Help please itching all over

[Tinyowl99]

Hi could anyone help please I'm on levothyroxine been told to upped my dose slowly from 125mcg to 150mcg 3 times a week started itching all over driving me mad as anyone else had this problem please

[Buddy195 Administrator]

Have you stayed on the same brand of Levo? Or is the additional dosage a different type?

Have you tried an antihistamine to reduce the adverse symptoms?

Have you changed your diet/ eaten more foods high in histamine?

healthunlocked.com/redirect...

[Tinyowl99 in reply to Buddy195]

Thank you for your help and reply I'm still on the same make accord as I can't tolerate any of the others they all make me feel terrible I haven't changed anything in my diet or washed stuff because I'm allergic to alot of things I seam to be ok taking 100mcg it's when I go up but I'm a slow converter I've been taking antistamines but so far not done anything got to stay on this dose another 3 weeks and then have bloods and vitamin done

[helvella Administrator in reply to Tinyowl99]

Have you actually tried all other makes?

For example, Vencamil is a very different formulation and has no acacia, lactose nor mannitol - the three most commonly suspected of causing issues.

And are you splitting tablets or taking a different make for the 25 micrograms?

[Bertwills]

I find aloe Vera helpful when I’ve had itching & irritated skin. Holland & Barrett .

Have you tried stopping the levo tablets to see if itching dies away? You can try for a break from them. If it stops try a different brand. Is it Teva you’re taking? That upsets many.

[jand123]

I had the same problem with a new brand and it seemed to be the fillers I was allergic to, but if the same brand, that is odd!

[limonene7]

Levo caused itching on arms and calves for me...i think it was because it left me with lower levels of free T3 .I dont convert levo to t3 very well so taking levo left me with lower t3 than i had to start with.

[Capan24]

II have read that levothyroxine can cause itching when the dose is increased. This itching can be due to an allergic reaction to the medication or an intolerance to the dosage change. Maybe your body might be reacting to the change in hormone levels causing itching. You might also be having an allergic reaction to the levothyroxine or one of the inactive ingredients. The itching might subside as your body adjusts to the new dose of levothyroxine, but if it is from an allergic reaction it might worsen. I would notify your doctor to see what they say. I have very sensitive skin and break out in hives easily. I usually take Allegra for the hives when they are bad. Maybe look at your diet and if you've tried anything new like laundry detergent or skin lotion.

[helvella Administrator]

Changes of make/formulation definitely seem often to be a key part of this sort of issue. Even if there are other contributory factors.

Check what you have been taking and see what they contain.

Post a reply or a new post to discuss further!

Whatever you eventually decide is the cause, or even if you never do, please put in a Yellow Card report. If we don't this sort of issue gets ignored and doesn't contribute to our understanding.

🟨 Making Yellow Card Reports 🟨

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

helvella's medicines documents (UK and Rest of the World) can be found here:

helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines

helvella has created, and tries to maintain, documents containing details of all thyroid hormone medicines in the UK and, in less detail, many others around the world. There is now a specific world desiccated thyroid document.

I highly recommend viewing on a computer screen, or a decent sized tablet, rather than a phone. Even I find it less than satisfactory trying to view them on my phone.

helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines - UK

The UK document contains up-to-date versions of the Summary Matrixes for levothyroxine tablets, oral solutions and also liothyronine available in the UK. Includes descriptions of tablet markings which allow identification. Latest updates include all declared ingredients for all UK products and links to Patient Information Leaflets, etc. PLUS how to write prescriptions in Appendix F.

dropbox.com/s/bo2jzxucgp9hl...

helvella - World Desiccated Thyroid

Contains details of all known desiccated thyroid products including information about several products not considered to be Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT/Desiccated Thyroid Extract/DTE).

dropbox.com/scl/fi/gx6dmz5i...

helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines - RotW

Contains details of all levothyroxine, liothyronine and combination products - excluding desiccated thyroid products. Details available vary by country and manufacturer.

dropbox.com/s/dliou4fszbegw...

The link below takes you to a blog page which has direct links to the documents from Dropbox and QR codes to make it easy to access from phones. You will have to scroll down or up to find the link to the document you want.

