Palpitations, anxiety and feeling very ill are all symptons of hypothyroid. When you start levo these symptoms can get worse. The thyroid has been working hard and can switch off when you start levo - however the low starting dose of levo is not enough to make up for what your thyroid was producing so the palpitations, coldness, anxiety get worse. This was my experience.

Lots of us on this forum have trouble with levothyroxine e at some time or another for varying reasons. If you post your blood test results here along with the lab ranges people will help.

Some of the things you can check out are: make sure you always take the same brand of levothyroxine. If you feel unwell, avoid TEVA levothyroxine, it doesn't suit a lot of people. Try a different brand.

Get your vitamin levels tested as low vitamins even if within lab range can cause symptoms while adjusting to levothyroxine and its common to have low levels when hypothyroid. Test B12, folate, ferritin and vitamin D. If Dr won't test then do a new post and ask about testing.

Always take levothyroxine on an empty stomach like first thing in the morning and leave an hour until eating. Leave 2 hours until taking any other supplements or medicines and 4 hours until taking iron.

Antidepressants are unlikely to sort out the physical symptoms and you might get side effects from them too. Try to eat only nutritious food and beverages to help your body heal. Get lots of rest, put things on hold. It can take 6 months or longer to get back on track so plan accordingly. You should soon start to feel better when on the right steady dose of levothyroxine for you.

When you were on the lower dose, did you have these symptoms?

Did the symptoms only start when your dose was increased?

When your dose was changed, did you have a different brand of Levo to what you were taking before the increase?

You got good advice to your previous post. Read through what folks said to you as they were being helpful. Many of those who replied have been through what you are going through.

You can post as often as you want and ask for help. Unfortunately sometimes we won't have anything new to say or to add to what has already been said.

Then I’ll leave the group, I’m not being made to feel that I’m wasting time, I’m actually on my knees but hey thanks for that

Have you asked GP to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 ?

These should be tested when we are first diagnosed as hypothyroid......

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also EXTREMELY important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) diagnosed by raised Thyroid antibodies

Have you had thyroid antibodies tested yet?

Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or all vitamins

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .

Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)

Important to know what tests GP has done so far.......and equally important what hasn't been tested yet

You are legally entitled to printed copies of your blood test results and ranges.

UK GP practices are supposed to offer online access for blood test results. Ring and ask if this is available and apply to do so if possible, if it is you may need "enhanced access" to see blood results.

In reality many GP surgeries do not have blood test results online yet

Alternatively ring receptionist and request printed copies of results. Allow couple of days and then go and pick up.

he shot me down and said it’s in my head.....

That's what ignorant doctors always say. Because they don't know what's wrong with you, they think there's nothing wrong with you. But, that says more about them than it does about you.

What brand of levo are you taking? Have you tried different brands to see if you can find one that suits you? It could just be the fillers in the tablets causing you problems.

Why were you reduced to 25 rather than 50? That's a big drop, really not good to decrease or indeed increase by more than 25 at a time, too big a shock for your poor body😬 just want to add

((HUGS))

Are the tablets the same make cos have read many who suffer when makes are changed when doses altered.

I completely understand that ❤️ I have been in the same situation as I’m sure many others.

These doctors do try to pass a lot off as anxiety.

But do try to remember anxiety is very real and can make you feel awful

I have ptsd and panic disorder most of your symptoms sound like anxiety.

But At the same time I have a lot of other things going on and I too wonder if this has been something all along and blamed on anxiety.

Long story really take a look at my profile you will see I have posted many times.

Do you think maybe your anxious of the medication ? Sound silly but I know I was when I started hydro xx

I am no doctor so i cannot tell you on whether you should reduce or increase the dosage the endo gave you, or if he/she is correct or wrong.

What i can tell you though is that i have gone through the same thing a couple of months ago and a member here saved me by recommending to take half dose in the morning and half at night.

Out body sometimes can't handle the dose change for a short while. So doing this, helps a lot, with minimum symptoms.

A 25mcg dose is not an optimum dose it is usually an incremental dose but maybe your body doesn't like levothyroxine and that it made you feel worse.

For your doctor to lower your dose to 25mcg which is an incremental dose is incorrect and we either go up or down in 25mcg increments and to drop down by 50mcg is too much.

