Can’t catch my breath

[linny121]

Does anyone suffer from .a can’t catch my breath on thyroxine this has been going on for over 2yrs now had loads of test .

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

linny121

Maybe you are reacting to one of the inactive ingredients in the tablet. Have you always had the same brand? If so, which one? It might be worth trying another brand.

[linny121 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi .was on two brands 50 mg of teva 25mg of wockhart .now on 75 of teva

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to linny121]

linny121

Teva is known to cause adverse reactions with many, many members here, breathlessness is one of them. We did a poll last year, 598 members voted and out of that number 453 had side effects with Teva. Poll is here:

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Teva is lactose free and they use mannitol instead of lactose, it's believed it's the mannitol that causes the problem with the people who can't tolerate Teva brand. It also contains acacia (as does Advanz who make Eltroxin and Mercury Pharma levothyroxine) and some people have adverse reactions to acacia. If you know you have reactions to either of these ingredients you will know to avoid the brands that contain them.

Here is a list of brands on ThyroidUK's website, the ingredients of each brand are listed, scroll down to see them

thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-hy...

It would be worth asking your GP to write "not Teva" on your prescription, or arrange with your pharmacy to not dispense Teva. See how you get on with a different brand. It could be as simple as that.

Be aware that Northstar 25mcg tablets are made by Teva so that's another one to avoid (their 50mcg and 100mcg are made by Accord).

If your GP resists, point out the following

gov.uk/drug-safety-update/l...

Levothyroxine: new prescribing advice for patients who experience symptoms on switching between different levothyroxine products

If a patient reports persistent symptoms when switching between different levothyroxine tablet formulations, consider consistently prescribing a specific product known to be well tolerated by the patient. If symptoms or poor control of thyroid function persist (despite adhering to a specific product), consider prescribing levothyroxine in an oral solution formulation.

Only Teva make a 75mcg tablet but you can easily achieve 75mcg with another brand by having 50mcg tablets dispensed and cutting one with a pill cutter and taking 1 and 1/2 50mcg tablets a day. Or take 50mcg one day and 100mcg the next.

[jrbarnes]

Yes I have this issue and seems to only happen when my thyroid levels are low. I have difficulty drawing in a deep breath.

[linny121 in reply to jrbarnes]

Mine is there all the time my level was 2.2 in may of this year

[jrbarnes in reply to linny121]

sounds like you need to try an increase in your Levo

[SlowDragon Administrator]

75mcg levothyroxine is only one step up from starter dose

What are your most recent thyroid and vitamin results

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 with autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s or Ord’s thyroiditis)

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)

Is this how you do your tests?

Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins

List of private testing options

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

If you can get GP to test vitamins and antibodies then cheapest option for just TSH, FT4 and FT3

£29 (via NHS private service ) and 10% off down to £26.10 if go on thyroid uk for code thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

monitormyhealth.org.uk/

NHS easy postal kit vitamin D test £29 via

vitamindtest.org.uk

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins by DIY fingerprick test

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

Thriva Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins By DIY fingerpick test

thriva.co/tests/thyroid-test

Thriva also offer just vitamin testing

If TPO or TG thyroid antibodies are high this is usually due to Hashimoto’s (commonly known in UK as autoimmune thyroid disease).

About 90% of all primary hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto’s. Low vitamin levels are particularly common with Hashimoto’s. Gluten intolerance is often a hidden issue to.

Link about thyroid blood tests

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Link about Hashimoto’s

thyroiduk.org/hypothyroid-b...

List of hypothyroid symptoms

thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-un...