Does Levothyroxine Cause Acne (Page 4)

I have been taking 25mcg for about 6 weeks and feel much better, no weight loss, but no gain. I have developed acne on my chin and around the right side of my mouth...is this a side effect? Anyone else had this happen?

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I have the same exact problem as all of you. I never had acne until starting the medicine. It's quite embarrassing. The good news is I found a skin care line that has helped tremendously. I began selling Arbonne in November and have had great luck with their products. If anyone is interested in learning more about their pure and safe products email me at {edited for privacy}. It really does help, I have before and after pics.

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i have been on Levothyroxine for about 6 mnths now, as soon as i started on my lowest dose i began to get big boil like spots in clusters around my cheeks by my nose.
Now I am on 100mg and i have these spots on cheeks, by mouth on chin and forehead, No treatments seem to be working and I am seriously considering stopping my medication. This has knocked my confidence badly.

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I am not sure switching to a name brand is going to help. Most of the posters here are saying they are taking Levothyroxine, which IS the name brand. I know I have been taking Levothyroxine for about 6 weeks. In the last week, I have developed really bad cystic acne (painful, under the skin bumps that don't come to a head. They won't "pop" and leave scars) on my chin and around my mouth.

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I have been on Levothyroxine for about 4 months and my acne has gotten progressively worse as time goes on. My acne is also clustered on both cheeks and my forehead. I have never had acne this horrible in my entire life. Previous to taking Levothyroxine my skin was completely clear.

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First of all, make sure you really need the medication! When I was 24, my doctor at the time told me I'd have to take it every day for the rest of my life. In retrospect, I think I may not have been getting the nutrients I needed and that caused the hypothyroidism (the doctor was unaware of this). Now, at 37, my doctor suggested trying to come off of Levothyroxine as I was on such a low dose. With diet and lifestyle changes, I think the hypothyroidism reversed itself! I have been off it for about 8 weeks now, and I feel great, have plenty of energy and none of the symptoms of hypothyroidism. My skin is 100% clear for the first time since I started taking the medicine. I never made the connection until now. I tried Proactive, Clindamycin-Benzoil Peroxide, and Doxycycline (along with lots of other OTC choices). They had awful side effects and never worked as well as I'd hoped. I changed my makeup and barely wear any, I changed to a very gentle facial cleanser, I changed my diet, etc. There were some minor improvements, but I was still breaking out - until I stopped Levothyroxine. After reading all of these comments, I am convinced that it was the culprit! I'm so relieved to be off of it now.

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After complaining to my doc about being tired...and having blood tests done I was told I was borderline hypothyroid by my doc. I was then prescribed a very low dose of synthroid...immediately my skin broke out in cyst type acne along the chin cheeks and hairline (never had acne in these places before!! and these very very painful cysts with an obvious head)...I am 48 and previous to this I had very clear acne free skin...I continued taking the synthroid for 5 months trying to deal with the ever increasing acne and scarring...and then suddenly it occurred to me that I had started synthroid around the same time as these breakouts started.-BTW the synthroid did not help me get over my fatigue if anything I found I was even more tired...
synthroid was discontinued and my skin has cleared up ...I had one or two more cysts in the week following but even those dried up on their own. Now I am back to my normal well behaved but OILY skin. I would say you should check with your doctor before discontinuing the medication though.

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I had the same symptoms as most of these posters - red, ugly, painful cyst-like acne; mine were on my chin and around my mouth. I am on the lowest dosage and I am feeling marginally more energetic, so I am continuing with the Rx. I will happily share with you what cleared up the cysts: make a paste of apple cider vinegar and baking soda. I scrubbed the area with this paste and then dabbed more on the spots before going to bed. They were gone almost overnight!! It was noticably better the next morning, when I scrubbed again and dabbed again (since I was home the next day, I could just leave it on without having to worry about how it looked). After just a couple of days, the cysts were gone!! I hope this helps anyone who may be reading.

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Yes it does cause acne! And the longer you are on it the worse it gets. I have been on it for the last 4 years. I NEVER had a skim problem and slowly but surely I started to break out and we are talking very deep cysts and very painful. All my doctor would say was to see the dermatologist and was prescibed antibiotics that would help a liitle but it always can back. I changed all of my makeup, soaps lotions you name it I tried it! In the past 2 months I have drastically changed my diet with the help of a naturopath and she has done wonders! Went with a diet of tons of veggies and protiens. Nothing out of a box, can or package You would think that the diet would have helped my acne, but no. We finally figured that it had to be something that I was taking daily and lo and behold the levothyroxine came into play. People I am getting off of this drug and finding an alternative. A natual alternative! I have been cutting my dose of .075 in half for the last 4 days and my face is clearing up drastically!!!! My regular doctor can go to hell. As she writes out the rx's with no problem while sipping on a diet Coke and tells me that I would need this drug for the rest of my life. Well people you dont need it with the right lifestyle changes. Find yourself a good naturopath or fuctional medicine doctor and they will steer you in the right and all natural direction. Good Luck and hope my rant on this website helps!

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Try nmixing a paste of baking soda and apple cider vinegar. It worked great for me! I could tell a difference the very next day! I made a paste and scrubbed my face with it; rinsed it off; patted my face dry; then applied paste to direct spots for overnight. You'll have to wash your pillowcase, but boy, it is worth the trouble! At least it was for me. Good luck!