The fact is that if we're hypothyroid we have to take thyroid hormone replacements but some people can have an adverse reaction initially until our body settles down. Sometimes we have to change the brand. You cannot improve on 25mcg of levo, and it has to be increased gradually every six weeks after a blood test until your symptoms are resolved and you begin to feel well again.

You take levothyroxine (T4) which is an inactive hormone. It has to convert to T3 (liothyronine) and it is T3 which is the Active Hormone and it is needed in our millions of T3 receptor cells which enables our body, brain and heart to work optimally.

Quite frankly I doubt there are many doctors in the UK who really know how best to treat their patients, other than looking at the TSH only.

Hi Wwerty

I totally agree with you.. Short info on my thiyroid had it removed due to it being toxic now have graves I was started on levo in May this year the day after my op.. 125mg..i was very hyper on this amount was dropped to 100mg then 75mg and now 50mg its been nearly 6 months after my op my T3 is at the lower end my TSH is suppressed I feel like I'm going insane I feel so ill.. I don't know about being depressed I'm sure I'm not I'm just so sick of the way we are treated as thiyroid sufferers I want to feel well again try to get back to some normally as I'm sure you want to.. Post your blood work on here as other members have sugested belive me it's hard to get GPS and consultants to listen but it's our health their playing with and they must be held accountable... I just go in now armed with notes on my symptoms ect and won't leave until I get some answers I'm going back to my endo as I said I told my surgeon you can't help me refer me bk to my endo ASAP... It worked..

Keep on at them don't give in

Good luck.. 🍀

I don’t even know if mine is toxic or what, my last blood was tsh which showed 3.8 and that is when they increased me to 50 then 75 but it made me feel very drunk and palpitations with chest pains, all other bloods was fine except vit d which was a bit low and I’m taking supplements for that, I’m at a point were I feel like taking myself to the hospital and refusing to move until they help me because I feel that ill😢

Werty, you need to post your blood test results here with the ranges in parenthesis. We need to see

Free T4

Free T3

TSH

Vitamin D 25 OH

Vitamin B12

Folate

Full iron panel with ferritin

The doctor HAS to give you your results and it's free in UK.

Then others here can determine whether you are hypo or hyper or deficient in vitamins and iron.

It does sound like your hyper with palpitations and anxiety... However they are also symptoms of being hypo.

If a doctor tells you your symptoms are "in your head" it means they're a crap doctor and don't know enough about the condition you have. There's 70k people on another support forum that I belong to, many many people post with the same symptoms you are presenting. Is it, "all in the head" for those people, too? No, this is common for thyroid disease.

Dr cannot prescribe thyroid meds based on TSH alone- they need to test T3 and T4.

You do not want "Normal" or"in range" results- you need OPTIMAL.

2000 iu of vitamin D is not enough, you need 8,000 daily until it's optimal. It needs to be D3 and take vitamin K with it.

Sorry for your situation. Once you are on the right meds you will feel better, but it does take a while to get there.

Just do aprivate test for T3 and T 4 it will say it all. Really it is thé forêt thi g to do. Go girl

I have read other posts where people have had symptoms after increasing their dose. I am not sure all the reasons why this happens. Many people are able to increase by taking it very slowly e.g you could increase to the higher dose on just 2 days a week and then every other day until you build up to the full dose every day. The idea of a split dose might also help. For some they might need to address an underlying issue which might be low cortisol or vitamins/minerals first.

Hi Wwerty

Don't be scared. I was like you. I had enough of doctors trying to get me to take antidepressants. Many times I suffered with dizzy spells and palpitations. I would have been lost without this forum. I been taking levo for about 10 years. as advised get the essential bloods tested it turned out I was severely deficiency in folic acid and my ferritin was low docs said bloods ok because they just in the lower end date of range I had to force the doc to give me high strength tabletsh I swear within few days of taking these the dizziness and faint feeling had gone. I also diagnosed with very very low stomach. acid so viramins or absorbed properly and I lost weight I now under hospital have dietician appointment to help with suspected gluten intolerant. stay with the forum u will pick people so many tips. I am not cealiac

low stomach acid common with underactive thyroid

advice from this forum helped my friend as well😊

Hi Wwerty, hope you’re feeling better this morning. Your doctor does seem very fond of changing your dose and I think sometimes our bodies take time to adjust to the dose we are on and that can include getting palpitations which settle after a while.

