Any ideas?

[Hmilana]

Hello, it’s my first time posting here. I was diagnosed in July 2021 with hypothyroidism. I’ve been struggling since to get on the correct amount of medication.

below is my most recent test results. They seem good but my eyebrow hair is falling out A LOT and my heart rate is fast. Any ideas why?? I’m on 75mcg-Teva brand, I have been on that amount since March 2022 but I stopped taking it for a few weeks in June due to having my eyebrow hair fall out and fast heart. When I stopped taking it my eyebrow hair grew back and my heart rate went down but ended up back on 75mcg- Levo in July as my TSH fell to 10, but I felt fine and now I’m in the same boat again. 🥴

Very confused, can anyone help?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Hmilana

Welcome to the forum.

Before your dose of Levo was increased to 75mcg what brand were you taking and were your eyebrows falling out then?

If you had a different brand before and changed to Teva brand when increased to 75mcg then it could well be an adverse reaction to the fillers in Teva, this is the one brand we hear about causing problems for many members. It is a lactose free brand and uses mannitol instead and it's likely that it's the mannitol which causes problems for people. If you were on a different brand before and didn't have problems then it's likely that you are also reacting to the mannitol and need to go back to your previous brand if it suited you.

Teva is the only brand that makes a 75mcg tablet but you can achieve 75mcg by using 50mcg tablets and taking one and a half tablets daily, or you can alternate 100mcg/50mcg to give you an average of 75mcg daily.

[Hmilana in reply to SeasideSusie]

thank you for your response, I was previously on the Mercury brand of 100 mcg and actually felt fine mentally and physically but it was too high for me and stopped me from sleeping. And prior to this dose I was on 75mcg but was on that for a short while as I asked my doctor to up my dose as I didn’t feel great but I actually think this may have been due to the brand (Teva) or just having had a covid jab rather than being under medicated as I went hyper on 100mcg.

Thank you for the advice, I will ask if I can change brand and dosage to achieve 75mcg by either alternating or halving

[Hmilana in reply to SeasideSusie]

forgot to answer your question, my eyebrows never had fallen out apart from subtly thinning when on 100mcg dose. As I assume this was due to having a high dose.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

ESSENTIAL to test vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin at least annually and always test 6-8 weeks after any dose reduction

Reducing dose levothyroxine (often inappropriately) frequently results in vitamin levels to drop

What were results when on 100mcg BEFORE dose was reduced

What vitamin supplements are you currently taking

When were vitamin levels last tested

poor sleep can be low vitamin levels rather than levothyroxine being too high

Approx how much do you weigh in kilo

Many people find they need to fine tune dose

If 75mcg is inadequate, but 100mcg too much ……alternate days 75mcg/100mcg

Or some may need to fine tune even more….eg 75mcg 2 days and 100mcg 5 days

[Hmilana in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi Slowdragon, I wasn’t informed on the full results before the dose was reduced, as I was just called by the doctor to tell me to reduce my dose as my TSH was 0.3, So I agreed.

 I currently take vitamin d, b12, cod liver oil and more recently, selenium. My vitamins were last tested a year ago, which showed low vit d which is why I now supplement. And the other supplements I take are because I’ve learnt that these are good to take when hypothyroid by reading posts on this forum. 

I weigh 9.5 stone which I think is 60.328 in kilo? 

Yes, I could also try to fine tune my dose as well as changing brand to see it that helps

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hmilana]

Next step is to get vitamin levels tested

Come back with new post once you get results

Meanwhile

9st 5lb = 59.4kilo

9st 8lb = 60.78kilo

So yes…..possibly 100mcg too much

Suggest you try 100mcg 2 days and 75mcg 5 days

Retest in 6-8 weeks