Levothyroxine Is Satan (Page 11)

I don't feel so confused anymore. Now I know all of you are going through the same thing. My doctor put me on 50mcg of Levothyroxine about a month ago and I have gain 8 pounds! I get short-breathed and winded REALLY easily when working out. I used to go to the gym for 2 hours, now I can't make it longer than 30 minutes. I wake up ALL the time with tingly fingers because my hands have fallen asleep. I have headaches, I feel 100 times more lazy than before...and it's supposed to help your energy, not drain it. I e-mailed my doctor today, this is not making me happy. Not to mention I now have an acne type rash that burns like hell on my chin and I've always had clear skin. If this drug is supposed to make you feel better it sure as sh*t isn't working for me. I feel like a fat lazy a$$ with an itchhy burning rash on my face... stay away from this drug, that's my suggestion. :(

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Synthroid sole purpose to to get your blood levels where they need to be, a normal range. I personally think when your TSH is between a 1-2 is when most people feel with a normal level as well on T3 & T4 test. If you have depression and weight gain but your blood levels are within this normal range then maybe blaming the medication is the wrong thing to do since it's obviously working. It's doing what it's supposed to do successfully, you probably need to look into other things. There are a lot of people out there with normal thyroid levels who are overweight and depressed for various other reasons. Synthroid or any other drug is not a cure all for weight gain and depression. If your blood levels are truly normal, (not a high normal) but between a T 1-2 and your levels show that you are no longer in a Hypothyroid state then you're not depressed and overweight from being hypothyroid, period. It's easy to blame the medication but that's not gong to fix someones weight issues or their depression when it's not being caused by Hypothyroidism. I think you have more going on, have you spoke with your doctor, do they listen to your concerns? If not then get a new doctor who will help you to try and figure out what is going on.

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How are you now? What have you done? Please share your experience and knowledge.

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"Thyroid hormones control metabolism, growth, body temperature, muscle strength, appetite, and the health of your heart, brain, kidneys, and reproductive system. Thyroid cells are the only cells in the body that absorb iodine. The thyroid uses iodine to create the T4 (thyroxine) and T3 (triiodothyronine) hormones." Levo, synthroid Armour and the like are taken to replace the thyroid's natural hormones that are not doing their jobs due to hypo conditions or are inexistent due to rai or thyroidectomy. Levo, synthroid and the like have a huge multi faceted purpose and to say it is just to make our blood look good or has a simple task...and it must be "something else" that is going on is preposterous.

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Hi m sana m 30.i hv hypothuroidism takimg levothroxine since around a yr...bt i have extreme weight loss...why??...becomin emaciated....z it possible??

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Hi Sana, it sounds like you may be actually taking too much Synthroid. How long has it been since they checked your TSH, T3,T4 levels? You may be going into a Hyper state. For TSH Levels we like to see it around 1-2, this seems to be the sweet spot for energy and you'll overall just feel better, but some patients lose too much weight at this level and they would be better off having a TSH between 2-3. Does your heart race, any palpitations? It really depends on each individual. Most Hypothyroid patients would love to lose weight and expect to lose weight but Synthroid and other thyroid meds are not magic pills and most doctors solely treat you by your numbers and not so much what they find clinically. If you have a really good doctor they will not just treat you by your numbers. They take like 1000 people and do a Thyroid panel, then they arrive at scale that shows what the average normal levels are based on those 1000 people. This is good enough for most people but not everyone. Some people run 3.8 on the TSH panel and that's still considered normal but we know that many patients feel horrible in the upper normal range. How often is your Dr. Checking your Thyroid levels? Do you know what your last TSH numbers was? If you're below a 1.0 you have more of a chance of getting osteoporosis, heart issues, too much weight loss, when was the last time you had a full thyroid panel done with T3, T4?

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Interesting. My hair is falling out for no apparent reason. I stopped taking levo today. Hoping to feel less fatigues and stop the hair loss.

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Your hair will grow again . It will take 2 months. Keep up the good work

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I agree with Jane. I have also been on this poison for 20 years and my weight has always been an issue too. This despite the fact that I work out for over an hour a day and eat a very balanced diet. This medication has caused my hair to fall out, depression, body aches, blurred vision, a non-existent libido, glucose uptake issues, mood swings, insomnia and salt cravings. As for the BS that you will die or have a stroke or whatever other nonsense the medical profession tells you, it is just not true. I went off of Levox for a year and felt fine. My TSH went up so I was put back on it, but this time it was a different generic and it was truly an evil experience. I was literally gaining weight daily and I felt like I was going to die. If you insist on being on thyroid meds or you truly do better on them, STAY WITH SYNTHROID. My son also has severe thyroid disease and yet after he was put on the generic, he fell into a depression so severe, he was diagnosed as bi-polar and the doctors wanted him on lithium. I knew better. I pulled him off of Levox and he stayed off of it for a year. He was still struggling with depression and so I paid the $150 for the 90 day supply of Synthroid and he improved dramatically. Within a week he was a different person. My own endo suggested that I get off of the drugs and try probiotics. I am done for good with any generic form of this drug, read what people say, it does everything it is supposed to cure and more.

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I came across this site when researching whether or not I could take Nyquil with Levothyroxine. Apparently the answer is no, so I'm happy that I thought to check before taking it.

I've been on Levothyroxine for around 12 years for hypothyroidism. I'm blown away by all the replies because I've never experienced any problems on the drug, not even weight gain and it's kept my thyroid levels perfect for the entire time.

I told my doctor about this thread and while he said weight gain was a "possibility" he said it's not the norm and suggested that perhaps many of the symptoms others are experiencing are not due to Levothyroxine by itself but by other medications begun shortly before or shortly after Levothyroxine was first prescribed.

