symptoms with levo increase

[Underactiveclare]

good afternoon

I increased my thyroxine myself from 100-125 on Sunday. I have previously posted about this. I have been experiencing a lot of dizziness and almost blacked out yesterday. I’m wondering if this could be to do with the increase or the fact that I went gluten free almost two weeks ago.

I appreciate your time and thoughts as always.

[Lalatoot]

Clare it is usual to feel worse before the full benefits of an increase kick in.Some folks, me included, find increase hard on the body. The only way I could increase was to split my dose.

For some the spike as a full daily dose enters the system in one go is too much.

[Underactiveclare in reply to Lalatoot]

thank you. I hadn’t thought of that. Do you take in morning and evening?

[Lalatoot in reply to Underactiveclare]

I do . That leaves all day for any other supplements, meds, food.At on point I took it 3 times a day first thing, about 4pm and bedtime. The afternoon slot clashed with my routine so I stopped that and didn't notice any difference.

[Underactiveclare in reply to Lalatoot]

I have a list of meds and supplements which until a few days ago, I had been taking all at the same time. Levo was the only exception and I was taking this an hour before everything else. It’s so weird that you get diagnosed with an under active thyroid, given meds and sent on your merry way.

I wouldn’t even know I have Hashimotos without this group. I say it a lot but I do feel incredibly blessed to have found you all.

I think I still have some organising to do around drugs and supplement timings but I’m getting there

[humanbean]

You could try cutting your 25mcg tablets in half and using a 112.5 mcg dose for a few weeks, or cutting into quarters and adding just 6.25mcg to the 100mcg tablets.

Some people do better on small dose increases once they get to a certain level. You have increased your dose by 25%, so it isn't a surprise for it to cause problems.

I have 50mcg and 100 mcg tablets of Levo. I was taking 50mcg twice a week and 100mcg five days a week, which averages out at 85.7 mcg Levo per day.

I recently tested and thought I needed more Levo. So I Increased to 50mcg once a week, and 100mcg six days a week, raising my average to 92.9 mcg per day. Despite the tiny dose increase I felt the difference after a week or two. I'll retest 6 - 8 weeks after making the change.

You could try something similar. It might help if tolerating increases is a problem.

[Underactiveclare in reply to humanbean]

thank you Humanbean. So you can increase without taking everyday? I only get 100mcg tablets so quarters is the smallest I can go with cutting them.

[humanbean in reply to Underactiveclare]

Yes you can, for Levo anyway.

If you are taking T3 or NDT it has to be the same dose every day.

The difference is based on how quickly the body uses up the hormones. T4 is a storage hormone, and the body uses it / converts it to T3 / excretes it as it pleases over quite a long period of time. (A week? But don't quote me.)

Some people take an entire week's dose of Levo on just one day a week, but few people would do very well on that, I think.

T3 on the other hand gets used / goes into the cells / converts to T2 and then T1 / gets excreted much more quickly than T4 (within hours), so differences of dose are much more obvious to the patient. T3 does stay in the cells for longer than a few hours, but I can't remember how long.

[Underactiveclare in reply to humanbean]

Would trying 25mcg every other day be worth a try? Thank you so much!!

[humanbean in reply to Underactiveclare]

You could try it.

Don't be afraid to experiment with how you spread out your dose(s). Thyroid hormones are generally very safe. You might like this thread :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[Underactiveclare in reply to humanbean]

wow thank you. That post is very informative. This community is fantastic!

[greygoose in reply to humanbean]

Three days.