Levoxyl and hot flashes

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 been on the same med and am getting off made me feel nuts crying all the time, hot flashes, my body feels like its on fire very depressed tired panic and anxiety attacks never was like this before being weaned off and going the natural way going to take thyroid essentials and macafem i can't wait to get off this dam pill

I was diagnosed with having hypothyroidism, and after having FNAs done on the two nodules that were found during a screening of my thyroid - it turned out that I also have Hashimoto's Disease. I am currently on the lowest dosage of Levoxyl - and have been for about two months, and I have never felt so bad in my whole life. Yesterday I cried the entire day - for no reason. I have migraines several times a day. I get dizzy and have hot flashes and I feel so ditzy lately, forgetting the littlest things. It is a very frustrating way to live, being married with two small children. It is hard for me to explain this to anyone, and I unfortunately take some comfort in reading that I am not the only one living with this. I keep wondering if I will get better, not only for me, but for the sake of my family.

I've been on levoxyl for approximately 10 years thinking the side effects were from my hysterectomy 6 years ago and being on hormone replacement therapy. I am irritable, agitated, unable to stay asleep, having more and more trouble recalling people I've met through work and retaining information. Family and friends have teased me. It's getting worse. My most bothersome side effect is that every night while after falling asleep, I've been awakened by extreme hot feelings like I'm on fire inside, not the same as hot flashes experienced by menopause. I'm hungry all the time feeling like I can't stop eating, luckily, not gaining much weight but picking on food as much as possible. I'm waiting for a phone call from my doctor to see how to stop using levoxyl and what I'll have to replace it with.

I started on Levoxyl about 3 months ago. I noticed my hot flashes (I'm menopausal) get worse, then I started getting horrible irritable bowel, nervousness, tingling, headaches, and mood lability. I have been off it a week. The symptoms are a little better but still persist. Anyone know how long these might last? I will not use it again, for sure. If anything, I will use Armour Thyroid or something more natural. Any suggestions.

Just started on 100mcg Levothyroxine 15 days ago for mild hypothyroid. Experienced immediate side effects of ringing-in-the-ears headaches and hot flashes. Thinking of discontinuing the medicine.....I'm hardly ever sick and have no other medical conditions.

Oh gosh! So it's not only me having all these side effects from Levoxyl. I started taking it 7 mos. ago after having my baby. I'm on 88 mg. I feel much worse than when I was not taking it. I feel tired, irritable and have terrible hot flashes one minute and feel cold the next.
There is tingling in my hands and feet. I talked to my doc but he said it's not the medication! So I went to see him again and insisted he change the dosage or put me on something else, so far he slightly changed the dossage. So we'll see how it goes.

I've been on thyroid meds for about 20 years but recently was switched to Levoxyl. The only side effects I am experiencing is sweating, both day and night, since before switching to Levoxyl, but it seems to be worsening instead of getting better - which is what my endocrinologist expected. Also I am having difficulty sleeping through the night when that has never really been a problem before. I have an appointment in a couple of weeks and will bring this up to her. I have never really been a sweater so this is very disturbing to me. Also, I was advised to use soy products to alleviate the sweats/hot flashes and have been drinking and using soymilk exclusively for the past 3-4 months trying to get some relief from the rapid change in my body temperature - similar to hot flashes, but not exactly the same. I went through menopause nearly 13 years ago and it seems I'm not quite through it yet - even though I have been symptom free for 13 years.

I had 1/2 my thyroid removed with a benign golf ball sized tumor 3 months ago. After 1 month, I was put on levoxyl.

I have joint pain, cold and hot flashes, inxomnia sometimes for several days and the rest of the time - extreme fatigue. My period has decreased from 7 days to 2 days. I experience dull headaches that will last for 3 days.

My mood swings range from severe bitch to total calm - nothing can bother me. Depression is followed by mental high.

My vision is changing so much that in the last 4 weeks, the doctor has changed my prescription 3 times because I am trying to get glasses that work for me. Sometimes I have double vision, sometimes I have large blotches in front of my eyes of areas that I cannot see. Sometimes everything is just fuzzy.

I have constant nausea. In the beginning I gained 15 pounds. Now, I have lost 5 pounds. What I eat has absolutely nothing to do with my weight.

I go through periods of extreme thirst.

The levoxyl causes me acid reflux - severe and getting worse.

It causes me to have acne which I do not normally have.

The hair loss is scary.

Loss of memory is acute and mental fog comes and goes. This is difficult to deal with as my job is technical.

At times I sleep for 18 hours - straight. I have had narcoleptic incidents when I have been driving. These are scary because I feel like I am falling asleep at the wheel and by some miracle - bump in the road - etc. I come back awake. I find a place to pull over, get out and walk, go to the bathroom, whatever, get back in my car and instantly fall asleep.

I get home from work and have no energy to do anything. General malaise and feeling like an old, old, old woman. I am only 47 and the doctors excuse so far is that I am in menopause. I say, no way because menopause does not have cold flashes, etc. menopause is not caused by meds!!!

I also have the dry skin and itchy. Oh my god, I itch constantly - all over.

As you can see, I am experiencing all the symptoms of everyone else. For those of you who question whether or not we are taking this medicine on time and according to all the strict rules. The answer is YES. I even take my vitamins now during the evening. The doctor told me not to worry about that stuff so much but I have tried to follow the instructions hoping that it would help and it has not helped at all.

The only symptom that I have that has not been mentioned is that I am constantly flushing red. When I flush red it is not associated with any of the other symptoms. Sometimes I flush red only in my hands and my neck and face. My skin will feel tight. This has happened up to twice a day but is entirely random. Othertimes when I flush red, my whole body will flush like I am severly sunburned and I have experienced intense itching. This lasts for about an hour or two and happens up to 4 times a week. Several times I have turned completely red and had no itching. Once the red flushing with itching happened while I was sleeping and was so intense that I awoke from a deep sleep and had to stay awake for 3 hours until it subsided.

I have just switched doctors myself. I have been told that reactions such as mine are extremely rare. That the doctor has no idea what is happening. The endocrinologist ran one test for Cushings (which came out normal) and then basically said have a happy life. So, I am printing this web page and taking it to my new doctor. I want OFF this levoxyl.