As you seem unwell on the higher dose after a few days of feeling okay and unwell on the lower dose, my suggestion would be that you just might need somewhere in the middle so alternating days on different doses might work?

I take 75 for 3 days, then on the 4th day 100, then 75 for 2 days, then 100 and go round on this circuit for my dosage. This titration seems to suit me fine - 100 every day sends me over and makes my heart race, and 75 a day leaves me feeling all the hypo symptoms. Not sure if that might help, but worth a try? 🤸🏿‍♀️🥛

I’m really surprised that I can’t see anyone has mentioned adrenal issues (I’ve only scanned the replies).

Whenever I try to increase my dose I get 1-2 days of thinking “wow I feel so good I’m almost normal!” Then BANG...major palpitations, feel hot, have dizziness, spacey feeling, anger, anxiety, basically feel right on edge.

Although there could be other issues this *can* be indicative of an issue with your adrenal glands not being able to keep up with the thyroid increase.

Basically it’s just a clue that your body can’t support the thyroid increase in some way (whether that’s vitamins minerals or cortisol acting as a limiting factor).

It’s complicated to explain but I had a test to show low cortisol all day long (cortisol is what the adrenal glands produce).

Upon providing adrenal support in the form of various vitamins, minerals, herbs and a supplement called “adrenal cortex” I found that gradually I could tolerate the increase and feel better rather than worse. I’m still in that process.

I would suggest you consider the above as being a possibility.

I read a VERY helpful book called “Your thyroid and how to keep it healthy” by Dr Barry Durrant Peatfield. It’s cheap and doesn’t take long to read, I’d highly recommend you get a copy to understand things better. It’s a targeted approach with advice on how to rectify the situation.

Izabella Wentz’s Hashimoto’s Protocol is a great book also - this probably helped me the most! Will take longer to read but you’ll have enough to get started just by reading some of it.

Finally, I’m really sorry that you’re feeling so bad! I have been there (still am, but improving).

You can get better but I doubt it’ll be by just ramping up the thyroxine immediately. Sounds like you need something extra to be balanced before increasing again.

(Just my non-medical opinion

Hi

I have been here in your situation and I have been ill for 10 years with hashimoto's so a tiny pill of levo isn't a miracle cure I am afraid, you might stablise for life and you might fluctuate up and down depending on your other health issues and life situation and you need to find your key triggers but rapid stress is a massive trigger causing rapid deterioration so try to look into holistic therapies to help balance your energy and mediation. Eat as natural and healthy as possible cut out all gluten and dairy.

Get an adrenal supplement to support your adrenals and maybe magnesium can help calm with anxiety and keep taking the vit D and look at NDT I can't tolerate levo so it was the only other option and contains both T4/T3 I think this will help you more than listening to your gp as I am afraid most doctors are useless and don't have a clue how really ill you actually are and I definitely have been to a fair few in my time plus several endos that have no clue or empathy at all on how you feel and what really is the issue they just follow standard textbook info so don't rely on the NHS to help you help yourself research NDT take an adrenal supplement and magnesium and vit D and see if you feel any better.

I felt more stable within about 2 weeks on NDT but you need to research into possible triggers and what your sensitivities are so I would recommend looking into holistic food and environmental allergy testing too you can do tests through various sites.

Also read as much as you can my key book -Paul Robinson The Thyroid Patients Manual

You have to really help yourself, look into holistic therapist / natural medicine they are usually more helpful with hashimoto's / thyrod issues as they deal with the whole body.

naturomed.co.uk/healthTopic...

Good luck

Also forget to add if you are feeling really ill the best thing is to go walk in at the hospital and they might get A and E to run all your bloods so you will have a full look into various other things too and you can use that as a base line to see where you are currently at and it's quicker than waiting for GP appointment if you explain them all your symptoms and emphasis the heart palpitations they have to do blood tests so thats your best option too!! I have done this before.

Hi. Sorry to hear you are feeling so bad. This forum is so helpful and has some really knowledgeable people. Better than the GP and most consultants!

