Thyroid medication symptoms and conditions

I was prescribed Loestrin FE 1/20 TAB for clotting and having menstruation more often than I should (once every two weeks or so). My first experience resulted in leg pain, after six days. This ended with a Doppler scan to check for blood clots. Well, that was cleared so back on to Loestrin I went. When I picked up my prescription I asked the pharmacist (yes I had already asked my doctor) during consultation about interactions with the other medications I take on a daily basis. Prednisone 10mg tablet and Armour Thyroid 240mg. I was told, not to worry, no issues. Eleven days after starting Loestrin again, I called my doctor because of nausea, vomiting, fatigue, indigestion (like I've never had before) and feeling "foggy." I was told these were "not typical complaints" that they heard. I then checked for interactions on line and found that both the prednisone and Armour Thyroid have interactions. With Prednisone it's side effects can be made more severe than they would be without the Loestrin (never had a side effect in the eight months I was on it, until the Loestrin). I experienced With the Armour Thyroid Loestrin binds to it, preventing the absorption of the thyroid medication. This explains all of the symptoms I was having. Please, beware that you must check on interactions yourself, do not rely on your pharmacist or physician to be aware of these.

MY STORY

My Mirena was removed on 29th May 2008.

I had the Mirena put in four years ago,I had terrible pain the day after, it was that bad I was going to go to the hospital Emergency to get the thing out but I put up(the worst thing I done in my life, Im paying for it now) with it and it and the pain got a bit better,had a lot of bleeding (spotting) for the first six months and then it finally went away. For the first year I thought Mirena was Great but then the problems started.I started to gain a lot of weight,facial hair,Very sore breasts, I also had a lump removed from my left breast a couple of years ago, but I didn't know until recently that it was most likely caused by Mirena. Some of the other problems I had, My stomach bloated, I look like I'm six months pregnant ,I have a cyst on my left ovary,dry skin,acne,strange depression,headaches,and the Worst of all I had to have my Thyroids REMOVED on 1st Nov 2006 and I'm pretty sure that was caused by Mirena as well, so now I have to take thyroid Medication for the rest of my life,I had the Mirena removed as soon as I done some searching on the internet for my unexplained medical problems, mainly my weight as I had weighed about the same my whole adult life and now I had put on a few stone and now I have to try and lose it,as for my thyroid I have trouble getting the Meds right its a real pain,blood tests all the time.I just don't feel I have much left in my life,depressed,sick all the time. I eat well as I have high cholesterol so its not that I over ate,I noticed you do feel a lot more like eating sweet things. I found a site called ****** and found out there are thousands of woman,girls with the same problems as myself and that there is a class action law suit going on to Sue. Its worth having a look at this site it helped me a lot.I feel so bad I don't go out anymore I don't see friends or family I'm to depressed about my weight now. I am in the process of trying to find out if there is a Class Action Law Suit in Australia.If anyone knows of a Class Action in Australia could they Please let me know. After having the Mirena removed about 6 weeks ago I thought I was doing ok only a bit of spotting,but about 3 weeks after having it removed I got my period and the pain was unbearable,I was in agony stomach cramps and I bleed so much I thought I was going to die from blood loss,also the scariest was the huge blood clots,very scary,must of been four years of period in 1 week I couldn't believe how bad it was, I felt really sick and weak,but thank goodness its eased off now after a week. I just hope now I might slowly start and feel like my old self. Im also on medication for heart palpitations,I get Heart palpitations (SVT) a few times a week,I had my heart palpitations just after my thyroid removal op and was put on ecg and my heart rate was 176 Beats per Minute I was rushed to Intensive Care and I had to have an injection called Impending Doom (It makes you feel you are going to die) to slow my heart rate,it worked and I was kept in intensive car for 3 days,very scary thing to go through I hope I never have to go through that again,my heart palpitations got worse while I was on Mirena and now I also take Magnesium to help control them as well as Metoprolol which I have been on for some years and I recently read that if you are on Mirena it increases the side effects of Metoprolol.

