Thyroid medication problems?

[Diana1958]

I have been on 50 mcg Levothyroxoine for about 10 years.  I used to take after eating but my doctor told me to take it alone with no food first.  I either slowly began to reject it or it got to high dosewise for me.  

I started getting every sign of hyperthyroidism.  The chest pains, heat intolerance, breathlessness and diarrhea were the worst of them.  I went to the ER thinking I was having a heart attack.  My doctor told me to lay off the Levothyroxine for about a month to see where we are.  Testing my blood he seen that after 2 weeks of no thyroid meds I was in the correct range and also my sodium was below the low sodium level.

I have been getting tired lately, so I tried to take a little Levothyroxine about 12.5 mcg to see if the symptoms came back.  I did start feeling the chest pains and heat intolerance again.  Now I am thinking I cannot take any thyroid meds in the future, but still need to because I know I get dreadfully tired and need something.  I know there is not much out there, just Levothyroxine and Synthroid to try.  I tried Synthroid in the past and it feels the same, maybe worse.

What do people do that cannot tolerate meds but still need them.  I am 51 years old.  I know I am getting menopausal.  Is there any studies on falling estrogen and not being able to tolerate medicine you have been taking for 10 years.  Are there any other hidden conditions that would suddenly cause these symptoms of hyperthyroidism even though it probably isn't true.  I mean is there any other conditions that would cause medicine intolerance is what I really mean to say.

I have asked my personal doctor about pituitary, thyroiditis, adrenal problems.  I even had a cardiologist look at me and he said I was fine.  Did the tests and was fine.  

Any suggestions?

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

Would consider an endocrine consultation to make certain the pituitary-adrenal-thyroid system is all working appropriately.  If the thyroid blood tests are normal w/o meds and the antibodies negative, there is likely no true thyroid dysfunction.

[KimberlyB]

The "natural" form of thyroid is called Armour Dessicated Thyroid.
Regular (and close minded) MD's dont use this kind of thyroid..but a Holistic MD would.
I am not on it, but I think I need to be...
Try to find a Holistic MD who will also test your female hormones and your adrenals..properly! You need saliva testing to really see the accuracy of your hormones...the saliva tests are awesome..very accurate!
Hope this helps!
KIM

[lisaloves1]

I too am taking 50mcg Levothyroxine for the past couple of months and have fell through a depression. My Endocrinologist gave me a prescription for 100mcg Levothyroxine and I have taken it and now I am to the point that I am crying. I was diagnosed Hypothyroid 2 years ago but I have been fine not taking any medication and my doctor told me I must take the meds and now I am depressed because of it. I know that it is because of this medication that I am depressed because when I took more Mcg my body was not handling it well at all. Now I need to not take this drug to see if my depression will go away. ***** that my Doctor cannot do anything about it since my tsh came back normal and does not feel it is the meds giving me the symptoms. So now I have to see for myself if it was the drug after all when I stop taking it. You are not alone though. I read up websites were people have switched from Levothyroxine to Naturethroid and they feel much better. This is what I plan on doing if all else fails

[Diana1958]

I don't want to do HRT because of the negative side effects.  I have been off thyroid medicine for about 4-5 weeks.  Now I feel normal again, no anxiety or chest pains or any symptoms for that matter.  

I am going through menopause because it has been about 5-6 weeks since last period.  I do not get hot flashes or bothersome symptoms of menopause.  I probably was over medicated on thyroid medicine I didn't really need much of or not at all.  

I will go to an endocrinologist next time I start feeling bad.  I don't miss that tight throat I always had before.  This is great!

I did get something at the health food store that supports thyroid health. I am not too tired or anything.  Only thing I notice is my joints are getting worse but it is getting colder outside and I am getting older.  Oh well, who knows.