My most recent TSH ws 4. 5, but has been 19. Have off the chart antibodies so have Hashimito thyroiditis . I tried levothyroxine and couldn't tolerate it as had all the symptoms of thyroid toxicity with it. I literally felt like I could run down the street screaming I was so hyperactive and feeling so bad. I thought I was going mad! I am not on anything at the moment but I am permanently achey and tired, with constant headaches. I do have fibromyalgia so could be that or thyroid so hard to tell.

I was wondering what symptoms made you to see a GP initially?

(Some Gp's won't prescribe until TSH consistently 10 or above, which isn't right of course, so the GP must have thought you needed it.)

I went to the gp with dizziness and feeling like I was swaying(I know that sounds mad lol) I felt like I had just stepped of a boat, but I felt well inside, I had put half a stone on but I put that down to stopping smoking and felt a little tired but again had reason too, 2 hyper children and working in a stressful job, running a house blah blah the vertigo and swaying feeling has gone now, the gp only did bloods because the vertigo was making anxious, she was sure everything would come back normal but my tsh came back at 5.8 so then had had antibodie test and that came back at 195, I was relieved as I thought starting the meds would solve everything, how wrong was I, before the meds I didn’t feel unwell like I do now, I suppose it’s a waiting fame but after 4 months I feel pretty done in, I have never experienced anxiety to the point I can’t leave the house, nor have I ever suffered with depression like I feel now, also after starting meds I feel like a constant lump in my throat and my neck feels sore, nothing noticeable and can’t see any swelling or feel any lumps when pressing, so to go, you have all been very patient and kind to offer me advice

Hi Wwerty, my heart goes out to you and I can see you have been given some really good advice from the people in the “know” on here. Don’t leave the forum it really is a very informative and helpful group. I have felt similar to you since being diagnosed as hypothyroid. I was diagnosed in February this year and it has taken me several months to settle. I’m on 50 mcg and at the moment everything seems to be ok 🤞. I found things started to settle more once I supplemented with Vit D & b complex. Although according to the blood tests I was only slightly low on D I took it upon myself to supplement with b also and luckily it seems to have worked. Like you I tried to up my Levo but that made me feel worse too! It all seems to be a very fine balance with vitamins and hormone replacement and taking good care of yourself. I can see that it must be difficult for you as you have two children and work and you are on your own. I really do feel for you. Try not to do too much at once and rest when you can. Love and Hugs 🤗 xx

Have you tried NDT as I got terrible palpitations when I was on Levothyroxine.

Hi I totally can empathise with you heart, anxiety, after 6 years of suffering of all symptoms being investigated by mitochondrial specialist ( due to muscle soreness) *at rare disease unit, heart scan , other specialists and terrible palpitations reaction to hrt, ended up in A and E its very scary. I saw a private gp and he is treating for thyroid after tests. Started low dose as I too am worried about racing heart. I have a science degree in exercise and understand heart rates etc and howit feels to wake up and my heart rate going like I'm running up a hill. You think your on your way out!! Hence very low start doseage after discussion with gp. I do lots of relaxation and meditation as teach this to others suffering with illness. Try parasympathetic nervous system breathing to rock your nervous system if your heart starts up. I can get my beats back to normal after practicing, plenty of videos on you tube. I feel worried mine will go again when increasing dose but learning to calm down your mind and body can help. Of course difficult if you don't know what's the cause but it really has helped me. Mindfulness can rewire the neurons after practice so you can deal with unpleasantness, ( the science brain and body reactions) I woke up the other night hands sweating, heart going immediately though levo but did my breathing said to myself stop you can get though this, breathed into my hand and metitated and it all calmed and stopped. Doctors need to listen to the patients experience. 'in your head" unfair whatever the cause of heart racing etc. I've had that for years and finally a gp who listens to me. Went private as desperate 6 years of hell, gp spent a lot of time explaining thyroid results and the science to me and people thinking its my head also. I hope this helps as it's an extremely unpleasant experience to deal with, but I've had a few bad episodes of this and the more you worry it's makes it worse. A calm mind and strong heart I send you my wish to deal with it as best you can as your doctors surely would investigate further, I ended up with scan of heart because of palpitations but also in menopause( hormones hrt) told to stop taking as felt unwell. Hormones drive every metabolic pathway in our body so thryoid medication will affect this too and I'm nervous when I go to higher dose but I need to see if I feel better as like you, my life's been hell with symptoms, had no life really so I am termined to take the medication, if my hearts fired up will ride the storm with my skills to calm down. 👏

I think my thyroid has been fucked up for like 20 years and I'm just now finding out about it. I've been way down deep in those desperate places and I'm still in one right now.