So if you have had any bad experiences with Mirena please let us know,it will help others with their problems, hopefully. I just wish I never got Mirena and my advice is DON'T its not Worth the risk,if the Doctors had of told me about the BAD side effects I would NEVER of had it put in. Sorry about going on so long, Good Luck to you all,

Thanks Net.

google mirena-side-effects.****** (a mirena help,info site)

UPDATE

I have had it out nearly 3 months now my painful breasts feel normal again,I haven't lost any weight yet, but will soon hopefully,I do feel a lot better but still get some of the symptoms back just before my period.

I get sooo mad when i think of what Mirena done to me and all the other women and how bad some of their side effects have been. I get mad when i read some of the other ladies stories and the terrible things they have gone through ,

Perforations,Miscarriages,IUD's lost in their body,

Hystorectomy,and the rest. I want to wish them all the best, and we WILL get Better and Bayer ,Mirena will PAY some day for what they have done to US..

I have been on Levoxyl for about 9 years and have felt awful. I have had weight loss, dry hair, thinning hair,dry skin, muscle aches, migraines and the list goes on. I just got out of the hospital Monday after 4 days of testing of my heart and lungs. I was admitted for racing heart. The doctor's conclusion was anxiety! They said that Levoxyl has nothing to do with my rapid heart rate. The endocrinologist prescribed taking levoxyl .050 on day and .075 the next also a beta blocker, Xanax and Zoloft. I can not take any of these meds b/c they make it almost worse. I KNOW it is not Anxiety and it from the Levoxyl but what do I do?? I am a mess right now can not be in this condition with four young kids and a husband. None of the doctors would say it was the Levoxyl and instead prescribed more and told me to check up with blood work in 6 weeks. I took the .050 yesterday around noon and by 7:30pm my heart rate picked up again and continued until 4:30 this morning. I can not sleep more then 2 hours at a time and wakeup feeling like I am crawling out of my skin. PLEASE let me know of any solutions.

Hello To All,

I too am on this med, I have been on it for 1 year as of July 2008-

35 pounds, brain fog, headaches, eye sight for reading, chest pain and fluttering heart beat. My doctor who is my friend has told me that he will up my dose... "Dear God" any more and I will go nuts. Does anyone know of any study done in a medical journal that theu could forward to me so I can show my doctor.

Please email me at ****** I would be so very thankful.

Thanks to all and be healthy.

I am just slightly hypothyroid and could go without meds, but decided to try meds, and endocrinologist suggested Levoxyl 50 mcg per day. First day on the drug, felt exhausted by night time, next morning, usually jump out of bed for workout and was extremely tired at the gym, no energy, was starving during the day even after breakfast which is unusual for me, and exhausted by evening, and third day woke up with swollen glands and exhaustion, knew something was up. Decided to research the side effects and found others with similar symptoms and didn't like long term effects so I am going off the drug and hoping I caused no damage to my system. My doctor's reaction was "impossible" that the drug could cause this. My reaction was, "no thank you, I think for myself, know my body, and know this drug caused this reaction." I was feeling fine before 3 days ago, and how could so many have similar symptoms if it isn't the drug.

I suggest to anyone that has Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (type of Hypothyroidism) to have a blood test done for Celiac Disease. There has been research done linking Celiac Disease and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Celiac Disease can be controlled by a gluten-free diet (wheat, rye, and barley free). In the US, not many doctors recognize/know of this link. I have been hypothyroid for 20 years (had Hodgkin's Disease (cancer) - radiation/chemo at age 16) I have 2 sisters with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and were iron and B12 deficient. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis 3 months ago with iron and B12 deficiency. I have been on a gluten-free diet for 2 months now. My dosage of synthroid (levothyroxine) was 175 mcg and now is down to 137 mcg. I hope that I am one of the lucky ones that will have their antibodies to their thyroid normalized (no more synthroid!) I have a couple of days left before my next blood test and I hope that it goes down more. I am feeling better now than I have in a very long time. I have attached a link for those of you interested. It is an endocrine article from Finland outling the link between Celiac Disease and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (among other things). I hope that this helps some of you. http://edrv.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/23/4/464

