Symptoms return advice please..

[rick2525]

My GP increased levo 6 weeks ago from 100mcg to 125mcg. After 1 week I felt the best I'd been for 9 months. I wasnt optimal but thought I was heading in right direction. I posted my results on here 5 weeks ago do had 4 weeks of feeling ok. But in last week all my symptoms have returned. So fed up. Can anyone advise in their opinion if I am likely to be overmedicated or undermedicated. I experience abdominal muscle cramps, fatigue. Jittery after meds. Cold feet and then sweats from little exercise. My weight suggests I should be on 156 mcg daily.

[Lalatoot]

Overmedication and under medication can present with the same symptoms. The only way i can tell is from blood tests results.

[rick2525 in reply to Lalatoot]

I am due another blood test just over a weeks time. I will ring gp to get booked in. It will be then 7 weeks since last test. I also test through medichecks as GP only tests tsh and t4.

[Goldengirl01 in reply to Lalatoot]

I’m just asking but if rick2525 has an increase in thyroid meds and then feels horrible after 5 weeks isn’t that over medication as they were feeling Ok-ish on 100mcg. As I say Im Just asking..😊

[rick2525 in reply to Goldengirl01]

Hi Dustpan. I was terrible on 100mcg. I'm fact I have been ill with side effects since I started on meds. The only time I improved was after increase to 125. It's really difficult to get to correct dosage as there are that many variants that can effect the feel good factor. It's a case of keep trying. Thanks for asking question though. Take care

[Goldengirl01 in reply to rick2525]

Oh I'm so sorry rick2525 I must have read it wrong as usual. So sorry your feeling like you do but it does take time to find the right dose, I should know, still trying. All the very best to you.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Important to also test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

What vitamin supplements are you currently taking

Blood should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose change or brand change in Levothyroxine

Do you always get same brand Levothyroxine at each prescription

Always test thyroid levels as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking and last dose Levothyroxine 24 hours before test

[rick2525 in reply to SlowDragon]

I am taking Vit D and Vit B daily. I ceased taking Vit B yesterday as my next blood test will be due in just over a week. (It will then be 7 weeks since last). My last bloods showed vit D and Vit B ferritin and folate were fine. (posted on here 5 weeks ago) private Tests were done by medichecks as GP only tests TSH and T4. I have been Gluten free for 4 months. Yes I always insist on same brand of Levo Accord. I switched from TEVA four months ago after advice from people on this forum👍. I always ask for bloods taken before 9am and last meds 24 hours before testing. I felt as though I'd turned a corner after increase in meds. My TSH before last increase was 2.45 reading by medichecks and 1.99 by GP. My T4 was 19.2 so near top of range (22)

[greygoose]

This is perfectly normal. Feeling well for a while after a dose increase, and then the symptoms return. It just means that you're ready for another increase.

Given the results of your last blood test, I hardly think an increase of just 25 mcg has caused you to become over-medicated. So, the odds are that you are still under-medicated and need another increase in dose.

[PixieElv]

Same happened to me a couple of times and, as Greygoose says, your body is react for another increases. There is a magic level that will work for you.

[rick2525 in reply to PixieElv]

Thanks for your reply. Its sometimes difficult to convince GP that increase required . I trust her and always see same one as she knows my history.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to rick2525]

Come back with new post once you get next results

[rick2525 in reply to SlowDragon]

Will do thanks 👍

[healthfix]

I do not know all the facts concerning your problems but thought I could share my own experience in seeking balance.

I found that I cannot take vitamin D because I get enough from foods since most everything has it added these days. Besides this it makes me feel jittery. Too much sun will make me jittery especially after the long winter but things balance out after a while. Vitamin d is a hormone and effects the balance of things. Too much in a supplement will make things bad.

I need to be careful about how much calcium and magnesium I take, not just the four hour separation.

Toothpaste with fluoride is a problem so I only use it at the end of the day and not in the morning after taking the Levothyroxine.

Also found too much whole grains and especially oats can effect absorption.... similar to magnesium, calcium, fluoride

I have asthma and when I go on steroids they will upset the equilibrium. I take pregnenolone to help wake up the adrenaline after steroid use. I only take 2 mg and let it dissolve under my tongue and only for a few days. It can have side effects so I am not telling you or anyone to use it. For me it did make my heart beat race a tiny bit but I do not have heart disease and it did help get things in balance .

Another thing I am doing is taking ACV as a tea in the morning with my levothyroxine. This I believe is helping it get into the blood stream. Good gut bacteria have a lot to do with hormone balance too. ACV with the mother helps the gut.

Converting the T4 into T3 is also important. I do not know much about what makes this happen. Even in natural thyroid production the T4 must go through this conversion to T3. I read that there is a hormone cascade that makes this happen.

Also good to note is that too high a dose of Levothyroxine will make me talk louder, difficulty in falling asleep, give me a bigger appetite, make me easily nervous,

Too low a dose will make me depressed, and tired during the day, have difficulty staying asleep. have a sluggish appetite and eat less portions.

A good motto is more is less and less is more. My TSH was 1.96 in January and I did not change anything over the winter but in the spring it was 3.09 and I was tired. Kept the dose the same and worked with it by adjusting my supplements. Feel fine energy and sleep wise.

I also commit my health and well being to Jesus and feel it necessary to mention . Hope all this information will help you find your balance.

[rick2525 in reply to healthfix]

Hi. Thanks for your input. Yes like yourself I take apple cider vinegar on a morning and a tea. I have done this for approx 10 years and believe in its properties. Also I take probiotics to help gut functionality . Despite these I find that when the dosage of levo is wrong my metabolism slows down and causes me many abdominal problems.its hard to understand when only a few days ago I was feeling an improvement in my symptoms and now without any alteration on my part to diet etc I am so sluggish. I can sleep most nights 7 or 8 hours and wake up tired and find myself falling asleep in afternoon.

[healthfix in reply to rick2525]

Wondering about the of the prescription. Did it get exposed to humidity or some other thing like the sun light, Can heat hurt the medicine? Sounds to me like the thyroid may be lower. Was your level retested? So many things can effect the levothyroxine as I mentioned. Usually in the summer with more sunshine your body needs less levothyroxine. Not more because the vitamin D production works in tandem with the sun. Hope you feel better soon.

[merlikati]

Hello! I had same thing. My thyroid is not working at all without meds and I need 150mcg to reach optimal levels. After each increase I felt good 2-3weeks and by 4 week I had all symptoms coming back. By 6 week Ft4 and Ft3 were both low again and I needed an increase. My first endo looked only TSH and kept me years sick because she said 150mcg is too big dose for me (I weight 56kg). With next endo I tried T4+ T3 treatment but still didn't feel well. I started to edjucate myself anf learned that my TSH is useless and it's always low 0,06 but Ft4 and Ft3 are optimal. I started to increase my dosage myself, did private labs after each increase. I started 100-112,5-125-137,5-150 and had noticed that everytime the symptoms came back after 4 weeks, on lower doses they came quicker and on 137,5 I felt good almost 6 weeks. I leraned that I don't need even T4+T3 treatment. I just need enough T4 to get right level.

[rick2525 in reply to merlikati]

Thank you so much for your very detailed report. It gives me hope and let's me know I'm not going mental! Your experience seems very similar to mine. Today I have tingling in my feet to add to other symptoms . What a difficult illness this is to treat with medication. I do hope you have got some relief of symptoms now. I will get blood tested next week and post results on here. Take care.