Levo making me hyper

[catsmummel]

Hi folks. I`ve got hashis, been on Levo now since last July. I only take a very low dose as that`s all i`ve needed. Up until 5 weeks ago i was 20 mcg, + doing just fine. TSH came down from 28 to 13, which i know is still very high, anyway, Gp rang to discuss results, wanted me up dose to 50 mcg. Said i`d wean up to it as had problems in past with increasing dosage. I upped by 1 mcg a day. By time i got to 35, heart pounding out of chest, on edge. Carried on upping anyway. Got to 38 mcg, palpitaions started. I knocked dose back down to 32, as was ok there. Started upping again once all had settled down, but just by half mc a day ( im on liquid, so can do this thankfully), now reached 37.5 mcg, + yet again palpitations have started. There`s no way i can get up to 50 mcg, My gp was adament that was the least i should to be on, + that for my weight, i should be on 75 mcg ! I don`t know what to do. Should i just carry on upping it anyway, + hope my my body gets used to it? Am worried about putting strain on heart though. Thanks for listening folks. xx

[Lalatoot]

I take my levo in 3 doses over the day as I found it hard to increase . I take 3 x 25mcg currently am, around 4pm and bedtime. I have also taken it as 2 doses am and bedtime.

[shaws Administrator]

Levothyroxine gave me severe palpitations. I was still hypothyroid.

I think - and am not medically qualified - that some people cannot convert levo into sufficient T3 which therefore makes us feel awful. Levo, being T4 alone may not suit us. When T3 was added to T4, I immediately felt much better but on T3 alone, that resolved all symptoms.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

As you are very hypothyroid it's likely you have low vitamin levels

Hav you had vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 levels tested?

Getting vitamins optimal by supplementing can improve ability to increase dose of Levothyroxine

Being left on far too low a dose can make it difficult to increase dose

Are you on strictly gluten free diet or tried it?

[catsmummel in reply to SlowDragon]

Hello there, + thankyou. I`ve been totally gluten free for at least 5 years now i think. The last time i had my vits checked, they were all pretty good, thta was about 4 months ago i think, but, thinking about it, i` ve not taken a D supplement for a couple of months now, just didn`t get round to buying any more, that probably isn`t helping. I`ll start on those again asap, + see if that helps. Due to have bloods checked at end of this month, so i`ll have a better idea of how things are then. Thanks x

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to catsmummel]

Splitting dose of Levothyroxine can be helpful too ....especially when increasing dose

Taking Levothyroxine at bedtime can be more effective

Levothyroxine always needs to be taken on empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after

No magnesium, vitamin D tablets, calcium, HRT, or ppi within four hours of Levothyroxine

[catsmummel in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks for that. i will try splitting the dose i think, + see how that goes. Thanks very much x

[JumpJiving]

I also struggled with increasing my levothyroxine dose. I was on the Teva brand as I required lactose-free, but Teva is the one that many people report having problems with. Whether it was the increase in T4, or whether it was something else in the Teva tablets, I don't know. In the end, I switched to NDT (I take NP Thyroid, again because it is lactose-free). With that, I've been able to get my FT3 to around the top of the reference range without any problems, whereas on levothyroxine I would have felt dreadful long before I'd got my FT3 to anywhere near that level. You might want to raise with your GP the possibility of taking NDT or T3 rather than levothyroxine (admittedly, most GPs/endos will say no, but there's no harm in raising the subject).

[catsmummel in reply to JumpJiving]

Hello there, + thankyou , i`ll mention it definitely. Got my bloods at end of month, so will be having a discussion with them then, thanks x