I wld never have known that u can get print out from the docs if the forum hadn't mentioned I started on 25 mcg 10 years ago and felt unwell for ages then I went to 50 mcg every day then 75 mcg bit that dose was too much. so I alternate from 75mcg 1 day then 50 mcg the next and I'm doing OK. I know when my folic acid drops and ferritin as the dizziness comes back into am using Better You Iron spray and folic acid drops and vitamin d and k spray u get from Holland and Barrett. like the forum suggest get main vitamin tested first. I had to fight my doctors to get consultant appointment. no one tell you how hard it is but hang on in there and get tips from the lovely people on here. I been member for couple of years now☺

So happy to see the f word lol, that made me smile, I’ve been using said f word a lot lately, I really feel for you as it is horrible x

Hello Wwerty

I dont know where to start, I had the symptoms you listed (read my old posts) no one would help me, I was made to feel everything was in my head, Everyday was a struggle, I was so happy when I found a lump on my Thyroid,I had something physical to make people believe me, For me, the only people who understand are on this forum, You will get better but it takes time,

Some people find it better if they take their thyroxine at night. I personally take my thyroid meds at night and find it much better because it doesn't interfere with the other meds I take

I have been taking Levo for 16 years and now I have functional neurological disorder.

Hi Wwerty, I’m sorry to hear you are feeling so rough. I also have a history of anxiety and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism earlier this year. I’ve noticed that my anxiety increases significantly when I need a dose increase, so that may be a factor for you. Maybe the suggestions above about splitting the dose, or increasing the dose slowly might help you.

Unfortunately there is not a quick, ‘one size fits all’ fix. It takes time and patience, but your life will not always be like this. Take care xx

I don't have any advice to give as the others have already done that, but I am here just to comment in solidarity and to let you know that there are always people here to listen and to not feel like you can't ever post. I think this community has helped a lot of people and I'm sure you will get some really good advice about what you can do.

You should post your test results with the ranges so everyone can get a good look and are you on any other medication besides the Levo?

I had same reaction. I had to switch to a pure form of t4 called tirosint to stop all symptoms. I required I lower dose since it is pure. I couldn’t tolerate additives in Levo or synthroid

Dear Wwerty, I'm so sorry to hear you are feeling poorly and desperate. If it is any help I recognise your symptoms. In my case I am currently receiving on-going consultant investigation to determine original under-active thyroid diagnosis.

Firstly, let's address the NHS script that appears to follow a common narrative when applied to the wider thyroid community. Are you familiar with any of the following statements, all of which have been addressed to me:

'you're obsessed with thyroid'

'the only reason I will refer you to an endocrinologist is to prove it's not thyroid'

'it's something else'

'no, I am not saying it's all in your head'

'I suggest a prescription for Sertraline to ease your anxiety'

'would you like to take statins?'

'to be honest if you came to me now with Serum TSH test result 5.7 I would not be prescribing levothyroxine'

'no, I won't examine you today'

'I am only testing TSH'

' you should go private'

'I don't think the NHS can help you'

'it's down to cost'

Reaching a crisis point when we feel abandoned and unheard usually occurs when we are at our most vulnerable, possibly under medicated, sleep deprived, bedridden, experiencing a host of debilitating symptoms such as you describe.

I reached such a crisis yesterday and resorted to contacting my local branch of PALS on discovering there was not a single GPs appointment available at my medical centre for two weeks. More worrying still, it appeared every endocrinologist at the centre I attend was on leave next week due to half term, confirming a real gap had emerged in West Country endocrinology care.

Like you, I woke yesterday and felt 'I can't take this anymore.' A cumulative response to three sleep deprived nights, sore lymph glands, aching limbs, dizziness, brain fog, frustration at unreliable energy levels, being housebound, feeling continually under medicated, being messed about by a consultant who changes the goalposts, refuses to test for 'something else' and has made me ill this year with their approach to TSH testing.

