indigestion

[Bobby25]

does anyone else use accord levothyroxine and get indigestion type symptoms, lump type feeling in the throat, stabbing pain in back and a bit bloated?

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Yes extremely common when only on starter dose

It takes 6-8 weeks for each dose levothyroxine to have effect

How long have you been taking 50mcg …..not long looking at previous post

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

You will need further increases in dose over coming months

Book your retest for early morning, ideally just before 9am and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test

[Bobby25 in reply to SlowDragon]

Only 9 days never taken any medication before.? Thank you. Does it settle down

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Bobby25]

Levothyroxine isn’t a medication

It’s a replacement hormone

Hormones don’t work fast….they build up slowly

It takes 2 weeks to have any noticeable effect, then you may see reduction in symptoms…..then as you get nearer 6-8 weeks on just 50mcg levothyroxine you are likely to see symptoms return…..this is because your body is then getting ready for next dose increase in levothyroxine up to 75mcg

Then same thing happens again……with each increase in dose symptoms will improve

Unless you are very petite likely to eventually be on at least 100mcg levothyroxine per day

[Bobby25 in reply to SlowDragon]

Ok thank you

[thyreoidea]

Sounds like acid reflux, I would advise speaking to GP if it persists. Not everyone with hypothyroidism suffers from low stomach acid as reported on this forum as you have Classic symptoms of excess acid in my opinion as I have the same on and off.

[Bobby25 in reply to thyreoidea]

It has only been since I started the meds tho?

[HealthStarDust in reply to Bobby25]

Whatever is the cause of this symptom (yes, very common in hypothyroidism and it is possible your body is expressing more hypothyroidism symptoms as you build up dose) however, I would avoid PPIs on any long term basis which is what GP will probably suggest. Apart from anything else, it depletes vitamins.

Use Gaviscon Advance. And make sure to only use it 4 hours after levothyroxine. And, especially take it before bed (unless you take your Levothyroxine before bed). This was advised to me by ENT specialist and it did help. The other thing you can do which also worked for me is to avoid meat for now and stick with fresh veg and fruit and legumes dishes.

[Bobby25 in reply to HealthStarDust]

Thank you for taking the time I had read somewhere that I shouldn’t take antacids

[thyreoidea]

fair enough although anxiety can cause these gastric symptoms. I hope you settle into an acceptable Levothyroxine dose to ease your overall symptoms.

[Gingernut44]

If you’ve been experiencing these problems since taking Levo, then it’s quite likely the fillers. I started with Accord (Northstar at the time) and didn’t actually know there were other brands. I had reached 100mcg per day and was suffering headaches, bloating, stomach cramps and constipation on them - never had these problems before taking Levo. I suggest you ask to try a different brand at your next prescription (you’ll have to do this yourself by ringing around different pharmacies to see what they have as GPs think all Levo is the same). Once you find a brand that suits you, ask your GP to state it on your prescription. It can be done so don’t be fobbed off that they can’t.