I was diagnoed back in november with Hashimoto Disease and had a complete thyroidectomy in December. I have been switched three times since Dec. 07 (only April 6 '08) to different doses of Synthroid. I still experienced weight gain and cannot lose weight, irritability, depression, hair loss, exhaustion... I decided last month to stop taking it all together and was wondering what effects this may have on me. Any clues as to the effects of NOT taking the medication after having a my thyroid completly removed?? I feel the same (depressed, irritable, still losing hair, exhausted...) but am sure this is probably not a good thing to not take any medication when I don't have a thyroid anymore.

I'd like to say that I think the Old version of Synthroid that existed
before 1982-83 was MUCH better than what is produced today,
I'd done quite well on Old Synthroid from 1975 to 1982 after
RAI treatment for a bad case of Grave's disease when I was
eleven years old....but when Synthroid was changed to be
more "cost-effective" for its manufacturer, my life was basically
destroyed--and I haven't recovered since then, despite trying many
different doses of various thyroid drugs.

Symptoms I've gotten since Synthroid changed in '82 include:
Severe breathing trouble that really limits what I can do every
single day; extremely dry skin in certain places--like legs and
feet; much poorer memory and thinking ability; much drier hair
and too much hair falling out; tendency to get chest pains whether
dose is too low, too high, or "normal," have had a lot of trouble with
blood pressure at times; getting red in face; too much weight gain
for what I eat; lymphedema (much swelling in legs and feet),
inability to sleep well; always feel congested or blocked up;
vision problems like black spots floating before eyes; sensitivity
to light; double or triple vision at times; involuntary eye-twitching
at times. I'm sure I've forgotten some things, too....

A very odd thing about Synthroid since 1982 (and the other drugs
that've copied it, since that time) is that it tends to give me
symptoms of both high and low thyroid trouble at the same
time, while also causing new symptoms that I'd never had in
the first place. Old Synthroid was much more clear-cut for me.
If the dose was too low, I'd have typical low thyroid symptoms
only (too tired, dry skin, etc), and if too high, I'd get only typical
high thyroid symptoms (too nervous, insomnia, racing heart, etc),
Much easier to adjust and work with than today's Synthroid.

At any rate, I was left with little working thyroid gland after my
intitial Grave's treatment, so I am (unfortunately) very dependent
on GOOD thyroid medicine to help me. In my opinion, I haven't
had any good stuff to take since Old Synthroid left the market
in 1982-83. Haven't been well to accomplish much since that
time--feel like I'm getting punished for being a thyroid patient,
which is ridiculous, really--because I know better medicine once
existed, and I want it again!

Have tried many avenues to get someone to produce Old Synthroid
again, but no luck--I'm not rich, famous, or politically connected,
so no one listens to me. But if anyone out there reading this can
help in some way, please feel free to contact me--maybe we can
work together to bring back a better treatment that would help at
least some folks out there who are really suffering. S.D.

I just started using a prescription of Welchol. After two days, I am seriously thinking of discontinuing taking it. I am not prone to anxiety at all, and since I started using this, I have some anxiety and I am generally uncomfortable. Some gas and constipation. My heart rate is up a little. I really don't like this feeling of anxiety at all. I am taking Synthroid and Benicar.

