would I be able to stop Levo again with no ill effects?

[RuthNelson]

hi all,

I have just started 75mcg of Levo.

I have gained weight since having half my thyroid removed, and have developed reactive hypoglycaemia and I suffer from recurrent sports injuries which don’t heal quickly, but don’t have other hypothyroid symptoms, in spite of having Hashimotos.

if Levo does nothing for me, is there a downside to taking it for a couple of months and then stopping?

Worried that my body will stop producing thyroid hormones naturally and then I’ll develop hypothyroid symptoms when I stop taking it.

Thanks for any insights.

[greygoose]

if Levo does nothing for me, is there a downside to taking it for a couple of months and then stopping?

I think you should turn that question around and ask: is there a good side? And the answer would be 'no'.

You cannot live without thyroid hormone. Every single cell in your body needs it to function correctly. And you may think you don't have hypo symptoms other than what's listed, but you probably do because so many of them are not obviously connected to thyroid. But, stop your thyroid hormone replacement (levo) and leave your thyroid to be destroyed slowly by your immune system (Hashi's) and you soon will have every hypo symptom in the book.

Levo is the thyroid hormone T4. And being a hormone it's not possible that it won't do anything for you. It will do what it's supposed to do.

That said, it might not agree with you - maybe because you react badly to one of the excipients in the pill, maybe because your body cannot convert it to T3, maybe because you're just not taking enough of it. But, whatever the reason, there are ways round it. You can't just stop it and hope everything will be alright, because it won't.

Worried that my body will stop producing thyroid hormones naturally and then I’ll develop hypothyroid symptoms when I stop taking it.

It's your thyroid that makes thyroid hormones, and you've already lost half of that. So your thyroid really isn't doing very much anymore. anyway. And, yes, when you take thyroid hormone replacement, your thyroid will stop producing hormones 'naturally', but it's going to do that anyway, sooner or later, with Hashi's, because your immune system is going to destroy the other half.

And, when you are hypo, you're not supposed to stop taking it. Thyroid hormone replacement is for life. It's not like aspirin that you take until the problem goes away. The problem with your thyroid will never go away, it will only get worse. Sorry, but these are the harsh facts of life.

[RuthNelson in reply to greygoose]

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

If you stopped taking Levo your levels would just fall back to where they would be naturally, there are no permanent effects from taking `Levo.

Looking at your previous results, your TSH was over 4 and with only half a thyroid then unlikely your own production would ever be enough to keep you well.

Have you upped your vitamin supplements and added in any extras you needed as per this post? healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Low vitamin levels add to our symptom burden and supplementing levels to optimal helps our thyroid hormone to work well.

[RuthNelson in reply to Jaydee1507]

Thank you, that’s good to know. I am taking a ridiculous number of supplements!