Levoxyl and hot flashes

I have been on Levoxyl 0.112MG for about 18 years. I do have some of the symptoms described by others, hair loss, hot flashes, etc. , but I think the alternative to this is a lot worse. If I do not take it for long periods of time, it gets to the point where I am freezing cold and the bags that develop under my eyes are embarrassing. I think the problem with most of you that are having very bad side effects is the dosage. If the amount is off just a little bit you can feel like you were just run over by a truck. I went through this many years ago. I would suggest continuing to change the dosage until you get it right. I wish I did not have to take it but it is absolutely necessary in my case.

My serious hell started at age 43 and I am 49 now. Diagnosis was hormonal changes. My doctor put me on Zoloft, klonopin, xanax, flexril, pain killers, and prescribed many other meds to control my very frightening panic attacks, depression, fibromyalgia, migraine, arthritis type pains, knee pains, insomnia, restless legs, tingling, numbness, hot flashes, and many other indescribable symptoms.
Nothing helped. I stopped going to work and stayed in bed most of the year and a year later stopped taking all of the prescription meds because of the serious side effects etc. I continued the Zoloft though. Zoloft helped with my panic attacks but all other symptoms are intact and some new symptoms have joined the list.
New development is that about 6 months ago I started feeling very tired, drained, exhausted, thinking became slow; weight won’t come off (put on 40 lbs last couple of years). My depression and other symptoms listed above worsened.
Now in Dec. of 2008 I got my annual physical done and the blood test showed that my thyroid hormone was low (hypothyroidism) so my doctor put me on Levoxyl which drove me even more crazy (manic depressive type symptom, restlessness, blurry vision, and vomiting. Ear infections, sore throat, cough that won’t go away for weeks. But there were moments here and there when I found myself feeling good and happy but the moments didn't last longer than half hour. There was one week when I didn't get any migraines and my appetite reduced but then there were times when I felt very very hungry and ended up eating a lot.
Fed up with my indescribable hell and the doctors I decided to check into some alternative medicines, home remedies, and herbs. A friend who is a nurse and has been going through worse hell recommended that I start taking Thyroidinum 30cc, a homeopathic tincture, and slowly stop the Levoxyl. So I ordered it online. Then I researched on Black kohosh and bought it in liquid form from whole foods. I also bought chamomile liquid form and progesterone cream. I looked for bioidentical hormonal creams but didn't find any so decided that I will try progesterone cream.
OnDec. 26, 2009 I started taking Thyroidinum 30cc 10 drops in 1 ounce of water three times a day and at night before going to bed I started taking black kohosh only 10 drops in water. Recommended dose of black kohosh is 30 drops in water three times a day (total 90 drops a day). I was little afraid to take that much because I read some reports which said that it can cause liver damage. I tried it couple of times during the day but it made me feel funny so I stopped taking it during the day time.
Now I don’t know what’s making me feel good whether it’s Levoxyl adjusting to my body or Thyroidinum 30cc or black kohosh. Believe it or not I have never slept like this in my whole life before as I have in the past one week. I go to bed at 10 PM and wake up at 9 AM. I have no idea what happens in between. I am happy. Energy is great. I go out to do things I had lost interest in in the past 6 years. No migraines. No joint pains. No body pains. It almost feels like I am woken up from a very long sleep. I don't know what’s making me feel good. It’s too early to tell but I will keep you all posted if anything changes. Please give me feedback regarding my condition and the meds I am on. I will also be posting this message for the greatest and the best homeopathic doctor Pankaj Varma /Max Varma and see if I can get some help in that forum. I started Thyroidinum without consulting a homeopathic doctor and I want to quit Levoxyl and Zoloft in the next week or two. I am afraid to do so but I am really fed up with the doctors heavily medicating me for the past 6 years and all I have felt is minute help in couple of symptoms and gotten twenty additional side effects from the prescriptions. I have not had a normal life since I turned 43 and I will be turning 49 in Feb this year.

ive been on levothyroxine for about 6 years...... for an underactive thyroid gland and i am stunned reading all these side effects as for about 4 years ive suffered from severe joint paint, fatigue ,very low moods , foggy brain, mood swings hair loss, all i want to do is sleep and even then im still tired.
I am 35 and feel about 80 as my back hips legs calfs and feet all hurt so bad.
I have been to the doctors so many times and got no where.
ive been told your in pain because your depressed( who would not be depressed ) but i said i am depressed cause im in such pain.
i remember asking once if it was due to the thyroid or the drug and the doctor said your levels are fine and the drug gives no side effects.
I feel like stopping it right now to be honest.
I only got it after my third pregnancy and i remember reading once it can correct itself as it could be caused by pregnancy ????? any ideas.
ive copied and pasted a lot of these comments and i will be making a trip to doctors to be fobbed off again im sure ....but its worth a try

Hello, told my doctor today of leg cramps, facial rashes and numbness in feet....and specifically asked if they were related to Synthroid? He said no, I have been on it for 2months...and just upped script to .50mcg....and cramps are worse....I am going off the meds. I am in excellent health @ 64 and only went to this Doctor because of back pain.....was tested for a myriad of things...I had none of the symptoms for hypothyroidism.....what natural remedies are there for this . E.

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.