Hi, I wish I would have found this site a long time ago! I had Mirena put in in Dec 2005 after the birth of my son. I was nursing and was told that the birth control that I could take and would not interfere with my milk was "not as forgiving" as regular pills (and, I definitely did not want to get pregnant again at that time) So, I went with the Mirena. It seemed great in the beginning. I had the strings trimmed a little after my husband felt them and got freaked out and then everything seemed great.
It's funny how this has worked out for so many of us because after having a baby, your life is so changed and your body is so out of whack that it's hard to say what could be causing it. I ended up becoming extremely hypothyroid after having my son (I wonder if Mirena may have had anything to do with it!??!?!) Even though I take thyroid medication now and seem to have it very under control, I still have no sex drive, have tremendous mood swings even though I am on antidepressants, my acne is worse than it was when I was a teenager, and what I consider to be worst of all, tremendous eczema! Last summer I became so covered in eczema, my face, neck, chest and arms, that my mother said I looked like a burn victim. I was insanely uncomfortable and extremely self-conscious. After going to all kinds of doctors who only kept prescribing topical creams and steroid pills, I started going to an awesome alternative medicine nutritionist and realized that there was something internal going on causing my skin to react like this. After seeing him for months, we came to see a pattern between my eczema flare-ups and my period. I always seemed to start getting really itchy around the time of ovulation and we also discovered that during that same time I would be gluten-sensitive. I had all the tests done and I do not have Celiac disease.
I can't believe that I am only reading about all of this now. Thank you all so much for confirming my hunch that it might be the Mirena. I am going to call my Gyno today and have it removed.

I have been on synthroid for about 6 months now. Some of the side effects I have been experiencing are numerous.I have hair loss, sometimes I get so ill that no one can stand to be around me, my weight has gone up about 30 pounds, my cholesterol levels went sky high so now I'm taking Crestor, I'm bloated most times, I have episodes where my face flushes and gets so red that it feels like its on fire, and now I've just started experiencing burning and aching of the legs, I'm tired a lot too! My doctor said I would lose the weight but every time I go for check ups and get on the scale it just keeps going up. I would like to know if anyone else out there is experiencing the burning and achy legs because I have been tested for everything and they can't find out what is going on. They of course say it's not the medication.It seems to never be. Does anyone feel me??

I was prescribed 25 MCG tabs of levothyroxine (generic for Levoxyl) by my MD for my hypothyroid. (I was tested at a 4.5 reading -- just below a normal 5 reading). After 60 days of taking levothyroxine EXACTLY as prescribed (i.e.; on an empty stomach, 1st thing in the morning with a glass of water; no vitamins for at least 4 hrs afterward), I started to have symptoms that I've never experienced before: my hands began hurting so bad with joint pain; my lips felt numb; and I was sweating more than I ever had in my life. I decided to stop taking the medication due to these symptoms, and in about 7-10 days from stopping, ALL these symptoms had disappeared and have not returned to date. I relayed this information to my MD who told me that my symptoms had nothing to do with Levothyroxine and that I needed to continue taking the drug. It's more than strange to me how some MDs will not listen to his/her patient -- even more so now that I've read other info on the internet where many other people have had these same side effects taking levothyroxine!! On my own, I am now looking into taking an all natural alternative that I found on wellness resources called "Thyroid helper". I will not take Levothyroxine again if I can avoid it by taking an alternative. Has anyone else out there had success taking "Thyroid Helper"?

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in April of this year (2007) kind of by accident through a routine checkup. I had gained a bit of weight over the past two years, but that was really my only symptom. I was begun on 75 mcg of a generic brand of Synthroid, levothyroxine. Since I began this medication, I have rapidly gained another 15 pounds despite a 1,000 calorie per day diet. I retain fluid horribly. My ankles, wrists, hands and face swell daily. My muscles ache, especially my legs, upon walking across a room. I'm fatigued, short of breath. My LDL cholesterol level has skyrocketed in only three months and now I'm being told I need to be on a statin drug. I cry frequently and feel uncharacteristically anxious and irritable, but this could be due to the frustration I am experiencing with the loss of my sense of well-being. In essence, I felt much better before being placed on the medication. I may, in fact, discontinue the medication totally and see if over time I begin to feel better. Like so many other stories I'm hearing, my doctor seems totally unconcerned.

