# Anyone taking Synthroid?



## euphrosyne_rose (Sep 5, 2009)

About a month ago I made a trip to my mom's endocrinologist b/c I had been SOOO tired and had NO energy to speak of. I also had the usual hypothyroid symptoms of dry skin, hair falling out, issues with my memory, etc. My mom had gone about a year ago for some of those same things and while her actual thyroid levels were fine, he did this test on her "antimicrosomal antibodies" and normal is 60 or less and hers were off the charts so he told her basically she was on her way to being hypothyroid and put her on Synthroid. Well, the same thing happened with me. He said that the test results showed him that my thyroid was on its way to "slowing" down and eventually I would be hypothyroid and he put me on Synthroid as well, the .050 dose. 
I was just curious if any of you ladies/gents took Synthroid and if you noticed any changes after you started taking it. I do notice that I'm not AS tired as before but there are still days when all I want to do when I get home is curl up in my bed. I do have a little more energy but I guess I was just expecting it to "jolt" my system back to normal. My mom said it took a couple of weeks but she definitely had way more energy and wasn't as tired but she knows when her dose has to be changed b/c she starts feeling tired and run down again. I would love to hear some people's stories about this since I've only been on it a couple of weeks. Thanks!


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## Dr_Girlfriend (Sep 6, 2009)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *euphrosyne_rose* 

 
_About a month ago I made a trip to my mom's endocrinologist b/c I had been SOOO tired and had NO energy to speak of. I also had the usual hypothyroid symptoms of dry skin, hair falling out, issues with my memory, etc. My mom had gone about a year ago for some of those same things and while her actual thyroid levels were fine, he did this test on her "antimicrosomal antibodies" and normal is 60 or less and hers were off the charts so he told her basically she was on her way to being hypothyroid and put her on Synthroid. Well, the same thing happened with me. He said that the test results showed him that my thyroid was on its way to "slowing" down and eventually I would be hypothyroid and he put me on Synthroid as well, the .050 dose. 
I was just curious if any of you ladies/gents took Synthroid and if you noticed any changes after you started taking it. I do notice that I'm not AS tired as before but there are still days when all I want to do when I get home is curl up in my bed. I do have a little more energy but I guess I was just expecting it to "jolt" my system back to normal. My mom said it took a couple of weeks but she definitely had way more energy and wasn't as tired but she knows when her dose has to be changed b/c she starts feeling tired and run down again. I would love to hear some people's stories about this since I've only been on it a couple of weeks. Thanks!_

 
Unfortunately it isn't that simple. Your doctor has started you on a fairly low dose.  Finding the right dose takes a good while with most patients.  Believe me, you'll know if it's too high.  You may start to shake, get tremors, heart palpitations.   Also, there are so many meds and foods that should not be taken within a few hours of taking the Synthroid so please take that into account.  It's also best to take in the morning about an hour before breakfast to get maximum absorption.

Like I said, it may take several months or even up to a year to find that best dose for you.  Be patient with it and keep all of your lab and doctor appointments.  

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me!


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## euphrosyne_rose (Sep 6, 2009)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *Dr_Girlfriend* 

 
_Unfortunately it isn't that simple. Your doctor has started you on a fairly low dose. Finding the right dose takes a good while with most patients. Believe me, you'll know if it's too high. You may start to shake, get tremors, heart palpitations. Also, there are so many meds and foods that should not be taken within a few hours of taking the Synthroid so please take that into account. It's also best to take in the morning about an hour before breakfast to get maximum absorption.

Like I said, it may take several months or even up to a year to find that best dose for you. Be patient with it and keep all of your lab and doctor appointments. 

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me!_

 
Thanks! I have been taking it in the morning right after I wake up b/c by the time I get to work, it's usually be an hour and I can go ahead and eat breakfast. He did tell me only that I should vitamins, especially iron either 8 hrs before or after the Synthroid b/c it would interfere. That was really the only thing he mentioned to me. I'm due to go back in the middle of October for my first check up since taking it so I'm curious to see how that goes. Mom told me she started off on the same dose I'm on now and now she's on the 0.088 dose. I guess we'll see. I do appreciate the support and if I think of anything, I'll PM you. Thanks again!


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## shatteredshards (Sep 25, 2009)

Not Synthroid specifically, but I have been on Levoxyl for about 4 1/2 years.

About halfway between 20 and 21 I was having heart pains, an irregular heartbeat that made my heart flutter and vibrate in my chest. It hurt like h*** and scared the daylights out of me.

After a particularly bad episode that left me crying in pain in bed for half an hour, I saw a doctor, who said it was Premature Ventricular Contractions - a type of arrhythmia wherethe lower chambers of your heart beat out of sync with the upper chambers.

Rather than order an EKG off the bat, he ordered bloodwork to test for hyperthyroidism, to rule it out. It unexpectedly came back indicating hypothyroidism instead. I had many symptoms (8 off a list of 10) and hadn't even put 2 and 2 together.

I'm currently on 75 mcg; when I was higher, it pushed me back out the other end of the normal range. I'm usually tired as heck and lack motivation for much of anything, but being told to drop soda on doctor's orders contributes to that, since I don't drink coffee. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





My skin is in better shape, and so are my nails. My hair is still a lot thinner than it used to be, but I don't think it's falling out quite as much as before my diagnosis. I've developed dermatographism - chronic hives - as a side condition, which is actually somewhat common among hypothyroid people (mine is believed to be autoimmune, which would explain it), and had to add Zyrtec to my daily cocktail.

