Feeling weak and no appetite after being off meds. Is this normal?

[minkjaere]

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with Grave"s disease last feb and been taking neo mercazole and levaxin for 7 months now. Since May, my tsh and t4 values are in normal range, my antibodies in normal ramge in june. I start to feel "normal" n July so i went back to work in Aug. Things started to feel strange again in August after my doctor have increased my levaxin, instead of tapering my dosage. This is because here in Norway, you have to follow a TSH of 1.5 (1-4.3 range) while under treatment. After increasing my levaxin dosage, i started taking beta blocker again and i feel tired. I feel like i am going backwards again, getting the symptoms back. So i asked my dr that want to be off meds just to see if i am overmedicated. I know this sounds crazy but the thing is, nowadays when i take levaxin i will get heart palpitations after 30 min of taking it (6 microgram, i know it is too low, but from the very beginning my body cant take higher dosage than this) then ill take neomercazole for blocking, but i will feel very very weak after 2 hours of taking it. I cant find relief in these 2 meds! Since i have normal levels for 5 months my dr agreed to try that ill be off meds. However, what i experience now is that i dont have any appetite and feel weak for some hours a day but i feel "normal" again after i lied down. But no palpitations. Is this normal, is this the side effect of drug withdrawal or did i become hypo now? My next blood work is in 2 weeks. I hope there are some people out there that have similar experiences. Thanks in advancw for your replies

[asiatic]

I have Graves' and been on block and replace about 4 years. It took many adjustments ( into double figures ) and careful monitoring before we found the right dose . I can understand your frustration but wonder if stopping meds is the right choice. Generally the longer you are on meds the more chance there is of remission. You say your antibodies returned to normal very quickly. Which antibodies were measured ?

[minkjaere in reply to asiatic]

They measured TSI and TPO

[asiatic in reply to minkjaere]

I am not familiar with the drugs you are taking. In the uk we are given carbimazole and levothyroxine and I assumed the ones you take are equivalent. However you say you were on 6mcg levaxin . I am on 50mcg levothyroxine as add back and 10 mg carbimazole to block and so I can't comment on your dose. Perhaps if you could list your blood results with lab ranges alongside the drugs you were on at the time and how you were feeling people could comment on them. Hopefully you get some improvement soon. It takes a lot of experimenting to find the right dose

[minkjaere in reply to asiatic]

Hi,

Yes, i think they were the equivalent. I was also in the block and replace treatment but i am not sure if it really happened since i cant take the recommended dosage.

Thanks for your reply. I will try if i can get a copy of the blood tests results vis a vis the dosage i am taking.

[pennyannie]

Hello Minkjaere

Just a thought,

When overactive your body clock and metabolism run very fast and there's a very good chance your vitamins and minerals have been " trashed ".

As well as a full thyroid panel it might be worth seeing where ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D sit, as these need to optimal for any thyroid hormone supplementation to work.

The same scenario can apply when hypothyroid, as if you have been " slowed down too much " you will not be metabolising at all, and your core strength weakened by low nutrients, vitamins and minerals.

[minkjaere in reply to pennyannie]

Hi,

Thanks. I had all these vitamins and minerals checked last week. They were all normal, but i also ordered a copy so i can see the actual values. I can post them here when i received it.

[pennyannie in reply to minkjaere]

Good idea, as " normal " doesn't necessarily mean " optimal " which is where they need to be for people with thyroid issues.

[minkjaere in reply to pennyannie]

Yes, agree. And not all people fit in the normal values they have set.