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 think what a lot of people are posting here are more side effects of thyroid conditions rather than side effects of thyroid medication. After my RAI treatment I started on a generic brand of levothyroxine. I even got my doctor to let me try Armour Thyroid since many people do well with it rather than Synthroid. Armour didn't work well for me, but it definitely is the only way to go for some people. After months of misery, things finally smoothed out. I was a royal pain in the butt to my doctor because I questioned everything. The biggest side effect for me going from hyper to hypo was edema. A clinical name for water retention. It wasn't so much the bloated feeling that bugged me. It was the pain in my hands and feet from the water retention. I have never, ever had a problem with carpal tunnel syptoms even though I have always used my hands a lot for work and I play the guitar. I had to add a small dose of dieuretic to control the edema and relieve the hand and feet pain. Sometimes it does flair up depending upon what I eat and how much I sweat, but that's what goes along with this type of illness. It's not just a magic pill that makes you feel "back to normal". You have to be demanding of your doctor to try other things to get you to feel right. You even have to pay attention to how you feel at different times of the year to figure out how to adjust what you take, eat, or do to feel better. I have noticed that with all things remaining constant, how I feel in terms of energy level and edema is related to the season. The body is weird that way. I still have side effects from the treatment from time to time, but I finally figured out what seems to work best for me. Maybe things could change over time, but I've learned that medicine just doesn't have a black and white treatment plan that works the same for everyone for thyroid related conditions. To sum it up, question everything your doctor tells you, demand to try things that you think would help you feel right, pay attention to what your body is telling you and adjust, and fire your doctor if they treat thyroid problems as black and white. Your doctor is not the one suffering from the condition, you are. It's your life and there's nothing wrong with being demanding about wanting to feel right.

MT SIDE EFFECT THAT i HAVE , SINCE I HAVE HYPOTHROIDISM HAVE BEEN UP AND DOWN LIKE A ROLLER COASTER. i CAN TELL ALL THE TIME WHEN MY LEVELS ARE OFF. WHEN THEY ARE TOO HIGH OF TOO MUCH THYROID MEDICATION IN MY SYSTEM, I FEEL VERY NERVOUS, IRRITABLE. SHAKEY FEELING INSIDE LKE I CANNOT CALM DOWN IN SIDE. MUSCLE CRAMPING, AND BAD HEADACHE. WHEN MY LEVELS ARELOW , I AMY VEY TIRED AL DAY LONG AND JUST WANT TO SLEEP. i ALSO GET A VERY DEPRESSED FEELING AND WANT TO CRY ALOT, BECAUSE I DONT FEEL RIGHT. WHEN THE LEVELS ARE REALLY LOW I GET DIZZY, AND WHEN i TRY TO DRIVE MY CAR I CAN NOT CONCINTRATE VERY WELL AND i FEEL LIKE I AM DRUNK.. THE FEELING IS AWFUL, AND MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I AM NOT IN TOUCH WITH REALITY.

AFter taking Levoxyl for almost 6 months, I suffered severe anxiety--couldn't sleep, cried all the time, at times couldn't leave the house and other times couldn't stand to be at home. I suggested to my dr. it was the Levoxyl, but he didn't agree. So I took myself off and finaly felt like my old self. Now my thyroid is low and they are wanting to put me on synthoid. Is it any better? I can't go through that again and Is there any natural thyroid medication I could try?

I took this medication after outpatient surgery before going to bed and could not get to sleep. By 3:00 A.M. I was dizzy, almost fainted, panting, and had extreme hot feeling under my skin which started in my arms. Thank God I was staying at my daughters and was able to wake her up for help.

She put ice cold tea towel on back of my neck got me to take deep breaths, and put my head between my legs. Within few minutes I began to stablized but was and am still screwed up from it after 6 days.

I also suffered constipation for 4 days after taking it.

