Mother and grandmother symptoms and conditions

I've been on the same dose of Levoxyl (118 mcg) for 11 years and I have none of the side effects that have been described. My mother and grandmother also have hypothyroidism, but my mom take 110 mg of synthroid, also prescribed by the same doctor that prescribed me. When I was in the 4th grade my thyroids swelled to the size of golfballs, so much so that you could see them when my head was up, and I was extremely tired and had hot and cold flashes- scary for a 10 year old! My doctor recognized it immediately, and put me on Levoxyl. About a year ago, I gained 15lbs for seemingly no reason, but then this summer I lost about 20lbs. The only difference was taking the medicine 1 hr before I ate anything. I saw someone said that after taking the medication she would get hungry, which I also have, but this makes sense, because Levoxyl is in essence trying to up your metabolism and by doing this you are burning more calories and thus become hungry. If you let this hunger pass, about 20 min later you are no longer hungry and feel great! I still get slight hot flashes, but not too noticeable. I would recommend just as other on here have, that the dose that your doctor may give you may not be 'your' number, and to give it time. If you change your dose, give it 3 months, not 5 days like I saw above! If you have to wait 6 months for 2 dose changes isn't that better than hurting your whole life? GOOD LUCK!

I have had GERD for 3 years, and I took Nexium to treat it for the first 2 years... worked great, could eat whatever I wanted (I love spicy food!) with no side effects. My insurance stopped covering Nexium, so I began to take Aciphex as both my mother and grandmother have taken it for years (GERD runs in our family). In the last week, I have had a sensation like a huge lump in my throat, and the feeling that I could not take a deep enough breath. Since I have dealt with anxiety in the past, I thought it must be that... however, I noticed that I was burping much more than usual and when I wasn't burping, I felt like I needed to but couldn't. I have felt miserable, and thought something was really wrong with me. Tonight, I found this site and another of people complaining of the experience I am having. I am not taking Aciphex for the rest of the week and will see how I feel. I hope that the way I feel is due to the side effects of this medicine! I will pay out of pocket for Nexium, b/c the way I feel no is unacceptable. My mom and grandmother have never had these problems, however, medicine affects all people differently... I just don't think Aciphex and I go together.