This is a very old post and DMADRARAS is no longer active on the forum.
I would like to tell you, though, that the "side effects" you posted for levo, are not really side effects of the medication....... those are symptoms of being over medicated/hyper. If you have those symptoms, you are on too much medication!!
TSH is a pituitary hormone, which varies greatly, even intraday; it should never be used, alone, to diagnose or determine a treatment strategy.
You need to get Free T3 and Free T4 tested; those are the actual thyroid hormones and will give a much better picture of what's going on than TSH will.
If you've ever been tested for Free T3 and Free T4, please post your most current levels, with reference ranges, which vary lab to lab and must come from your own report.
wow 400 MCG is alot of levothyroxine. i have started taking medications for my thyroid and am on 176 MCG and i have been on it for a year now. They started me out at 50 MCG and have slowly increased my dose based on my TSH level. If you increase your medication to fast you can cause more problems than not being on medication. The doctor should check her TSH level every 6 weeks until lab values are within normal limits. I see an Endocrinology to manage my thyroid disease.
This is the side effects of too much levothyroxine : Nervousness and irritability,Palpitations and tachycardia,Which is an irregular heart beat and a extremely fast heartbeat,Heat intolerance or increased sweating,Tremor
Weight loss ,Increase in appetite,Frequent bowel movements or diarrhea,Lower leg swelling,Sudden paralysis
Shortness of breath with exertion,Decreased menstrual flow
Impaired fertility,Sleep disturbances (including insomnia)
Changes in vision, or double vision,, Exophthalmos, or forward protrusion of the eyeball, Fatigue and muscle weakness, Thyroid enlargement
Hope this helps.
Will look forward to seeing the labs.
Thank you for responding to my post about my wife's thyroid level changes...
She said she will get a copy of her last couple of thyroid lab results and I'll post them as soon as we get them. Yes, it is very hard on both of us - but it is her that I worry about. I would do anything in the world to help her...
I, too, am sorry to hear of your wife's ordeal; it must be very hard on you both. As gimel said, please post your wife's latest thyroid lab results, along with the reference ranges, which vary from lab to lab, so must come from her own report. If you don't have a copy of the lab report, your doctor is obligated by law to provide a copy.
It's generally recommended to make small changes and let the patient's body adjust to them, then retest before making further changes. I'd be interesting in knowing what your wife's GP was basing his decision on, to double her medication, all at one time.
Wow. So sorry to hear of your wife's ordeal. I'm sure that you will get many replies. To help us assess the adequacy of her testing and treatment, please post her thyroid test results and their reference ranges shown on the lab report.