Be prepared for a fight. You are more than likely going to have to argue with your doctors, or even switch doctors, to get the care you feel you deserve. Read up on it, know what you're dealing with. Some doctors *still* go by the "old" normal range, some doctors feel that a TSH test is the only bloodwork you need done. Be persistant. It took me *four years* to finally get a full thyroid panel done, no joke.

Lastly, beware of generic meds! In most cases, generics work fine, but in the case of thyroid meds they can deviate as much as 15mcg either way, if I remember correctly. That is enough to cause problems, believe me - my pharmacy switched me without my consent, and within 2 weeks I had to go back to Levoxyl because I kept having PVC episodes.

Hopefully I've helped a little.


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## euphrosyne_rose (Sep 26, 2009)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *shatteredshards* 

 
_Not Synthroid specifically, but I have been on Levoxyl for about 4 1/2 years.

About halfway between 20 and 21 I was having heart pains, an irregular heartbeat that made my heart flutter and vibrate in my chest. It hurt like h*** and scared the daylights out of me.

After a particularly bad episode that left me crying in pain in bed for half an hour, I saw a doctor, who said it was Premature Ventricular Contractions - a type of arrhythmia wherethe lower chambers of your heart beat out of sync with the upper chambers.

Rather than order an EKG off the bat, he ordered bloodwork to test for hyperthyroidism, to rule it out. It unexpectedly came back indicating hypothyroidism instead. I had many symptoms (8 off a list of 10) and hadn't even put 2 and 2 together.

I'm currently on 75 mcg; when I was higher, it pushed me back out the other end of the normal range. I'm usually tired as heck and lack motivation for much of anything, but being told to drop soda on doctor's orders contributes to that, since I don't drink coffee. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




My skin is in better shape, and so are my nails. My hair is still a lot thinner than it used to be, but I don't think it's falling out quite as much as before my diagnosis. I've developed dermatographism - chronic hives - as a side condition, which is actually somewhat common among hypothyroid people (mine is believed to be autoimmune, which would explain it), and had to add Zyrtec to my daily cocktail.

Be prepared for a fight. You are more than likely going to have to argue with your doctors, or even switch doctors, to get the care you feel you deserve. Read up on it, know what you're dealing with. Some doctors *still* go by the "old" normal range, some doctors feel that a TSH test is the only bloodwork you need done. Be persistant. It took me *four years* to finally get a full thyroid panel done, no joke.

Lastly, beware of generic meds! In most cases, generics work fine, but in the case of thyroid meds they can deviate as much as 15mcg either way, if I remember correctly. That is enough to cause problems, believe me - my pharmacy switched me without my consent, and within 2 weeks I had to go back to Levoxyl because I kept having PVC episodes.

Hopefully I've helped a little. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 
Wow, thanks! Thankfully I know the doctor I used is a great doctor and he did do a FULL panel. I used to work for him once upon a time and he's also my mom's doctor. He showed me every bit of lab work he did and it was actually not a TSH or FT4 test that showed I had a thyroid problem. It was an antimicrosomal antibodies test but he said basically it told him my thyroid was slowing down and eventually it would push me to hypothyroidism. He also said my thyroid was lumpy and that basically I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. I had read that there was a new "range" for thyroid testing and when I went for my first visit, he actually spoke to me about it and said that he goes by the new "range" for testing. Normal AMAB range is under 60 and mine was over 90. 
I'm sure at some point I'll have to have a thyroid scan but hopefully not for awhile. In about 2 weeks I go back for my next checkup and already I think I can tell that he'll have to increase my dose b/c I'm starting to feel sluggish and tired again and am noticing the hair loss more and more. I've only been on Synthroid for about a month and a half and I was noticing a difference in my energy level and the fatigue was alot less but the past 2 weeks it's creeping back on me. He told me that it would take awhile to get the right dosage down. 
My younger sister has been fluctuating between hyper and hypo the past few months. She takes the Synthroid and then after a few months it pushes her to being hyper and so he had her go off the meds for awhile and she had a scan done a couple of weeks ago. Her preliminary diagnosis is Graves' Disease. My mom, maternal grandmother and a cousin on my mom's side also have thyroid issues so if that doesn't scream hereditary, nothing does!
Thanks for all the insight and help! I appreciate it!


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## shatteredshards (Sep 27, 2009)

Well, Hashi's is an autoimmune issue, so be aware that other conditions, for lack of better terms, can pop up. It's pretty common for thyroid patients to have something else in addition to the thyroid issue, as I understand it.

As for your sister, if it does turn out to be Graves, it's quite possible they will kill her thyroid off, or remove it altogether, to force it into a more level state, and then just add the Synthroid or whatever to get her levels back up if they're too low, because it's much easier to stabilize that way.

It does take some time to get an initial dose figured out, and then you're going to have to make regular doctor's visits, likely for the remainder of your life. I go once a year, unless I'm having a specific problem that I want looked at, but your doctor may go with more often or less often once you're "settled in."


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