[blondee028]

You can also have a hormone inbalance. Did your doctor try you on HRT?  Hormones can really mess you up, the first sign is usually high cholestrol ( something you never had). I would do a hormone check, it might be as simple as some HRT

[lisaloves1]

No I am 31 but I had to stop taking Synthroid for a fact I know it was making me depressed. I was taking 50mcg a day and I couldn't handle how I was feeling then my endo decided for me to take 100mcg a day and when I took it I was depressed so bad I started crying. I decided to not take it, after 3 days of being off Levothyroxine I started to feel a lot better. I think what Levothyroxine did to me was destroy my serotine levels that could be the only way I could explain my depression from being on it. The endo I have told me that since my thyroid levels came back normal that I shouldn't have any depression because of thyroid...
It's not the thyroid it's the Levothyroxine. Had I know my depression would go away 2 months ago since I started taking Synthroid I would have stopped along time ago. Now I have to hope that my thyroid levels stay normal without meds. I just don't understand it, I never had thyroid problems in the past and I was diagnosted with Hypothyroid. I do have an endo that I called from http://www.armourthyroid.com/con_phLocator.aspx who says he prescibes Naturethroid...I might as well try him. I make an appointment for him on Wednesday.
I also read http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com which helped me understand thyroid.

[Diana1958]

My doctor said he tested for thyroid, pituitary and adrenal and said everything was normal.    He said my thyroid levels were normal after 2 weeks of being off meds, which tells me I had to be hyperthyroid at the start.

I absolutely cannot tolerate synthetic meds.  I have tried Synthroid a year ago.  Terrible feeling.  Won't an endocrine specialist just want me to try this same stuff again and not let me try anything natural?

[Diana1958]

I live in Ohio and bet my doctor will not even know what Armour Thyroid is.  I know I need something else because I can't take even 12.5 mcg Levothyroxine now without feeling terrible.  It like paralyzes me in my chest area making it hard to breathe with a pounding chest.  Even that small dose does that.  I don't know how in the world I was able to take this same medicine for 10 years at 50 mcg everyday and have no problems.  Now I am totally rejecting it.  Why in the world would this be.  I am sure my doctor will say I am crazy.

Thanks for your post.

[KimberlyB]

Hi Nancy..
Is your Naturopath an MD as well??
What state/city do u live in?
What tests did your Dr run for u to find out you had Hashimoto's?
Thanks so much..I am suffering terribly and have still not gotten a diagnoses because the Dr's I see are STUPID and narrowminded to say the least.
More details on this, later..if u want to know the drama I have dealt with over the last 10 years of my sad, sick life:(
Thanks for the info..
KIM:)

[nancyfi]

I would suggest seeing a naturopath.  In the state of Washington, naturopaths can prescribe armour thyroid (and other mediciations) although this isn't true in every state.  They also will do comprehensive blood tests and diagnose differently than regular doctors (at least mine is much more thorough).

I'm going through menopause, and it your hormones definitly change during this period (I'm 52).   Just when I though my dose was correct and I was feeling better, things changed again.  This is why having someone like a naturopath to work with you during these changes is very helpful.

[Diana1958]

Are you of menopause age?  If so, maybe that is the reason.  When our estrogen levels get lower strange things start happening.

I am curious about this Naturthyroid thing though.  Is it synthetic or do you get it at a health food store.  If it is the later, the MD probably will never recommend it.  My doctor didn't have any other names to offer, but I do see him again Monday.  He doesn't yet know that I am having trouble with the Levothyroxine.  

I am right now trying to do about 12.5 mcg taking with food.  I do notice being a little bit wired but right now that is okay.  The chest pains haven't come yet.  I did read on someone else's post that they need to take baby steps to handle this.  This is strange to me because for 10 years I have taken 50 mcg sometimes even 75 mcg.

l did start using natural cosmetic like lotions, deodorant and hairspray.  My doctor did not laugh at me when I asked him if this could be the reason.  Maybe my thyroid is more on the ball.

Thanks for you post.  Hope your depression gets better off the meds too.  They do need an alternative med for us ladies.