Levoxyl and weight gain

[tpre]

I have been reading that taking to much Levoxyl can have an opposite affect if taking to much. It can stress out the adrenals therefore weight gain!! Just wondering if anyone has had this happen after starting Levoxyl?

[Totie]

I was on Levothyroxine for about 18yrs, just about a year ago my Endo swithced me to Synthroid (she does not like generics)

I never gained weight, was and still am underweight. Some people react differently to medications.

Maybe your thyroid levels are not where they need to be for you.

Have you been through menopaus?

[Barb135]

Have you been diagnosed with a specific adrenal condition?  How have you kept your levels "perfect"? Are you  taking a medication for adrenal insufficiency?

If you're feeling more and more hyper, why not try lowering your dose of levoxyl by a few mcg and see how that works?

While we've had a lot of people on the forum who have taken levoxyl, I can't recall any, for whom it "caused" adrenal issues.  Maybe there's something else going on in your life that's causing added stress; or maybe you might want to think about going back on the Armour.

[tpre]

Yes my cortisol is high at this time, I have been watching my adrenals since 2007 and have kept my levels perfect for the last 2 yrs.

I have been going through this for many years and after changing my thyroid med to levoxyl I started having problems again. I was on 5 grain Armour and for reasons between my doctor and myself we switched to 200 mcg Levoxyl. Well it only made things worse. and I gained 15 lbs in the 4 months ALL in my stomach. I look 7 months prego and every week feeling more and more hyper. I have NO desire to eat and very dry mouth, I do sleep ok at night though. I just wanted to know if anyone else had this problem with Levoxyl.

[Barb135]

Of course, many things can stress the adrenals and if one has an adrenal issue, that should be addressed prior to a thyroid issue, and yes, thyroid med should be introduced slowly.

Of course, excess cortisol can cause weight gain, especially that spare tire around the middle that keeps us afloat in the water.   In that case, it's not the thyroid med causing the weight gain; it's the excess cortisol.

Typically, if there is not an adrenal issue present when thyroid meds are introduced, they will not stress the adrenals.  Stress stresses the adrenals.

If you'd like to post links to scientific studies you've read, we'd be glad to take a look at them, since we don't know everything there is to know.  

Your labs indicate that you may be over medicated. What's your current dosage of levoxyl, and how long have you been on it?  Levoxyl has had a recent recall; will you be going to a different med?

Have you had adrenal tests done, to see if you have an issue?  If so, which tests and if you have results, maybe you could post them.

[tpre]

Many things can stress adrenals, even thyroid meds. This is why ppl with adrenal problems need to take it slow when introducing Armour or other thyroid meds to the body. Therefore to much thyroid meds can affect adrenals and in some have reverse affect and cause weight gain due to to much cortisol running rapid via my Doctor. I have been finding a lot of information on this since posting this earlier this morning because I thought my Doctor was crazy but it is true. I have gained in 4 months 15 lbs and here is my last test results.

Thyroxine (T4) Free, Direct, S
1.74 ng/dL 0.82-1.77 F

TSH
<0.005 uIU/mL 0.450-4.500 F

Reverse T3, Serum
20.3 ng/dL 9.2-24.1 F

Triiodothyronine,Free,Serum
3.9 pg/mL 2.0-4.4 F

[Barb135]

I've never heard of levoxyl stressing out the adrenals...  Typically, when one is hypo, the adrenals will kick in and try to make up for the lack of thyroid hormones; once the hormones are provided, the adrenals should settle back to normal.

Weight gain is, typically, a symptom of being hypo.  Are you sure your thyroid hormone levels are adequate?  If you have current results, please post them, along with reference ranges, which vary lab to lab and have to be posted with results.