Does Levothyroxine Cause Acne (Top voted first)

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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Uggghhhh Having the same problem on 50mg levothyroxine 6 weeks in. Breakouts all around mouth & chin and those horrible underneath pimples. Tried about 10 washes & zit creams and nothing seems to work :( Did it ever go away for any of you?

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I have been taking the same dosage as you for about 2 months and have had really bad breakouts EVERYWHERE that I didn't used to get. I now get them on my back, face, shoulders and neck. It's pretty gross and I've never had this problem before but I think it does have something to do with Levothyroxine.

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Hi, I am on thyroxine 4 weeks now and also have gotten acne on my chin and around the mouth. I am now 47 and have not had this problem since I was a teenager.There is obviously something in this pill that triggers acne.

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ive been taking a 25mcg for a week now and am worried that i will develop acne. do many people get this ?

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I hve been on levothyroxine for almost two years now and have had horrible acne. The doc said that this medication has nothing to do with acne but obviously it does.

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Shoot, my doctor said my acne is totally from the levothyroxine. But he said it's because my levels were too high. He lowered them and it got better but didn't go away completely. I can tell I'm still too high (hair loss) so next appointment I'm sure I'll be lowered again and hopefully that will help more. I knew it had to have something to do with my thyroid drama because I've never had bad skin. My skin was even clear as a teenager.

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I've been taking levothyroxine since having radioactive iodine. My thyroid hormone level went down to hypothyroidism so I was prescribed levothyroxine and now I am taking the 100MCG. Ever since I started taking levothyroxine, my face was starting to break out like it had never happened before. I used to have beautiful and healthy skin, but now the acne is getting worse to the point that there are cystic acne developed, which is the worst type of acne. For the past summer, I skipped taking levothyroxine because of the medical insurance conflict, and I noticed my skin was getting much better. Unfortunately, as I started taking it again, my skin is turning down again with acne all over. From this experience, I am sure that levothyroxine does trigger acne, at least to most people who take this medication.

I have talked to my doctor about this but she didn't seem to consider about my concern. I am 22 years old and I do concern about my skin since physical appearance does play a role in what people think about me or if I can find a good job. I wish there are other medications that helps with hypoactive thyroid besides levothyroxine.

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Yes! After my MD instructed me to increase (double) my Levothyroxine, acne around my chin and mouth just erupted. I am 58! Pimples again! I have decided to stager me medication: one in the morning and one in the afternoon to see if that helps. Taking both in the morining seems to be too much.

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My doc ended up giving me cream to help...... clindamycin phospahte gel usp 1% generic for cleocin-t 1% gel) My doc said it wouldn't prevent them it would just control them once they surfaced. Which it did exactly that. Once i started using it i had less scaring from the pimples and they weren't as painful & didn't stay as long. He eventually put me on orthotrycyclin b/c i also have cysts on my ovaries. Once on the pill my breakouts stopped completely. I hope this helps... I know how horrible it was having that acne, you just wanna hide your face all the time :( Good luck to you guys

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I have been on levothyroxine for 8 months and I never have had acne so bad till now. It is all over my cheeks, chin, forehead and back. It has to be the medication but my doctor say the same thing it's not the medication.

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I was diagnosed with a hypoactive thyroid about 5 years ago and was put on 100MCG Levothyroxine 1x day. I never had bad skin until I stopped using the medicine....when I run out of my prescription or am not taking the pills I get large, painful cysts mainly all on my chin, which is extremely embarrassing at 27 years old. Once I am back on the meds my skin clears up and the cysts go away. Seems like I am the opposite of a lot of cases I've read about where taking the medicine brings on cystic acne.

*For those of you who are having trouble with the cysts, what worked extremely well for me when I was managing my skin issues was Queen Helene Mint Julep mask or tea tree oil....those were the only things that helped me.

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I have been on levothyroxine 50 mcg for 2 months now. I have oily skin but only had bad acne on my teens years. Now, at 36yo and I am having really bad acne breakout. I tried different acne medication, but nothing seems to work. My doctor stated the same thing.. acne and levothyroxine have no connections. But, i believe there is one. Possible increase of estrogen levels?

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I have been taking Levothyroxine for 4 days and started developing acne.

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Add me to the list.
I had been taking 50mcg thyroxine for 3 years without any noticable side effects, but when I increased my dose to 75mcg two months ago I began to develop pimples on my chin. I am hoping they will get better as my body gets used to the new dose. If not, then what...???!

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I have been on levothyroxin for 15+ years and have had these acne symptoms but never made the connection. I have finally found relief by taking a low dose of doxycycline daily.

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I take 75 and I break out on my scalp and face chin, above my lips, cheeks. I am 70. Can you believe at 70 and still getting zits. Lol.

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And...
As for all the doctors who claim there is 'no' connection between thyroxine and pimples...

Shouldn't they really say 'there is 'no known' connection between thyroxine and acne."

If they dare to say more than this, they simply don't understand the scientific method!

Or else, our doctor ought to present us with scientific studies which have 'proven' that there is no causal relationship between thyroxine use and acne...

I find it highly unlikely that any such study has ever been conducted, by an independant body, since there would be little financial benefit in such a study. Also, to prove that there is NO causal link would be impossible to do, even if you did undertake such an experiment, since you could only go as far as to say that there was no causal link for the sample of people who were involved in the experiment. Scientists have to give their results in terms of +/- 'percentage' accuracy etc - despite the way science is presented to us in the media - results are never beyond re-investigation.

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My doctor prescribed me levothyroxine and after a week or two of 25mcg I was breaking out worse than I EVER had in my life. The doctor insisted it wasn't the drug, but I had them write me a script for Synthroid (the non-generic) and it hasn't been an issue ever since. Now I'm on 100mcg and I occasionally breakout, but nothing out of the ordinary. If I use my proactiv everyday, my face stays almost 100% clear. If I could post a picture of my face while taking levothyroxine I would! It almost looked like a rash the pimples were so small and plentiful. My forehead looked awful and I had pimples around my mouth I've never had before. Try switching to Synthroid. It did wonders for me!

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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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