Levothyroxine Doesn't Seem To Help

Earlier this year, I found out I have hypothyroidism. I went to my doctor over some weird periods that would wind up doing things like not coming for three months and then bleeding nonstop for three months. I got my thyroid levels tested twice and with a final TSH of 14.5, my gyno put me on 25 mcg of Levothyroxine (she was going to do Synthroid, but since my insurance was going to expire, I asked for the generic).

After being on it one month, I was retested and my TSH went down to 5.07. Doctor said it was close enough to normal and that I'd be sticking to that dose long-term, and then I got a three month supply of pills.

I didn't feel different whatsoever after taking the pills, even after I'd finished off the bottle. I suppose it's good I had no side effects, but I also didn't feel any better. My biggest complaint is the exhaustion. I just don't want to do anything; I sleep plenty every night and I drink coffee every day, but there are times I wake up after getting 9 hours of sleep that I want to go back to bed because I'm still tired. Weight loss is a joke too - I have to starve myself for quite a while to lose anything because exercise does nothing. My periods are still screwed up and I need to take birth control pills to regulate them (which is okay, but I can't afford them sans insurance and there's no low-cost clinics in my area).

I don't know if it's the dose or the brand, but this crap doesn't even take the edge off how I feel. And with no insurance, I can't exactly go shopping for an endocrinologist. And since my gyno won't up my dose despite my symptoms not changing like she said they would, I'm thinking of just not taking them anymore. No sense in wasting money on meds that don't help me, and even if I doubled the dose on my own, by the time the medication had built up in my system enough for me to feel any difference, I'd be out of pills and go back to feeling like garbage until I could get my scrip refilled.

I guess I'm just going to have to accept being fat and tired for the rest of my life. Anyone else have issues with trying to get doctors to treat the symptoms and not just the numbers? Or anyone else who has decided to quit taking the meds altogether?

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Sorry about the problem that you're having.

I can assure you that you are not alone, there are other women that have experienced the same thing. Some have decided to stick it out on the medication and some gave up on it.

It can take a few months, before you really start to see any positive changes and your thyroid hormones should be checked every few months, with the dosage being adjusted as needed.

Learn more Levothyroxine details here.

The weight issues usually remain, regardless of how well the medication works for someone. It's just the nature of thyroid problems and most people never manage to lose it.

As to the expense of the contraceptive, have you tried asking your doctor to prescribe a cheaper one? There are many out there that are just as effective, but for much cheaper prices.

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That's the thing. My doctor doesn't seem interested in changing my dose at all because I'm "close enough" to the high end of normal on the pills. I don't think she cares that my symptoms haven't changed at all because she's only looking at the numbers. I should have gotten my thyroid tested about a month or so ago, but I've been sort of slacking because the meds didn't do anything for me. I'm not exactly in a hurry to waste money on an uninsured hospital visit for pills that don't do a darn thing.

And as far as the birth control, I'm just not sure if I should go on a different kind of pill when the one I do take works well for me with no side effects. I know there are lots of women who try all kinds of contraceptive pills before finding one that works because of the godawful side effects. Plus I don't know if there are any pills that are cheaper than the ones I'm on (I take Ortho TriCyclen Lo).

Anyway, thank you for taking a moment to read and reply. :)

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I was told today that I need to take Levothyroxine 50mg because my thyroid is not working, I feel great, no weight gain, no problems, just the test showed up that the thyroid is not working. I have read about everyone else problems and I don't like what I'm hearing about this drug. I don't take any other meds and I'm now getting scared of what I'm hearing. What do I do?

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I was switched to Levothyroxin about 5 months because this is the preferred generic brand under my insurance and have developed severe acne on both cheeks. I have never had acne issues, even when I was a teenager. This is crazy. At this point I will pay fully out of pocket to be put back on Synthroid, the brand name to not have acne. I am 33 and I just want to hide my face now.

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