolism of calcium in your blood. This can give rise to seizures. Other causes may be the parathyroid glands being upset by radio active iodine treatment. If you are on a drug for the seizures may be you could look it up on drugs.com to see if it has side effects. If the cause of the seizures is due to calcium metabolism and the dose of thyroxin may be website advisors will be able to give you suggestions.

[Brumhoy68 in reply to Hidden]

I have been hospitalised for twenty two days in the last six weeks due to a massive amount of seizures. Seizures have only stated since tyrosine started. Neurologists say there is no connection between thyroid medication and epilepsy . Endocrinologist vice versa . Stopped taking thyroxine in hospital for three days no seizures. I'd love to stop taking it but my tsh is forty three

[Hidden in reply to Brumhoy68]

Tyrosine might have a connection. What is the tyrosine format?

[Marz]

How are your levels of B12 ? I have read about a possible connection with epilepsy when researching for another ... If it has not been tested - then I suggest you ask for it along with Folate - Ferritin and VitD ...

[Hidden]

If tyrosine is a supplement to levothyroxine then it is not advised, as tyrosine is made in the thyroid gland by gland itself. If you stopped the levothyroxine and the endo concludes it has stopped the seizures then may be you should phone up the endo's secretary and ask to chat to the specialist. If the tyrosine is in the form of a kinase inhibitor which blocks certain proteins and amino acids then this is a different medication and you would have to ask your GP about it. If the seizures are worse with the thyroxine then may be the dose is too high. In any event if you cannot function then it needs attention. Request a second opinion from an endo. May be advice to lower the dose should be sought?

[Hidden]

If your neurologist or endocrinologist as not screened you for a rare genetic metabolic problem concerning tyrosine, then may be you should find out about screening tests for tyrosinaemia from NHS or from your medical database in your country.

[Brumhoy68]

I think I have been screened for everything whilst in hospital for what seems most of the summer twenty two days in total. I've searched the internet for the link between thyroid medication and seizures and it's uncommon at least. In hospital nerurogist is interested in my epilepsy which was controlled before levothyroxine was prescribed. So yes happy he has done his job. Endocrinologist says his job is to fix my thyroid which he is trying to do with medication. If they knew what dsix seizures a day is now like I'm sure they would think differently. I' was on 100 mg a day and that wasn't working. Tsh still miles too high. So its been upped to 150 mg next week. Love the way the NHS work together. Ive tried getting the two consultants together and their opinions blame the other. If I don't stop my seizures or they get worse with 150 mgg . I only have one option to stop the thyroid medication. Is there no alternative except for levothyroxine.

[Hidden]

Just a thought and a theory. People with too high intake of tyrosine in food and phenylalanine especially may suffer seizures especially with phenylalanine which may lead to seizures and phenylketonuria. Advice on Wikaepedia is cut down on foods high in these. I looked up the levels of tyrosine and phenylalanine amino acids found linked together in foods. If you had a higher vegetable diet with broccoli chard cabbage, peas swedes potatoes and lentils and rice, with lower protein levels such as found in poultry meat and fish, some types of dairy you might find this might help your levels of these amino acids. Aspartme in sweeteners is made in the body and is part of the enzyme protein breakdown of tyrosine so extra sweeteners may be a problem with tyrosine levels. Myfooddata.com has articles and detailed information concerning foods high in tyrosine and phenylalanine and you can check the levels in cheeses which are higher and lower in these. Cottage cheese and parmesan are much lower than gruyere and others. You can check the foods you like to eat for their tyrosine and phenylalanine levels and then change your diet. You might find this helps. You are supposed to have a certain amount of mg a day per pound of body weight of both these, but most high protein foods are way over the daily amount if eaten in large proportions or ordinary portions eg a chicken breast or wing. Expect a hospital nutritionist would be able to help. Hope you gain more information from metabolism experts.

[Brumhoy68]

Thank you for your replies . I have no idea what is going with my body anymore. My seizures have ceased having adjusted my seizure meds, I have read somewhere that levothyroxine can lower the working of the epeilspy medications. So hopefully the increase will help. Now I have another problem . I'm losing my balance when I take my meds for two hours after consuming then I have spaced them out but makes no difference. I walk like I have had ten pints, but I haven't had a drink for ten years. Neuroligist says it's not the increase in meds. Just had my latest tsh result of 46 whilst on 100 my of levothyroxine. Had graves a year ago then had radioiodine treatment.

Help!

[Hidden]

Having had vertigo due to inner ear and eye trouble - I can understand your difficulty. Expect other folk will tell you that thyroid hormone might affect your balance, but sometimes it an be due to sinus congestion or hay fever. I am now lactase free, as too high dairy can affect the inner ear balance with fluid or catarrh and mucous build up. I am better from cutting down on dairy, but drugs can be prescribed which relax the auditory nerve, and help with balance. As per usual I took one tablet and wondered it did not work instantly - and was told to take it every day - sure enough it helped. Prochlorperazine was the medication I took. Another tip in case it is to do with blood pressure is to sit up in bed slowly when you wake up. Then get u[p standing slowly. If you get out of bed too quickly it could affect your balance. I do hope you get help to find out what is causing the balance problem.

[rpearce02]

I face a similar issue. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis at 7. I’ve always been on levothyroxine, with them upping my dosage when necessary.

Almost 2 years ago, I started having seizures. I was very ill when I had the first one and I chalked it up as just being run down and sicker than imagined. I thought that it would be one and done. I was hospitalized and had several tests ran, including an EEG which showed nothing out of the ordinary. The only one that showed anything was the EKG and it showed that I was having ventricular tachycardia.

One year later, I have another seizure. Again, I was very sick. I had COVID and my local hospital was overrun and likely didn’t have the equipment to treat me properly so they ran blood work and that was about it. My thyroid level was 14.

6 months later I have another seizure. This time I’m getting over strep throat. I was on the last day of antibiotics and was feeling fine.

We ended up getting back in touch with Children’s, which was the place that hospitalized me first, and they decided to run more tests, including an EEG. I was convinced that I did not have epilepsy but the hospital staff were dead set on the fact that I did. My parents were concerned that I may be having a reaction to certain antibiotics, as I was taking penicillin based drugs when I had the seizure (the reason I was taking an antibiotic with covid was due to the fact that I was being treated incorrectly for a sinus infection). Anyway, Children’s decided that after looking at my latest EEG that I had epilepsy. Their decision was based off of one EEG out of multiple and off of (in their words) “mildly abnormal electrical activity that could be a mild variant.”

To say the least I was unsatisfied with my care and the medication I was put on for the seizures made me have severe side effects and I eventually stopped taking it altogether. It’s been about 7 months since my last seizure and I still do not have any answers as to what is going on with me, but I came across this forum and the notion that levothyroxine and hypothyroidism may cause seizures, so now I’m wondering if that’s the case with me. I’m going to call once the weekend is over to see if my levothyroxine dosage increases correlate with the dates that I had the seizures.

TLDR: I’ve had 3 seizures, I was diagnosed with epilepsy with barely any evidence to support such a diagnosis, and now I’m wondering if I had the seizures due to levothyroxine and hypothyroidism.