I'd be very leary of this drug.

I'm currently on blood pressure and thyroid medication so I don't know if there was some type of interaction with them or what. Very unpleasant. It through me into horrible panic attack.

Barb

I would strongly recommend anyone with hypothyroidism or on thyroid medication read a book called The Thyroid Solution. I believe the author was Dr. Arem. He seems to be an open-minded physician fully aware of the catastrophic effect low thyroid hormone and also quite aware of the inadequate care most patients are receiving.

There are so many misconceptions about thyroid health-- and many general practitioners do not have nearly enough information to be helping patients. He fully covers the problem of relying on your doctor to provide the adequate dosage. As well, many people with so-called 'normal' TSH levels still show symptoms of hypothyroidism. In fact, the 'normal' range was simply found by measuring the TSH of a cross-section of people to determine what level makes most people feel healthy. The problem with this is that some people may naturally have an extremely low TSH, but if it raises to a 4 (which is considered fine) that person may feel quite ill. There body knows something has changed but to a doctor who only looks at blood tests, they can't see why there is a problem.
In the past doctors used symptomology to determine the health of a patient, not ridiculous blood tests!
Best of all, Dr. Arem confirms that your symptoms are NOT IN YOUR HEAD like doctors try to convince you.

This is also a great book for people dealing with family members who are hypothyroid to understand what their loved one is dealing with emotionally.

Shari,
Your daughters TSH numbers were high because hypothyroidism is made worse by oral contraceptives. I am hypothyroid as well, and through research found that oral contraceptives are actually contraindicated with thyroid medication. Estrogen binds with the thyroid hormones your daughter is taking and doesn't allow it to be used. Family doctors know little about endocrinology and didn't know I should not be on Yasmin. I had to do the research myself. It also sounds like your daughter hasn't stabilized on her meds and may need further advice from an endocrinologist. Ideally her TSH should be between 0-2 although the so-called normal ranges can go as high as 4. I doubt she will ever feel healthy if she continues taking Yasmin, or if she consumes large amounts of other thyroid-binding foods like soy or walnuts.

For some reason this didn't post when i first reported it, but I'd also like Yasmin users to be aware of serious side effects. I had a very severe grand mal seizure this month and was taken to hospital. I have never had a seizure before. My doctor was totally unaware seizures are a reported side effect of Yasmin, even though they are not common. My life has been completely turned upside down because of this. I had only started taking Yasmin 2 weeks prior to the seizure and there is enough evidence that Yasmin is to blame that my doctor ordered me off of it! I no longer take Yasmin but it's effects linger. I feel ill, I'm recovering from all the problems associate with a seizure (pulled muscles, bit tongue), and am not allowed to drive etc. Yasmin is not candy even thought doctors hand it out like it is!

My daughter has been on Yasmin since August. She is now on thyroid medication because her thyroid numbers were high. (since November) Has anyone heard of Yasmin messing with thyroid readings? She was so fatigued in November and December she could barely function. She has gained 20 lbs since the summer and is very upset. I can't tell if the depression is from the weight gain or something else. She works out everyday and eats pretty well. Her mood swings are also pretty bad. I am starting to wonder if this has all been caused by the Yasmin and maybe her thyroid would be fine if she gets off of this. I would appreciate any feed back. Thanks, Shari

