Hello To All, I too am on this med, I have been on it for 1 ye...

I just recently diagnosed with the "Hypo" as I loving refer to it and am going crazy on the medication. I had an ititial TSH level of 13.54. The dr. started me immediately on .75 micrograms of Synthroid and my body rebelled. I ended up in the ER from a drug interaction of the Synthroid and Zoloft both of which my dr prescribed. I have a new job and have had to leave early several times due to complications and the side effects of Synthroid.

I have every side effect listed on the Synthroid website and am suffering on a daily basis as they experiment with dosage levels. My doctor just kept wanting to up the dosage and would not discuss Armour Thyroid when I brought it up during my last visit with him. When I told him about all the research I had done and all the blogs I had read he didn't want to hear it. He was a "pureist" and he went with what had scientific documentation. He did not care that I was literally sick all the time and felt terrible just as long as my TSH level kept dropping. My last test with him was 9.25.

I finally switched physicians and am working with a new doctor who immediately took me off of the Synthroid for 2 weeks and had me restart the medication at .25 micograms. I am now working my way back up the dosage ladder and over the weekend tried to take .25 in the morning and .25 in the evening and woke up the this morning with my heart beating out of my chest.

I have been doing research on alternative treatments and plan on consulting with my doctor about switching me to Armour Thyroid (a natural replacement option). Most dr's won't prescribe it and I am taking documentation to my appointment this Thursday that suggests it is just as effective as Synthroid.

I have a letter I found written by a woman who is suffering just like us with the side effects. She did her homework. Take a look at it. http://thyroid.about.com/cs/thyroiddrugs/l/blletter.htm

I want my life back and since I started the Synthroid I have given up so much because I just plain feel terrible. Keep fighting and searching for alternatives. If this new dr. won't work with me - I will find one that will!!!!

The reason you have all those symptoms is because Synthroid is simply T4, and T4 is simply a storage hormone. It's NOT enough to treat hypothyroid and you are STILL hypothyroid. You really need to be reading this site; www.stopthethyroidmadness.com It's the very reason I got OFF T4 and onto a much better medication which stopped my own bad symptoms while on Synthroid.

I have been on synthroid now for 25 years. I had a parial thyroidectomey then. Since then, I had thyroid cancer and have had a total thyroidectomy (7 months ago). They played with my meds recently and switched me from .175 of synthroid to 30 mcg of Armour thyroid. I can say that I felt like I was going to die and that would be an understatement. My TSH went up to 128.5. I went to an endo and she switched me back to synthroid. She says that I should have never have been switched to such a low level of Armour thyroid. She also prefers sythroid to Armour thyroid because she says the blood levels are more consistent with it. I will also add that I have had numerous doctors say that they do not like the generic version because it does not work as well. I have P.A.T. which is a condition that makes my heart beat faster than normal anyway. I can tell you this, I would much prefer a little heart fluttering to the way I felt when my levels got so out of whack. Good luck on getting your symptoms under control. I wish there was an easy answer for you.

One more thing...I have done lots of research on thyroid problems and thyroid meds especially since I had the cancer. Ideally, the doctors want to keep your TSH level at around 1 to keep the cancer from returning. It is a myth that Armour thyroid is the only drug that can raise both your T3 and T4 both. First of all, if your T4 is where it should be, your body will manufacture the appropriate amount of T3. Secondly, if it does not for some reason, they can give you another drug with Synthroid to raise the T3. Like I said in the post above I took Synthroid for 25 years. Yes, it has side effects but they do diminish over time. Alot of it depends on how you take it also. You should take it first thing in the morning (preferably the same time every day) on an empty stomach and do not eat for an hour after you take it. If you do not follow this routine, you may end up taking a higher dosage than you need. I hope this helps.

Rebecca, what I don't understand, is why you would be put on 30mg of armour when you were on 175 mg of synthroid. That amount is only 1/4 of your dose. Would that not make you sick? Most of the reading I have done on Armour states that you need to address the symptoms with the dosage, or any other desicated thyroid medication. Maybe going to a compounding pharmacy like my doctor suggested would have helped. I live in Canada and Have been on synthroid for 16 years, I know it is the drug that has made me unhealthy. I saw how the natural helped my mother so many years ago.

cheers

Hi, I definitely want to help you! I was having trouble with adjusting to the meds for over a year. Since my step-sister has a low thyroid she told me what to do. 1. Do not take generic. 2. Always take synthroid the minute you wake up and then wait an hour before eating or taking any other vitamin or herb. 3. On the day you get your thyroid test do not take the medicine until after your doctor visit. When I was able to do this my test turn out good.
This actually came from a doctor who wrote a book on the thyroid and found this worked on his patients.

It has taken over a year of going up and down on the dosage. It also took awhile for my body to get used to this drug. I suffered from nausea and tiredness and also insomnia. I exercise to help me sleep and keep praying that God will help me with this disease. I also watch for things that can block this medicine such as soy milk, high fiber foods.