Levoxyl and blood tests

Wow am I glad I found this site! I had my thyroid destroyed in May and started taking Levoxyl at the beginning of August of this year. At first things were going well but after the dosage was increased I started to notice leg pain, numbness in my hands and feet as well as joint pain. I spoke with the doc and he said that it could be related to not having enough hormone and after blood tests revealed very high TSH levels, he increased. Since then the pain has worsened and I even went to my primary doctor who tested for Lupus and RA. I had none of these symptoms until I started the Levoxyl, not one! I feel relieved that others are having this experience too and plan to speak with the doctor about it.

I started taking Levoxyl about a year ago for tsh suppression therapy- to help shrink nodules. I have never felt better in my life! No side effects other than losing weight. I lost over 40 lbs in one year (but that was with diet and exercise). I am afraid my ent will take me off levoxyl permanently and i will feel exhausted and gain back the weight. Go for ultrasound and blood tests tomorrow.

I am a 36 year old MALE and was diagnosed w/ hypothyroiditis about 3 months ago. My doctor placed me on levoxyl after confirming his concern through blood tests. Prior to taking levoxyl, I had all the symptoms of hypothyroidism. After 2 months on the med, I noticed much improvement and decrease in symptoms - stop of hair loss, better sleep, more energy, ability to concentrate, and no more constipation. From reading nothing but bad news regarding levoxyl on this site, I pray that my sucess continues in the long term w/ levoxyl and I hope all you find something that works.

Does any know of a support website for MALES regarding hypothroiditis?

I was required to switch to Levothyroxine, after 15 years on synthroid,because my insurance co. would no longer cover synthroid. I started Levothyroxine Oct 1/04 and within about 2 weeks my knee, elbows, arms, hands, legs, ankles and feet started to ache constantly. The knee was so bad for 6 weeks, that I couldn't walk - it felt like a broken, achy bone. Sometimes the pain feels like a burn. The muscles feel weak too. The pain moves around. This all seemed to happen suddenly. I also can't sleep well and feel very tired through the day. I had blood tests, MRI, xrays, etc which showed no rheumatoid arthritis, only very mild cartilage wear in the sore knee. Nothing so far has explained the pain in the muscles. I have very good health in every area, low sugar, low cholesterol, good weight, take lots of vitamins, etc. I don't drink, and I avoid any drugs, even pain killers. I eat a healthy diet, mostly organic and no artificial sweeteners, lots of fresh and raw veggies, no fatty meat, etc. Levothyroxine is the only change in my lifestyle recenly that I can think of. I think I should ask my doctor to switch me back to synthroid. Has anyone tried Armour thyroid and do you like it and why?

I had most of my thyroid removed in 1997 due to a tumor attached to the thyroid. My thyroid was working fine but following surgery I became hypothroid. I started with synthroid and then quickly was switched to levoxyl. I have been suffering with arthritis symptoms for the past 5 years to the point of last spring being put on methotrexate. I Have pain in my feet and have difficulty walking most of the day...especially in the morning. I have joint pain and swelling in one knee, one wrist, and a couple of joints in one hand. Methotrexate is a chemotherapy drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. I have been diagnosed with RA but it does not show up in any blood tests. In addition, if you look at the signs and symptoms of RA I really only have around 50% of them. I just found this website and I am shocked to find so many people sufferning from the same arthritis symptoms while using levoxyl. I stopped taking the drug (levoxyl) two days ago after insisting my doctor remove me from this drug and switch to Amour thyroid. I took several of the emails listed on this website to help convince my doctor that there is a problem with this drug. I will post an email in a couple of weeks with any improvements in my condition. By the way, the methotrexate was not working!!