Energy levels increased and a feeling of wellbeing when not taking Levothyroxine

[Glutenfreebabe]

Hi I ran out of Levothyroxine a day ago so I didnt have any this morning. I've just done two hours of exercise and I was able to push myself much more than usual. I can sometimes feel very tired in the evenings however I feel fine tonight. Could all this be down to the lack of Levothyroxine and if so why? I usually take 100mg and 125mg on alternate days. Thank you for reading and any opinions would be appreciated.

[Wired123]

interesting post. I experimented once by coming off it after about 12 years on it, I can’t remember if I felt any better but within a few weeks I had full hypo symptoms (cold, tired, sluggish, constipated) and gained weight. Blood tests confirmed high TSH and low T4, so I quickly resumed my tablets!

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Extremely common to INITIALLY feel better when stop levothyroxine

It doesn’t last

After 5-10 days Ft4 and Ft3 will fall of a cliff

If you’re lucky you will just feel mildly hypo

But can feel extremely unwell and take months to recover and build levels back up

[Regenallotment]

this recent post might tell you what you need to know. Just be careful 🙏🌱

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[SilverAvocado]

Just wanted to reiterate what others have said, it's common to have a temporary good feeling when stopping all thyroid hormone. But it is just a short term thing, at some point you'll start feeling worse again.

I don't think I've ever heard a proper explanation for this. I've always assumed it's just our bodies finding that hormone replacement is always a bit inadequate, and puts our bodies under some stress to process and make use of it. I didn't get anything like a similar high when I had my thyroidectomy and was suddenly cut off from my own natural hormone. 😅

[Glutenfreebabe in reply to SilverAvocado]

I didn't intend to stop taking Levo just an accident but it was a window into how wonderful it is not to feel fatigued all the time. Wishful thinking that we can though. Onwards we go.

[Poniesrfun]

I sometimes feel like this if I run out the door forgetting to take my meds in the morning. Because of the long half life of levothyroxine I doubt it’s because of missing a dose or two. So I wonder if it’s really because of being over-medicated a bit. This is one of the few times a reverse T3 (rT3) test might be helpful (or having both Total and Free T3 and doing some math) to see if most of our FT4 is converting to inactive rT3 instead of Free T3.

On the US thyroid cancer boards, we’ve seen a couple of people lower their high levo dose and improving their FT3 as a result without adding any T3.

Patti in AZ

[Glutenfreebabe in reply to Poniesrfun]

yes Patti it might be so. I've got a blood test booked at the beginning of next month so hopefully that sheds some light . Is it advisable then to ask them to test both Total and Free T3?

[Poniesrfun in reply to Glutenfreebabe]

If you could get them to do both. A high TT3 with a low FT3 would show you’re able to convert but and you;re not able to properly utilize the T4 you are taking. I doubt anyone in the UK will actually test rT3.

If the T4 remains in the upper range but TT3 is low this proves poor conversion.

Patti in AZ

[Glutenfreebabe in reply to Poniesrfun]

hi Patti yep will try will let you all know how it goes thanks for everyone’s input x