I am so angry by reading all of these posted side effects. I have been complaining of hair loss, itchy eyes, swollen eyes, rapid heart rate, palpations, and leg cramps ever since I started this drug. What in the world is going on? Women are sensitive to hormonal shifts PERIOD! These doctors act like our complaints are related to "mental status". I HAVE HEARD IT ALL. They would love to give me MORE drugs to counter the effects of Levoxyl. Drugs for heart problems, pain, hair loss, OH, and my favorite.....depression. After all, we have no clue what is going on with our bodies...it is ONLY IN OUR HEADS! Where in the world is the FDA? How is it that Hundreds of thousands of women are complaining (check other websites and local support groups, you'll be amazed how many of us there are!) and the FDA has not done a thing? The problem is OUR DOCTORS. Yep, they do not report our complaints because the synthetic versions of thyroid medication is a huge cash cow. The only way we can get someone to listen is by complaining to the FDA ourselves. The doctors are not looking out for us. I am 37 years old. My heart rate has doubled in just one year of being on this medication. I am going bald and I feel like garbage. This drug has destroyed my life as I once knew it. I AM GOING TO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE FDA. It doesn't matter what form of synthetic thyroid I take, I feel like garbage. I am honestly worried that this drug is going to kill me. I SUGGEST EVERYONE THAT HAS A SIDE EFFECT FROM THESE DRUGS WRITE TO THE FDA WITH YOUR CONCERNS. Enough is enough. We need to take control of our lives. It amazes me how our parents and grandparents lived so well with thyroid diseases when the only drugs available in their days were natural forms of hormones. Doctors need to be doctors, not investors in the pharma industry. God be with us all!

Hi everyone,
I have been on synthroid for eight years, it has not right for me. I started a combined T3 T4 medication a year ago and that made a great difference. I have now stopped all T4 and am taking T3 only in the form of Cytome, this leaves me feeling more alert, clear head, more energy and I am only on this for a week! You have to introduce the medication gradually, suddenly changing and taking the full dose all at once is a shock on the system, I break the tablets and take them over the day. I have to day taken a full tablet for the first time. I intend to take the medication spread over the day as T3 needs to be taken this way, unless you get a slow release form and this I have not come across, as yet. To be honest to ask the Dr for htis might just push him toot far!! I am grateful to have had the co operation of the Dr to try this T3 on its own, other Drs might have resisted. The body needs T3 to make T4, so it makes sense that we supply what we are deficient in, as opposed to giving the body the end product. I have read that there is a chance that the body will adjust with the T3 and start producing its own and then we can cut back on our medication and eventually stop. Thyroid medication has an effect on the heart, just as hypothyroidism has a negative effect on the heart. Taking too much synthroid can case severe heart trouble, the aim should be to take as little as possible but to take enoght to feel well. I personally will not take synthroid again. I found armour which is the combined tablet a much improvement and now I feel the popsitive effects of having no T4. I will keep monitoring andif I feel it necessary I will take some T4 again but to be honest I know I need to regularily monitor my blood test having tests for T$ and T3 and also free T3s. Take your body temperature every two or three hours a day and if your are consistenty below normal then this is a sign that your need T3. My body temperature is never normal always very low and no amount of T4 affects this. T3 is gradually increasing the temperature.
Hope this helps some folk.

I am a 16 year old female who has been on different thyroid medication for at least 3 years. Along with my thyroid disease I have type 1 diabetes also. Right now I am taking LEVOTHYROXINE. I have taken levoxyl, synthroid, and I cant remember any others. Over the years I have gradually increased my dose to 125 mcg. Instead of losing weight with these medications, I've actually gained 25 lbs, and Ive kept my slow metabolism. Ive experienced bloating, gas, fatigue, spaceiness-like out of it, unable to concentrate, increased appetite, and mild depression. I usaully am able to get fantastic grades, and catching on to things comes easy. But now ive lost interest in friends, sports and overall life. I am wondering if this thyroid medication or my other medication- Metformin has anything to do with how I feel or overeating?

Update on Post #8579. I have been off Lipitor 7 weeks and my symptoms have greatly improved. Saw the doctor yesterday and he said it looks like it was the Lipitor causing my problems. However, discovered my thyroid results warranted medication for the first time. He said thyroid could cause some of the same type symptoms and probably any remaining symptoms would now
clear. The thyroid problem could also cause an elevated cholesterol. We will recheck me after I have been on the thyroid medication for 8 weeks to see what my cholesterol level is at that time.