Too much Levothyroxine?

[Nelly57]

Last spring a new doctor raised my dosage of Levo from 50 mcg. to 100 mcg. Then in August I began seeing a chiropractor regularly and have also joined Weight Watchers and have lost about 20 pounds so far.  Since I began seeing the chiro I have begun feeling much better overall.  I started at 3 x per week and now go once per week.  Anyway, a couple of weeks ago it started feeling as if my Levo dose was too high.  I went from being Hypo to feeling very, Hyper.  Really bad headaches, very fast and irregular heart rate, blood pressure spikes, feeling very anxious and nervous, insomnia, flushing etc.  I've never experienced any of these symptoms before.  On my own I went back to 50 mcg. of Levo per day and immediately all of those symptoms went away and I began to feel much better.  Blood pressure and heart rate have returned to normal, no more anxiety, headaches are gone, etc.  I was just wondering if anyone else had an experience like this.  I talked to my Endo last week and they want me to have bloodwork done so they can see my levels but there is no way I am going back to 100 mcg. when it made me feel as badly as it did.  Also, my blood pressure was out of control for the first time in years and that had me scared to death because my Mom had a major stroke due to her blood pressure spiking too high one night.  I asked the Chiro if he thought the treatments from him combined with the weight loss had made a difference in my thyroid function and he said he believed that it certainly could have.

Thanks for any and all advice and comments.

[goolarra]

Or, more likely, she just got way luckier than me in the gene pool!!!  

It will be interesting to see your new labs.  I hope you post them because it's always interesting to follow up on what's going on.  I'm glad you're feeling better and hope it lasts, but still think the 100 to 50 might have been kind of a big jump, and you might end up in the middle somewhere.

[Nelly57]

I went and had my blood drawn yesterday morning.  I'm anxious to hear the results.  Since going back on the 50 mcg. I am feeling SO much better.  

I feel really good about this new Endo.  She was a great listener and seemed very concerned and compassionate.  She also gave me some great tips for losing weight which have helped me a lot.  She herself probably weighs about 100 lbs. soaking wet so I figured she knows what she's talking about.  :-)

Thanks for your advice.

[goolarra]

Since you have Hashi's, you will, of course, be on meds for the rest of your life.  I think half the battle in this disease is finding a doctor who knows what s/he is talking about regarding thyroid and is willing to listen and work with you.  I had a PCP who knew very little, too...but she thought she did...dangerous.  Good luck with the continued weight loss.

[Nelly57]

I have Hashi's and a goiter.  I just saw an Endo for the first time in December and I really like her a lot.  Her knowledge base was so much better than my primary care doctor.  She said my goiter is extremely small.  She also gave me several good tips for weight loss which I have to say are working in spite of the thyroid issues.  

[goolarra]

No, it can lower your needs, but I've never heard of it eliminating thyroid meds.

Do you have Hashi's?  If not, do you know the cause of your hypo?

[Nelly57]

I totally see what you're saying.  I have the sheet to get my blood work done.  I will go tomorrow morning before coming to work.  I have to be fasting because she also included a lipid panel as well.  

That's good to hear that dosage is somewhat weight based.  That will give me even more incentive to continue with my weight loss.  I was doing really well with Weight Watchers about 2 1/2 years ago and then I let my son's divorce totally knock me off track.  Recently I realized that he's moved on and happy again but I was still stuck being overweight and miserable.  Fortunately I had only gained back about 14 pounds of my initial 40 pound weight loss so I don't have to start completely over.  And I have to admit, it does feel good to be back in control again.  

I know that weight loss can sometimes take away the need for blood pressure medication, has anyone ever heard of it eliminating the need for thyroid medication?  Just curious.  

[goolarra]

I agree with your doctor that you should have bloodwork done to see where your levels are.  

It sounds like you were overmedicated, and therefore hyper, on 100 mcg.  Dosage is somewhat weight-based, and your weight loss might have made it just a bit too much for you.

I understand your concerns about going back to 100 mcg, and I wouldn't want to, either.  There are alternatives.  Jumping from 100 to 50 is most likely going to make you hypo before too long.  That's too big a jump.  Thyroid meds dose changes have to be made in very small increments, or you end up swinging wildly back and forth from hypo to hyper.  There is a 75 mcg tablet made as well as 88 mcg.  One of those would probably be a better choice than 50.  Other dosages can be achieved by splitting pills, combining them, and alternating dosages on different days.

Get your FT3, FT4 and TSH tested.  You don't want to go back to being overmedicated, but you don't want to be hypo, either.  There's plenty of room in between...