Dear Wwerty, if you feel you're not being heard, do not give up. We often gain insights when we're at our lowest. Request a ten minute GP appointment or ask your GP to phone you if you are not feeling well enough to attend surgery. Keep symptom and test result records up to date, request more tests. If you're unhappy with progress, approach PALs or contact your local CCG. If no GP appointment is available, and you suspect you're in crisis, PALS advise to ring 111 and they will get you a GP appointment.

I wish you well. You are certainly not alone.

Hi Wwerty, so glad to see your post today as I can truly empathize with you. The symptoms you are having makes me relive my own nightmare last June. No help from Doctor just said to increase levo and have bloods in 6 weeks. Done with me! Wow. It was awful, insomnia, jitters, headaches, not to mention what it did to the rest of my health issues.

I happened on this site late one night and found solace in the many replies and helpful suggestions. Things I changed were my meds/vitamins (which were suggested on this site)

O Brand of levo (Teva-just gives me shutters typing that name) to brand name Synthroid

O Taking Synthroid in the middle of the night (2:00 am) so Synthroid is spaced 4hours from other meds

O Alternating higher dose with lower dose every other day (75 mcg/88 mcg)

O Adding in magnesium glycinate at bedtime

O Adding in melatonin at bedtime

O and finally adding Trazadone ( prescription for pain and sleep) (100 mg) at night

AND HALLELUJAH I SEE THE SUNSHINE ☀️💥⭐️🌟

Well, severe sweating has been reduced, racing heart rate lower, sleep has started to come back into my life 😴 (thank God), and heart isn’t racing all the time. Fast forward from June 2019 to October 2019 (wish I had a fast-forward button on life) and I feel like I can face the day most of the time, but worried as new bloods are due beginning of November.

What I wish for you is peace within yourself, Health that looks like something is improving and an angel to walk you through your days of childcare, job stress, and uncertainty. My ❤️ heart goes out to you from Minnesota USA.

This is a long post (sorry) but I really wanted to send out my most humble ideas which helped me given by this fantastic group of people.

Best

Teresa

What brand are you on when I was given aTeva Ithought I had been poisoned one year later still having side effects

Not much advice to add except to say I can totally relate to those symptoms and they’re all thyroid related, I’ll never understand uneducated dr’s that jump straight to the option of anti depressants as if they’re a quick fix.

Hopefully you can get to a balanced state soon and start feeling better but just know that your not alone and it can get so frustrating trying to explain thyroid symptoms to others who have never experienced it (doctors included) but don’t let them make you think that your exaggerating or push you to anti depressants.

Hi, sorry you’re feeling like this. I started on levo a few months ago on 50mcg, and had a week of feeling very wired, extremely sweaty, and an emotional wreck. This then calmed down, I felt OK, and then I felt more hypothyroid than before I started it. I got reassurance on here to let it settle and understand things would go up and down. My bloods at 8 weeks said FT3 and FT4 had gone down, so upped to 75mcg... and the same has happened again - spell of feeling wired and emotional and very sweaty, then OK, now feeling tired and worse... waiting patiently for the next bloods. Just mentioning in case it strikes a chord and is of any help.

I totally agree with Merlio18 above. I spent years begging self important GPs to help me, but they insisted my invasive symptoms were all in my head. I then presented at hospital emergency when I lost my ability to speak(I couldn't form words), I couldn't stand up unless supported, and I was going in and out of consciousness. I was lucky to be attended by an eager intern who ran a slew of tests, confirming that my TSH was at 148...yes you read that right 148. I was immediately admitted, and after further investigation was tested for all thyroid levels, hormonal and vitamin levels. However, after juggling the obligatory Thyroxine dosage prescribed and loosely monitored by my GP over the following 2 years, although I was alive, I still felt no better.

Fortunately, I have now found an integrative doctor who doesn’t only treat according to lab results, he listens to my fears and treats my Hashimotos as a full body disease, now monitoring my T4, plus adding small amount of T3, various hormone replacement, several supplements and Probiotics. Garden variety General Practitioners know next to nothing about treating thyroid disease in my opinion, they are given a 20 minute lecture and a 2 page handout at medical school...but that’s pretty much where it ends.