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

[bikebabe]

How many other people are itching (whilst not wanting to precipitate a frenzy of social itching)? Mine has got so bad over past 10 days that Im ripping my legs to shreds even with the antihistamine pills, hydrocortisone and euracil creams. Ive tried witch hazel with aveena moisturiser, neat urine which did actually help but not for long and its a bit antisocial. I haven't changed anything in my diet at all or my daily routines and my meds have been stable for a few months. I'm wondering if it's a new excipient? Is that possible? I have about 10 meds so dont know which ones to submit a yellow card as i don't keep the boxes to see what's changed and websites only show what's 'current'.

[Oatlove in reply to bikebabe]

I’ve had an itchy rash for 6 months. I was referred certain that it had nothing to do with my thyroid medication. The GP put me on high dose steroids which were awful- the dermatologist put me on high histamines which knocked me out. It was diagnosed as chronic spontaneous hives. The dermatologist had my iron levels and vitamin D levels tested and both were deficient. my iron is still deficient which I assume is to do with my thyroid problems I am pushing but without much success to date for a referral to an endocrinologist.

[bikebabe in reply to Oatlove]

Hi oat love - sorry to hear you’ve been suffering so long. So they’re basically saying it’s a rash that comes and goes with no obvious cause? Hm! I’m still tearing strips off my left leg despite the meds. Something is causing it - just dont know what but am determined to find out . Best wishes for some relief for you

[helvella Administrator in reply to bikebabe]

The manufacturers do not change excipients as a rule. Doing so would require the product to undergo re-evaluation and would be marked "New Formulation" or similar.

However, they might get their supply from a different supplier, or in some other way it might be slightly different. Or there could have been an inadvertent change. Or, of course, someone could have broken the rules.

Might be a good idea to start keeping boxes? And mark them with the dates you took the contents?

This is one possible idea:

helvella - How to keep a history of medicines

A simple technique of recording what medicines (brand, dose, date, batch) you take.

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

[bikebabe in reply to helvella]

Thank you - will do that from now on and take pictures of the content description.

[marchm2016]

no - would you possibly be allergic to any of the ingredients of that brand -

I currently have autoimmune hives. I went to an allergist specialist and he had me on a regimen. Dont wait. Get an appointment quicky. They can drive you insane. I would sit with ice packs. Or cool wash cloths. Take come Zyrtec maybe that might help since its an antihistamine. I am not a doctor - but highly suggest you get to one.

[Oatlove in reply to marchm2016]

I’m in the UK - the specialist dermatologist and GPs I’ve seen for hives (which I’ve had for 6 months) don’t recognise any link between thyroid disorder and hives. It’s classed as chronic spontaneous urticaria (chronic as if lasts more than 3 months, spontaneous as they don’t know the cause, urticaria another name for hives) and treat with anti-histamines. I had to take 4 anti histamines a day - I coukd hardly stay awake. They’re supposed to be non drowsy but I was prescribed 4 times the normal dose. There seems to be no willingness to find the cause - just bung people on anti-histamines for lengthy periods.

[Espeegee in reply to Oatlove]

That's the way of GP treatment, a pill for every ill. They seldom seem motivated or interested enough to try to find the cause, they just want to hand you a "cure". My niece has severe back pain, tried many things but now is on Fentanyl patches, been taking them for months and months, not doing too well and then someone suddenly spotted she's also taking Sertraline, which apparently should never be taken with Fentanyl. How can this happen????

[SueHG]

I take T3 but over the last few weeks I have had a bad back and can only sleep on my back and it’s causing terrible itching on my back and buttocks. It’s driving me mad but am sure it’s nothing to do with the meds. I’ve tried everything but hoping that when things improve it will subside.

[eghjm100]

try cutting out all artificial sweeteners

[Hafa]

I had a similar itching problem and my liver enzymes were elevated, specifically high bilirubin.

"Normally, bilirubin is made in the liver and removed from the body in digestive fluid called bile, but people with liver or gallbladder problems may end up with too much bilirubin that accumulates in their blood and skin. One side effect of jaundice is intense and uncontrollable itching."

My doctor prescribed lactulose. It's also available for use as a laxative. Lactulose is a colonic acidifier that works by decreasing the amount of ammonia in the blood. It is a man-made sugar solution and in the UK is in a sirop form in pharmacies. Basic info from NHS: nhs.uk/medicines/lactulose/...

Medical information: gastroliverpool.com.au/reso...

You'll see a difference or not in as soon as 3 doses. In some people, there's a brief laxative effect within 20 minutes...be forewarned.