Anyone on liquid levothyroxine?

[belfast123]

Hi anyone know the above and have any side effects?

[Bollieforme]

I am. I think it’s better! Just feels more pure compared with tablet form

[dizzy864]

Hi, I was prescribed liquid levo about two and a half years ago. I'd suffered for years with many and varied hypo symptoms inspite of my T4 being at the top of range and T3 slightly above range. I was on 125mcg levo and 60mcg lio. It took several months for me to get used to the liquid as I was clearly absorbing it better than tablets. I kept becoming hyper and needed to adjust my lio, I ended up on 47.5mcg lio. ( 25% less than previously ). My T3 is still slightly above the range, which I don't understand. I am feeling a great deal better than I had been, although I don't think I'm 100%.

As for side affects, I have to take it very slowly which isn't always easy with a new and stiff syringe. If too much of it gets in my mouth at once, it irritates my throat and I wretch. On one ocassion I actually vomitted. I tried to change to a different brand but no other is available in my area. I don't know that a different brand would be any better anyway as all brands seem to be pretty similar apart from Wockardt.

Overall, I'm very pleased I went on it - I'll take any improvement I can get!!

Good luck

[Tintin0202 in reply to dizzy864]

Yes I have been taking liquid thyroxine for over a year and feel so much better. I couldn't tolerate the pills because the fillers did not agree with me and eventually persuaded my GP to prescribe the liquid. I take Zentiva and it is certainly much easier than pills as you don't have to take it an hour before breakfast. The only thing that I find difficult is that it is in a glass bottle which is easily dropped and not as convenient to take away with you on holiday. The other negative is that it is not always available and some pharmacies refuse to get it for you due to the high cost.

[asidist]

Hi belfast123, I’m on gelcaps (Tirosint) which is similar to liquid I believe.

The formula made me significantly more tired at the same dose. It’s only now that I’m on at an almost 50% higher dose of the gelcaps that I’m starting to feel like Im approaching or at the same level of energy I had on the tablets (which was already lacking). Unfortunately everything has been worse for a long time symptomatically until recently, but I’m hoping now it will finally start to improve. It’s been a yearlong, slow slog to get to this dose, and it’s upsetting to have lost so much time to fatigue, but I felt I needed to give it a shot.

On the positive side the gelcaps have allowed me to tolerate higher T4 doses and raise my bottom-of-range FT4 levels to some degree, which I couldn’t do with the tablets — even if thus far that hasn’t correlated with improved symptoms, and the higher dose has lowered my TSH (as was to be expected). Will be getting bloodwork soon to see what all the numbers look like currently. If symptoms don’t start clearly improving I may give up on this and go back to the lower dose of the tablets (have tried but cant go any higher on the gelcaps or tablets dosage without insomnia), and just cut my losses from the past year. Or may try compounded levo at some point, to see if the reduced fillers in that type of formula helps.