Experience of Levothyroxine?

[Emmasian94]

What is your experience of Levothyroxine?
I've read so much conflicting information on this medication. It's almost scared me into not wanting to take it.

@Bemyclementine

has the GP checked your iron, ferritin, vit B12 and vit D?

A deficiency in any of those can cause hair loss.

Pharmacist told me to leave a two hour gap between thyroxine and iron tabs.

Try not to go down wormholes too often on internet.
Lots of people feel tired, so you could end up feeling tired, without it being related to thyroid and iron levels. aware I have just added to anecdotal, not verifiable, internet information

I guess if it’s consistent tiredness or a blip.

I ignored my tiredness for 20 years. Thought it was just me or having children. But I had hair loss and had blood tests for something else. They found that my ferritin and vit D was minimal.
Wish I’d checked it much earlier and maybe I’d have some more hair!

I've been taking it for 12 years, would be dead otherwise! My tsh went up to 75 at one point and I literally couldn't function. If dr is telling you thst you need it, then please listen, it can be really dangerous if you go too underactive.

Unfortunately at your age you could be going through peri menopause which could account for loss of hair and tiredness.

definitely take iron tablets when on levothyroxine, I take Floradix. And consider supplements for peri menopause. I take loads as I think am actually in menopause. But seems to help.

Yep I take levothyroxine and other meds and vitamins at night and iron tablets in morning.

That’s interesting about Levo at night. I think I’d remember to take it better at night but some reason consultant said morning. A friend took hers at night but different health authority.

@Rummikub Iron and ferritin are very low. I was also advised to take levothyroxine in the morning, which usually results in me forgetting the iron 🙄

😂ms too. I’ve started taking iron to work and hope I remember to take it. Take my BP meds at night before bed. Now I have statins and hrt to factor in do I’m a bit confused. Pharmacist says leave a gap of an hour or two after thyroxine but I know I’ll forget.

Oh god I have BP meds too, was advised I could take them alongside the levo in the morning so I do. Really need to get better with the iron though it makes my stomach feel awful.

Just to add my doctor told me to take my thyroxine first thing in the morning after waking same time if possible and to leave an eight hour gap between taking my thyroid medication and iron tablets/ spatone liquid iron

8 hours 😱
its too much mental load remembering the timings /gaps. I could manage 3 meds but now it’s doubled!

I've been on it 6 years now. Has made absolutely no difference to how I feel, my dry flaky skin, and weight. No side effects either. I've had the dose increased from 100-125mg in that time. GP won't increase any more as 'no clinical need'.

My TSH levels have gone down from 15 when I started to stable at between 2-3 though so it must be doing something.

I’ve been on it about 10 weeks. Not noticing any difference, if anything I am a lot more tired than I felt before, but I understand it can take a while to get the right dose sorted.

However, I have only just found out, on this thread, that I should be leaving a bigger gap between the Levythyroxine and iron tablets whereas I’ve only be leaving a half an hour gap.

I have my next blood test on 2 weeks so will see what happens then.

@GonnaGetGoingReturns T3 is also known as liothyronine. It's not easy to get from a GP, in fact they would have to refer you to an Endocrinologist. My GP told me ages ago I wouldn't get T3 (because my lab values weren't showing a problem) but I still felt ghastly, so I ended up 'self-sourcing' my T3. Currently I am taking Tiromel.

My underactive thyroid was picked up on a routine blood test and then I had an ultrasound and was diagnosed with hashimotos. I hadn't noticed any symptoms prior to this. After some adjusting I've been on 100 mg m - f and 125 s/s. After first taking it I had a couple of weeks of feeling bright and energetic but that was it. But I hadn't noticed symptoms before, think I'm bad at noticing things or I put it down to menopause etc. But I have had some palpitations recently so reading this thread I think I need a blood test. I don't know my TSH...how do you all know yours? This all happened over lockdown and I haven't had one face to face GP appt, all over phone, seen nurse for bloods of course.. I don't take iron or anything else either. And I feel anxious when I wake up but put that down to general life😯

I have positive TPOs so I must have hashimotos too, they just haven't told me!
I barely had any symptoms before I started Levothyroxine, then like you, the first few months I felt brilliant. For two months now, on and off, I've had awful joint pain and relentless palpitations. And I also have that anxious feeling constantly. I have a face to face appointment with the GP today. I haven't seen one in person since this all happened either.
My last level of tsh was 1.6 so I should feel good? Ask for a copy of your thyroid blood tests xx

The sonagrapher (?) said I'd probably had it for a while as my thyroid gland was shrivelled...I did ask my gp for my levels but wasnt explained very well/ Iforgot it. I do need a face to face appt and a blood test. Need the energy to get a gp appt!

Please me more about the privately sourced T3. I ask for it pretty much every time I see my consultant and he says no. That it’s rare to need it. And I’m not it.

@NecklessMumster if your GP
doesn’t allow you to access your blood results online (mine doesn’t, some do) then you can ask them for a print out of your results then you can keep a record each time you have a blood test

Thanks, good idea. I need to get a grip on this. I just assumed ' I have a deficiency, I take this tablet, that's it'

I'm only on 75mcg/day and I have no idea how bad I would feel if I didn't take it as I've been on it for four or five years and just remember 'to take it'. Mine was picked up because I was taking forever to shake off a normal winter virus, so the GP thought he'd just check (family trend towards hypothyroidism).

*75mg that is!

Does anyone experience a flare up of symptoms (joint pain & heart palpitations) in regards to pms? Seems that when I ovulate I get horrendous symptoms and then they just disappear. I'm wondering if I can control this - my doctor is useless, I went yesterday and they fobbed me off and gave me a lower dose. My tsh is 1.6, when it was 2.6ish I didn't get these symptoms.

I’ve been in it for 25 years. I dread to think what I would be like without it. Very very ill.