Ptu symptoms and conditions

Hi all x l started taking levo in Sept 04 along side ptu for graves disease... I've never felt well since! Had thyroid removed July 07 remained on levo and l am going down hill fast!! I read about myself in all the posts here from the stomach problems to the muscles spasms etc etc etc if l remember right this all started back when levo was given to me as part of black and replace.....

i've been on synthroid for 9 years. started at some low dose and gradually went up to112 mg. get extreme itching all day everyday if i don't take allegra for that.not a rash just itching. that doesn't bother me as much as the fatique. every joint in my body aches all the time. sure there are better days but fo rthe most part it's bad. tried physical therapy and chiripratic care but no avail. they ended my sessions. my legs get sooo weak and my feet burn lower back really aches. sometimes muscle cramps. i'm very negative towards my loving family and it hurts me to do so. can't seem to keep upbeat. soo tired all the time.
is it the syntroid? i used to be very energenic and a doer. now i have spurts of activity in the morning , but then i just can't get motivated. help me any suggestions?

I have been between 110 - 115 lbs most of my adult life. I tried everything to gain weight, but it didn't work. I was diagnosed with Graves Disease when I was pregnant with my son. I took PTU for the duration of the pregnancy. I was symptom free for about 4 years. About two years ago, I started to experience symptoms related to Graves Disease. I saw an Endo doctor who told me that I have a non-cancerous goiter that needed to be removed. I have thyroid surgery 8 months ago. I started taking Synthroid shortly thereafter. I have been trying to explain my symptoms of Hair Lost, Dry skin and nails, Insomnia, weight lost, lost of appetite, and leg cramps to someone for 6 months. Nobody listens. They just discount my symptoms. Today I decided to do some research to find out if I was alone. I AM NOT ALONE. I've been taking Synthroid for 8 months. My hair is so thin that you can see my scalp. Combing my hair makes me upset because I have chunks of hair in the comb. I too called my doctor and he replied,"I can't believe that your symptoms are related to your synthroid use." Reading these articles helped to prepare me for his responses. I insisted that I didn't want to take Synthroid anymore. He ordered blood work and advised that I have to continue taking this medication. I don't want to feel this way for the rest of my life. I have a 6 years old son who is full of life. I don't have the energy to keep up sometimes. I felt better before my Thyroid Surgery. (34 years old Woman, post Thyroid Surgery for an Enlarged Goiter and Hyperthyroidism). Where is the support????

I've been taking Synthroid (Levothyroxine) for about 17 YEARS. I was diagnosed with Grave's Disease, and opted for the radioactive iodine. After two years of trying to control the disease with PTU (which has serious bone marrow depletion side effects) I decided to go for the one thing I knew would work. Of course, the treatment with the radioactive iodine is very tough to estimate, and I went from hyperactive to hypoactive. As a result, I'll take 200mcg (0.2mg) for life.

I think it's important to understand that Synthroid is not a drug. It is a hormone. When you take Synthroid, you're engaging in hormone replacement therapy (HRT). You really won't experience side effects from the hormone, but you will experience problems if the amount of hormone is not within a "normal" range. Too much or too little will be a problem for anyone. What's critical here is to take the hormone at the same time every day (without food -- calcium will block its absorption), and monitor your hormone level frequently to establish a solid baseline.

The hormone will take days, or even weeks to reach its peak, and the duration is variable. BECAUSE IT'S A HORMONE, TAKING MORE OR LESS THAN IS NECESSARY WILL PRODUCE UNDESIRABLE RESULTS. Any "side effects" are really the result of improper dosing.

Having said all of that, I've never had a problem with Synthroid -- once my optimal level was determined. I worked closely with my MD and together decided that I was best at the upper side of "normal." I've made only one change in the 17 years, and that was to increase the dose.

Here's something to consider: If it weren't for this hormone, and the science behind HRT, I probably would have died years ago.

I'm a 25 year old female and I was diagnosed with Grave's Disease during my pregnancy at the age of 21. The following year I was treated with radioiodine and subsequently was placed on synthroid. Since I have been on the medication (3 years now on varying doses) I have experienced severe to moderate anxiety, alarming hair loss, loss of appetite, piercing headaches, dry skin, fatigue, leg pain (mostly at the joints), dry mouth and eyes, and I feel I react very slowly (thinking and physically). THe most predominant symptoms at the moment are the dry skin which has never gone away, I still notice my hair hasn't stopped falling out at the rate it was when first starting the medication, sleeping isn't very restful, anxiety attacks and tight chest. I have told my doctors both primary and endocrinologist of my symptoms and was basically told to put on lotion (which I do religiously), see a psychiatrist, and buy a better mattress. I could almost make out a question mark hovering over my primary doctor's head as she thought of what could be the source of my afflictions.

When i had my yearly visit with my endo recently, he became agitated by my question asking and basically brushed me off. He told me point blank "There are no side effects with this medication". I asked, "None?" and he insisted, "None." I found out later that week (He's an Associate Professor at a local University) by a research statement I found on his website "Review of Graves' Disease outcomes comparisons, antithyroid drug therapy vs. radioactive iodine treatment". He's funded by the makers of Synthroid. Needless to say, I'm calling around for a new Endocrinologist. In his haste to administer radioiodine, (he said my white blood cell count was very low due to the PTU i was taking for Hyperthyroid, mind you, I had an infection not too long before his findings) he may have miscalculated how much radioiodine I should be given and now I am taking varying doses because he can't seem to get it right. I just found out today that soy bean decreases absorption of levothyroxine sodium. I have been taking my synthroid with soy milk for the past few months, which may account for my thyroid hormonal change. I'm thoroughly disappointed.

intestinal cramping,mucusey vaginal discharge and mucusey watery stool.burning while urinating, throbbing head. bad dreams, a feeling of paranoia and nervousness....i stopped taking it and a day later I was back to my old self, went back on it and the side effects happened again. I am on Verapamil( hypertension) PTU ( hyperthyroid med) acolate(asthma) hydroxyzine ( skin rash antihis) this stuff shoiuld be banned! Thank you for having this website, I don't like being a guinea pig for the government...they should pay us if they need us to tell them the side effects as they would in an open study...I can't count how many drugs my MD. has tried on me that were not yet approved or totally tested by our government.
This upsets me. lorain