There is a LOT of information on the web regarding interactions between certain drugs - and Levothyroxine is a biggie.

I hope you all manage to find some relief from your symptoms!

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Stop taking levo and demand to go on the non generic Synthroid. There is something particularly evil in the new batch of levo that has hit the market. The great news is that you should see those side effects go away, the bad news is that synthroid is rarely covered by insurance (do you think we are being used by the drug industry? Hmmm) good luck

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Thanku. I had to go back on it. So ill try to stay more positive.

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I understand completely! I had my thyroid removed in October due to thyroid cancer. Since then i have headaches every day. No energy. Totally fatigued. Nauseous at times, no appetite. Female hormone problems. Just want to know if its Levo related?

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Levothyroxin made me gain 100pds im so sick I've told my Doctor

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I have gained 50 lbs this past year. I overall feel horrible, I've been on levothyroxine for about a year and a half... I stopped it today, cold turkey! My blood work, so my Doctor said, was 'borderline' hypothyroid. That was 2 yrs ago... 'borderline'...this is bulls***. I never should of agreed to start this medication before seeing a specialist for thyroid disease. I made an appt. to see my doctor next week and will ask for a referral, BUT WILL NEVER GO BACK ON SYNTHROID! The other MAJOR side effect I experienced is upper body INTENSE HEAT, and my cheeks are always red and burning. My face is so bloated it hurts, my neck also! We know our bodies better than anyone!

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I detest the thyroid meds. I cant get Armour a natural one. I think ill find a thyroid specilist too.

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I did not know this thank you for the information I've been taking my meds every morning with coffee and with my vitamins too and my thyroid has now morph into full-blown Hashimoto's and I'm sick as a dog and gained 65 pounds so they change my meds to Armour Thyroid just yesterday cuz I cannot get out of bed hopefully it works but thanks for the information

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Hi all, I also struggled with all sorts of symptoms for the past 8 years. I will share some things that helped me get almost back to normal in hope to save everyone else the pain.

I had my thyroid removed and now I am on 150mcg levothyroxine. I had side effects like:
- anxiety & panic attacks
- easy to get tired
- trouble sleeping
- muscle cramps
- joint pain
- inflammation
- mood swings
- depression

Doctors were for the most part ignorant as long as the blood tests were fine. I did complete blood work (not only thyroid) and looked perfect but I was feeling like crap. I tried myself multiple things to improve my life quality and the things that worked are:

1. Try different brands of hormones, even though all have levothyroxine, the body reacts differently to each one. The best I found for me is Levothyrox [Image]. At first I was on Euthyrox and it was completely bad. This helped improve things by 20%

2. Split the dose during the day. I take 150 as 25 in the morning, 50 before lunch, 50 before dinner, 25 before sleep. Also at lunch I take it with a complex supplement of magnesium, calcium, D3, B6. This helped improve things by 20%

3. Exercise to burn all the extra adrenaline. Gym, sports & jogging work very well, yoga also helps, but better to have action exercises. This helped improve things by 20%

4. Eat properly. I gave up all animal protein a couple of months ago and that has been going very well so far. No refined sugar, less salt, no dairy, no junk/fried food, no alcohol is a must. Meat I choose to gave up for moral reasons but try to reduce at least. Plant-based food is what I eat (fruits, legumes, veggies, smoothies, juices, grains, seeds). There are plenty of resources online for plant-based cooking recipes. This helped improve things by 20%

5. Try to get good sleep. For me, the sleep quality decreased on this medication. Get a quiet, dark room, try some stretching before sleep. Use plant-based tea/drinks to help you get deep sleep. I also use an anti-inflammatory cream for some muscles that ache. This helped improve things by 20%

Good luck and I hope my experience is helpful.

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I've been on Levothyroxine .75 mcg for about 2 years now. I am borderline hypothyroidism. I really hate the side effects. I have severe pain throughout my body, I can barely sleep during the night hours, I end up sleeping during the day. Before this medicine I had tons of energy and now barely any. I could go to bed around 12 am and wake up at 7 am refreshed and ready to take on the day, now go to bed if I can by 3 am and wake up around 7 am take the kid to school and crash almost all day long until I have to pick her up. I could drive my car without any pain while driving except during the cold days of the year, now in constant pain when I walk or drive. I can't lose weight. I've been trying to get down to a healthy 105 pounds from my current weight of 123-127 pounds ( I'm only 5 feet tall, so 105 is considered a healthy weight with 20% BMI which was normal for me). I used to control my body temp, now body is always freezing cold and my head is hot at the same time. I used to not get vertigo, but now I do. I really think this medicine is not helping me at all. I really think that I should quit taking this medication to see if it is the problem with my health. I really don't want to get a Permanent Handicapped Placard before I turn 40.

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Has anyone experienced headaches or dizziness? I've recently started experiencing headaches and blurred vision and noticed that is on the list of side effects. I'm on 50mcg, and have been for approx 6 months. I want off this horrible medication! If I have to remain on it, I'd like to try the Armour but it's too expensive.

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I really can not understand why I'm on levothyroxine. I did have a lot of mixed symptoms. I also have fibromyalgia and degenerative disc and joint disease. In 2015 my tsh was 3.2 my tpo antibodies is 5ku/L...my t3 / t4 is normal. I suffer with fatigue and insomnia too but that could have something to do with my chronic pain. Cut a long story short, since taking levo my liver enzymes went up to 96........inflammation ...lymphocytes. So once I had the test results through I went on a 8 week stop of levo.
All results came back normal and my tsh was 1.2, no trace of tpo antibodies, so I stayed off levothyroxine..... Still not gone back on it... I have also lost 14lbs in weight...so I'm not taking any thyroid medication again.

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