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I have been on Levothyroxine for 12 years. My current dose is 125mcgs and I have bad acne across my nose and cheeks and on my chin. I have always had clear skin until recently. Nothing helps it, including birth control pills, except fresh squeezed lemon juice. I Googled homemade acne remedies and everything I read said lemon juice. I squeeze the juice from a fresh lemon and put it in a small bottle and keep it in the fridge. Every night I wash my face and then use a cotton ball to apply the lemon juice, then apply moisturizer. It cleared my acne up noticeably in three days! Now that I have been off of my meds for about 2 weeks, the acne has cleared up even more. I'm going to start taking it again tomorrow and I expect the acne will come back, but I will keep using the juice.

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Hi I was on synthroid for over 2 years and got really bad acne like cysts. I stopped taking jan 2014 and felt 100% better no breakouts nice hair lots of energy, but guess what got my blood tests back today 10.75 and wants me to go on more meds. I want to try the natural route like iodine supplement. Don't know what to do.

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I was put on levothyroxine and broke out with cystic acne on my face, neck and chest. I would wake up in the morning and around my eyebrows would be very red and itchy. Doctors said it had nothing to do with the meds but I asked them to put me on armour thyroid anyway and it clear up right away. Recently I ran out of my armour thyroid and started taking the leftover levothyroxine until the armour script gets filled and right away starting breaking out in all the same areas as before. So my conclusion is that it definitely is the levothyroxine causing this

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I too have been on synthroid for twelve years! A few months ago, I started experiencing bad breakouts. It occurred to me one day that it maybe had to do with my thyroid. What is your current status? Has your acne gotten better or worse after quitting synthroid? Did you go back to taking it?

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What lifestyle/diet changes did you make? I am about the same age as you with the same type of thing going on and after doing everything I can think of to get rid of this horrible, painful cystic acne I keep getting along my jawline and neck (that only showed up a few weeks after beginning the levothyroxine). I have yet to talk to my doctor about this problem, partially because I just recently decided I've done all I can do for my complexion and partially because I am worried she will just throw some antibiotics at it and fix it temporarily.

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I HAVE EXPERIENCED VERY HYPERTHYROIDISM AND HYPO. THE TEXTURE OF YOUR SKIN CHANGES DRAMATICALY! COURSE,THICK HYPO SKIN SO MUCH YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE YOUR PORES AND TRAPS ALL OIL CAUSING CYSTIC ACNE AND LIPID DEPOSITS. ISOTRETINOINS, ANTIBIOTICS, TOPICALS YOU MUST ATTACK ON ALL FRONTS [INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL]. CHOLESTEROL MEDS FOR LIPIDS, TRY T3 OR POTASSIUM IODIDE FOR THYROID INSTEAD OF T4. DR.'S SEEM TO BE TRAINED TO DO MINIMAL. SO IT'S UP TO YOU TO RESEARCH AND INSIST FOR HELP OR TESTS. MAYBE SWITCH DR.'S

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I TAKE 4MG OF POTASSIUM IODIDE AND IT HELPS ME. TRIED KELP COULDN'T CONVERT IT. DR. ASKED ME TO STOP I GAINED 15LBS IN 6 WKS. I'M TRYN T4 AND T3 SEPERATELY AND TOGETHER THEY DEFINITELY HAVE DIFFERENT EFFECTS. YOU HAVE TO GO WITH WHAT WORKS FOR YOU AND HOW YOU FEEL NOT JUST THE LAB TESTS.

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For those of you who discontinued use of levothyroxine, how long did it take before you saw improvement in cystic acne?

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Levothyroxine appears to increase testosterone levels. i have read that men with low T use levo to increase and based on their labs it works. iodine and potassium iodide may be a good alternative for some with thyroid issues. thats what i'm using. i stopped the levo due to the acne and other side affects. DR. DAVID BROWNSTEIN look him up. for the acne you could try antibiotics, and retin-a, salicylic acid 10%, and glycolic acid 20% (EBAY). rotate acid peels to avoid building up a tolerance when you use just one.

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yes, I'm so glad I found this site. About a month after taking 25 mg. of Levothyroxin I began breaking out on my face, mainly my cheeks and lower part of my face. It is so frustrating because I cant get rid of it. I do feel so much better on the medicine, but my face is driving me crazy.I've never had acne and I am so upset about . It's nice to know others are having the same problem. Every day it's a new spot...UGH Going to mention it to my doc and see what he says. I'm already on a low dose, so not sure what to do. He'll never convince me that it isnt the medicine though.

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I was told I had Hypothyroidism and put on Levothyroxine. I never had acne, not even as a teenager and now in my mid-20's it is terrible! I have cystic acne that is painful, and it is scarring and there seems to be more everyday. After about 2 months I stopped taking the thyroxine and instantly my acne got better but of course, I felt terrible, all my hypo symptoms came back so I started taking it again at a lower dose, no luck. Now 4 months later I've been doing a lot of research on raw thyroid. Most doctors won't prescribe it because it is not FDA approved and therefore pharm companies won't make money. It is also a little harder to find, but you don't need a prescription and Wal-Mart has it online (only). This is not a solution for everyone but it is working for me, my hypo symptoms are gone and my face started clearing up within two days of switching. Different things work for different people but do your research!!!

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