Thyroid disease and its treatment is in no way a one size fits all...we must all scream from the highest mountain and demand optimal treatment, the key to feeling well is most likely different for all of us, but the trick is to never stop searching for that key.

Keep posting here Wwerty, keep fighting the good fight, together we can hopefully all muddle through and work towards living our best possible life.

You body is reacting to suddenly having enough thyroxine in your blood to having not enough. It will take time for your body to adjust. I ended up in hospital with a suspected heart attack because a load of thyroxine was dumped into my blood and it was very scary. I hadn't taken any levothyroxine but my thyroid had suddenly decided to start working again and my body reacted badly. I was shaking and sweating and my heart rate was 112 and I also had high blood pressure. The doctors did test and assured me it wasn't my heart and that did help me to calm down. Next time you feel like that try and breath slowly and either lie down or sit in a quiet room on your own. I still get palps but I just breath through them and they stop. I see you have had a lot of helpful replies so I hope my experience has added to them.

I have been through this as well and found that taking thyroxine at night was a great help. I then played with the dose myself, because like you I was told to wait three months for blood tests and told to take antidepressants, my doctor decided that it was my age (72) . I have to take more than you as I had my thyroid removed and they will not let me have T3. I would increase the dose by 25mcg as a drop of 50 is quite a lot, see how you get on with that, it takes a few weeks to change. If that works but you later get changes like going hyper, then try taking 25 ,one day and 50 the next, it's a long haul, but you will get there.

Best wishes

Get your blood test results and get your doctor to check your B12, D, folate and ferritin. You have to take control as lots of doctors are not well informed about thyroid issues and how it can affect sufferers. You may have a conversion problem. Do you take your thyroxine away from other food and caffeine drinks?

Karen

Don't give up as if can get better.

Karen

Levothyroxine is meant for life! They tried this with my son clinical lead took him off levo saying it wasnt working even though the results were perfect. Had second opinion which proved he had Hashimotos like me. People should not be kept on low doses which makes them worse. Even the PIL leaflet says between 100 to 200mcg and to increase by 25mcg every six weeks until optimal dose reached. The medical profession just gets worsworse! Are you taking vitamins? I suspect you will be low in vitamin D and possibly B12. Ferritin (iron) should be checked too. They need to be optimal but docs dont see this. Take the patient information leaflet to your GP or read it over the phone. They should do 6 weekly blood checks until you feel well on the correct dose and check symptoms. TSH needs to be below 1 for most people to feel well. Have you someone you could take with you? If you could find a more sympathic GP that would help but I appre iate how difficult this is when you are so ill. Please dont give up. Everyone here will support you and they have so much knowledge to impart which makes you feel that someone cares.

They are chucking ADs at everybody which has also happened to hubby and they made him worse. I think they must have shares in them!

Good luck!

JaneCx

Thank you all for you wonderful advice, feeling much better today but still getting palpitations, spoke to a pharmacist whom suggested I could be reacting to acacia in the tablet or one of the other fillers, I’m going to try an antihistamine as I’ve read on another post that someone took one before levo and palpitations and side effects stop, I suppose it’s worth a try x

Lots of good wishes, I was so much worse and falling asleep in lay-bys

I saw dr Peatfield and he said to work on adrenals, as for some, cannot tolerate levo until adrenals are more efficient, I'd had years of strain and symptoms undiagnosed, so imdidmtismfor a few months alongside the vitamins and I felt a bit better shortly, now I can take levo 75 bit it's taken a good while,

Keep going, you will improve, I cant tolerate Teva or mercury, I've got activis, Yes, to get on top of your vits

Magnesium a must also, it's the whole thing, exercise, meditation mindfulness, positive thinking when possible and talking,,, here!

Build your adrenals, any amount of hypo symptoms has to be a drain

And has anyone mentioned gut health?

So vital, heal gut lining and good live yoghurt for bacteria,

Good fats, advocado, coconut oil, butter,!

And you feel better for giving body what it needs

Lots of luck

Ps lol. I did not mean I was worse than you, I wa saying I was far worse initially and yes vertigo, awful, I haven't had it for ages so good sign aye

Go private. I went through the Nuffield.