raising levothyroxne give you headaches and brain fog

[morcan54]

last two weeks i raised lt4 levo to 75mg from 50mg i get stomach upset brain fog headahes at back of my neck high near the scull and painfull ear and i am hungry all the time i am bloated and dont feel well i have appointment in a month with endocrinologist my dr says is no side effects from thyroxine / and i am forgefull need your advice pls thank you

[Buddy195 Administrator]

2 weeks ago these were the results you posted

my tsh was 11.78 [2 -4.5] my ft4 was 14. [9-22] after starting lt4 levo two weeks 25mg and then 50mg another two weeks i had blood test my ft4 is now 17 out of 22 and my tsh is 8.45 i raised another 12mg

I also get adverse symptoms if I increase Levo too quickly, so need to do this super slowly, eg 12.5mcg alternate days at first until well tolerated. I know ‘think tortoise rather than hare’. You need to remain on a consistent dose for 6-8 weeks (I prefer to wait the full 8) before retesting.

Have you ever had a coeliac test or tried eliminating gluten from your diet? I’m not coeliac, but have benefited enormously by fully eliminating gluten (as this resolved 100% of my stomach issues).

[morcan54 in reply to Buddy195]

my doctor raised me in 6 six weeks to 75mg as endocrinologist appoinment is in a month time .. and in two months i can have more blood test ,, will this side effects go away giving time to levo to adjust?

[Buddy195 Administrator in reply to morcan54]

Some people, myself included, need to increase more slowly. It takes longer to reach the desired dosage, but I’ve found symptoms worsen if I adjust too quickly.

[greygoose]

You went from 25 mcg to 75 mcg in only six weeks? That is too fast. Your doctor doesn't know what he's doing. Your poor body must be very confused and is rebelling at the rapid change in doses. He's also testing too soon. As Buddy195 says, it takes 6 to 8 weeks for things to settle after and increase in dose. So, if I were you, I'd go back down to 50 mcg and stay there for at least six weeks, then ask for a retest.

Why do you want to see an endo? You've only just started on this journey. I doubt very much if there's anything an endo can do that your GP can't.

[morcan54 in reply to greygoose]

my dr dont seem to know how to adjust she put e on 12.3 lt4 for 4 daays then on 25mg two weeks and then 50mg two weeks and now is two weeks on 75mg and she told me to stay on this for 5 weeks and then have a test thats why i want to go to endocrinologis

[greygoose in reply to morcan54]

I see. No, she hasn't got much idea, has she. Well, let's hope the endo has more of a clue. But they're not the best people to deal with hypo because they mostly diabetes specialist.

Do you think you can tolerate the increased symptoms until then?

The levo itself - T4, the active ingredient - doesn't cause side effects. But you may be reacting to the fillers in the tablets. Which brand do you have?

[morcan54 in reply to greygoose]

lt4 levothyroxine i take . is only two brands in cyprus euthyrox and lt4 i tried both and both makes me feel bad. i was told to try tirosint which i couldent find and is too expensive to buy on line

[greygoose in reply to morcan54]

OK but there are other brands on-line that are cheaper. Tirosint is the most expensive.

[morcan54 in reply to greygoose]

can you sugest something pls and which on line place is good to buy pls

[greygoose in reply to morcan54]

I'm afraid I can't help with that because I don't take levo. You would have to write a new post asking just that in the title, and people will pm you their trusted sources.

[morcan54 in reply to greygoose]

thank you

[greygoose in reply to morcan54]

You're welcome.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

you could split the dose levothyroxine

Taking 25mcg waking and 50mcg at bedtime

This may make it easier to tolerate dose increase

Are 25mcg and 50mcg tablets same brand levothyroxine

have you had B12, folate, ferritin and vitamin D levels tested

If not get your Dr to test

You may need to supplement to improve low levels

[morcan54 in reply to SlowDragon]

i am not taking any the dr canot write test for d the b12 she said is normall is 345 out of 800

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to morcan54]

B12 too low

What was folate test result?

Low B12 symptoms

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

methyl-life.com/blogs/defic...

With serum B12 result below 500, (Or active B12 below 70) recommended to be taking a separate B12 supplement

A week later add a separate vitamin B Complex 

Then once your serum B12 is over 500 (or Active B12 level has reached 70), you may be able to reduce then stop the B12 and just carry on with the B Complex.

If Vegetarian or vegan likely to need ongoing separate B12 few times a week

Highly effective B12 drops

natureprovides.com/products...

Or

B12 sublingual lozenges

uk.iherb.com/pr/jarrow-form...

cytoplan.co.uk/shop-by-prod...

B12 range in U.K. is too wide

Interesting that in this research B12 below 400 is considered inadequate

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Low folate

supplementing a good quality daily vitamin B complex, one with folate in (not folic acid)

This can help keep all B vitamins in balance and will help improve B12 levels too

Difference between folate and folic acid

healthline.com/nutrition/fo...

B vitamins best taken after breakfast

Thorne Basic B recommended vitamin B complex that contains folate, but they are large capsules. (You can tip powder out if can’t swallow capsule)

Thorne currently difficult to find at reasonable price, should be around £20-£25. iherb.com often have in stock. Or try ebay

Igennus B complex popular option too. Nice small tablets. Most people only find they need one per day. But a few people find it’s not high enough dose

Post discussing different B complex

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

IMPORTANT......If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 7 days before ALL BLOOD TESTS , as biotin can falsely affect test results

endo.confex.com/endo/2016en...

endocrinenews.endocrine.org...

In week before blood test, when you stop vitamin B complex, you might want to consider taking a separate folate supplement (eg Jarrow methyl folate 400mcg) and continue separate B12

Post discussing how biotin can affect test results

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to morcan54]

Can you get vitamin D tested privately?

NHS Guidelines on dose vitamin D required

ouh.nhs.uk/osteoporosis/use...

GP will often only prescribe to bring vitamin D levels to 50nmol.

Some areas will prescribe to bring levels to 75nmol or even 80nmol

leedsformulary.nhs.uk/docs/...

GP should advise on self supplementing if over 50nmol, but under 75nmol (but they rarely do)

mm.wirral.nhs.uk/document_u...

But improving to around 80nmol or 100nmol by self supplementing may be better

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/218...

vitamindsociety.org/pdf/Vit...

Once you Improve level, very likely you will need on going maintenance dose to keep it there.

Test twice yearly when supplementing

Vitamin D mouth spray by Better You is very effective as it avoids poor gut function.

There’s a version made that also contains vitamin K2 Mk7.

One spray = 1000iu

amazon.co.uk/BetterYou-Dlux...

It’s trial and error what dose we need, with thyroid issues we frequently need higher dose than average

Vitamin D and thyroid disease

grassrootshealth.net/blog/t...

Vitamin D may prevent Autoimmune disease

newscientist.com/article/23...

Web links about taking important cofactors - magnesium and Vit K2-MK7

Magnesium best taken in the afternoon or evening, but must be four hours away from levothyroxine

betterbones.com/bone-nutrit...

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

livescience.com/61866-magne...

sciencedaily.com/releases/2...

Interesting article by Dr Malcolm Kendrick on magnesium

drmalcolmkendrick.org/categ...

Vitamin K2 mk7

betterbones.com/bone-nutrit...

healthline.com/nutrition/vi...