increased urination

[Purplepuffin]

I’ve been on levothyroxine 75 approx 4 years - suddenly developed symptoms of underactive thyroid and after blood tests GP increased levo to 100 - I now am needing to urinate far more frequently- has anyone else had increased weeing after meds increase please? Be grateful for any advice - many thanks

[PurpleNails Administrator]

welcome to forum

Are you more thirsty?

Any other changes in symptoms?

Could it be a sign of improvement? Your body able to flush fluids more easily? I can’t say this is the case, but it might be a theory.

Did you alter the levo brand you take with change in dose?

Do you have any results to share?

Lots of question! All helps to give you the best advice.

If you were under medicated you may need further increases. Doctors are not great at explaining what information they go by to judge dose levels & it’s often the case they aren’t looking at a complete picture.

Have you access to you blood test results, see if the following were tested? TSH, FT4, FT3. Have TPO GP& TG antibodies ever been tested? Also important to test folate, ferritin, B12 & Vitamin D. The can suffer when thyroid low. Often levels need to be optimal for Levo to work well,

There are a couple of posts discussing urination you might like to read.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[Brightness14]

It could be that your FT3 has increased and so helping with flushing your kidneys more. This should be a good thing.

[kiefer]

"...suddenly developed symptoms of underactive thyroid..."

Could you tell us what those symptoms are?

If you were to guess, how would you rate your adrenal function? Would you say that your cortisol levels are low, high or normal?

When I became unwell and developed severe insomnia in November 2013, I had elevated cortisol levels which, at times, caused me to have to urinate so often that I thought I had diabetes. I was not being treated with thyroid medication at that time so it couldn't have had anything to do thyroid dosing.

healthline.com/health/corti...

[Purplepuffin in reply to kiefer]

Hi Kiefer, thanks for your reply. I was already on levothyroxine - but thyroid levels dropped so meds were increased - when meds increased it seemed to coincide with increased urination.

I have no idea what my cortisol levels are - not sure how I’d know. But I feel like an old woman dragging myself about with slight nausea and decreased appetite- don’t know if that reveals anything? My insomnia got worse than ever when thyroid levels dropped so feel exhausted but sleep still elusive. Many thanks

Sophie

[kiefer in reply to Purplepuffin]

I believe that decreased appetite and nausea can both be symptoms of low thyroid function.

For some people (like me) there is a compensatory increase in cortisol when thyroid function is not adequate. Elevated cortisol affects the ability to sleep normally and decreased sleep elevates cortisol levels. My insomnia was severe (~3hrs/night).

I've used the adrenal saliva tests as well as an AM serum cortisol test to confirm that I had elevated cortisol levels. However, my symptoms were these: Bloating after eating, facial flushing, borderline blood sugar, thinning skin, slow wound healing, weight gain (waist) → cortisol belly, sleep issues, difficulty in concentrating.

Despite taking a decent amount of levothyroxine (150mcg/day - I'm now on 100mcg T4 + 25mcg T3.), it wasn't until I decided to eliminate nearly all simple sugars in my diet that my sleep began to be much more consistent, averaging around 7 hours per night, which was my goal.

[Purplepuffin in reply to kiefer]

Oh wow Kiefer, that’s really interesting and helpful to know. Thank you. If things don’t improve after a few more weeks of increased levo dose you’ve given me new areas to explore. Thank you. My insomnia is awful - I’m lucky if I get 3-4 hours - same as you were. Hopefully things will change soon. I wish you a happy healthier new year!