help

[thyroidiniowa]

is there anyone here who just cannot take the synthroid, and crashed on even a small amount of it, Im at such a loss as to what to .  I dont feel good, i have a pretty large goiter, and feel much worse when i take the thyroid hormone, would i be able to take the hormone if i had the thyroid out or anything like that

[goolarra]

I'd mention all the side effects to her.  The symtoms you get when you're overmedicated, or you just start on too high a dose, or you're hyper are just about the same.  

As I told you, I had big problems when I first started out.  My PCP put me on 88 mcg to start even though I'm over 50, had been hypo for a long time before starting meds, and I have a history of a heart arrythmia.  Any one of those ought to have qualified me for a starting dose of 12.5 to 25.  I never have gotten as high as 88 to this day!!!

Lots of us have to take little tiny steps when we have to increase, or the same thing starts happening all over again.  With my last increase, I once again had tachycardia, sweating, couldn't sleep, etc.  And that was just from 75 to 81.5.

My experience starting out wasn't very different from yours.  However, I had been really hypo and knew I just had to keep taking the levo and building it up to a reasonable dose.  That's why I got on the beta blocker.

Also, the stuff about the fillers really has affected lots of people here...they'll be on Synthroid, for example, have cardiac problems, switch to Levoxyl or some other brand, and they have absoolutely no problem.  The medicine is the same, so it's something else in the pill that's causing it.

That's not the case with me, however.  I've been on several, and they all cause cardiac problems, but then again I have an arrythmia that I was born with.

Don't let anyone tell you that tachy and palps are not related to taking levo.  My PCP spent a year telling me they had nothing to do with each other.. Everyone here knows they are related, my endo knows they are, ordinary people know they are...where was she?

Don't let anyone tell you that some people are not ultra-sensitive to levo, either.  That's also well documented here.

I'd make a list of the side-effects the Synthroid gave you and have it in writing.  This will speed things up for both you and your doctor.  Also, If she thinks you're "well-prepared", she'll have a much harder time ignoring you.

I know it's terrible to have to go through all this just to get a doctor to listen, but sometimes there's just no choice.  It'll pay off in the end.

[thyroidiniowa]

have you heard of other people having these exact same problems, any one on this forum, that you recollect, the exact same things happening. let me know anything that you know of, that i can use for ammunition to have my endo to make some big changes in her strategy

[thyroidiniowa]

what about all the other nasty side effects, like night sweats,  

[goolarra]

I had another thought.  Another very specific question I would ask:  I've heard some people don't react well to the fillers in some of the meds.  Can you try prescribing a different brand/ brand vs. generic to see if that helps me?

Sometimes you have to beat them over the head!  They often know the science, but not the art of medicine or how to listen to a patient and hear what they're saying.

Tachycardia and heart palpitations seldom cause a heart attack...they're uncomfortable, but usually benign.  

[thyroidiniowa]

im beginning to get a feel for this, yeah having a heart attack scares the hell out of me, the family physician did an ekg last week, and i guess it was ok, so i dont think i damaged my heart yet. its ridiculous that you have to tell a dr what to do, my god, thats why they went to medical school, wheres the schoolin even come in,

[goolarra]

I think in order to get your doctor to get off her butt, you have to do exactly what you're doing now...educate yourself and talk to other people who have been through it.  Then, go in to talk to your doctor and say very SPECIFIC things and ask very SPECIFIC questions.  For example, I tried taking Synthroid, and no matter how much I decreased my dose, I had tachycardia (rapid heartbeat) or heart palpitations (thumping heart beat) or both or chest pain (I don't know which you had).  I stopped taking it because I couldn't deal with the side effects.  Then, the questions...I've heard beta blockers can relieve the tachycardia and palpitations.  Can you prescribe a beta blocker for me along with the levothyroxine?  Doctors don't often deal well in the abstract...you have to tell them EXACTLY what happened and ask them for exactly what you want and need..

Having your thyroid removed is not a solution.  Except in the case of cancer or "dire "circumstances this is just not recommended.  As hope4thegoodstuff said, she had "no choice".

Here's my story:  I started out on 88 mcg.  Tachycardia increased markedly a couple of weeks later.  I reduced to 44 mcg.  A couple of weeks later...tachycardia again.  I reduced to 25 mcg, and you guessed it.  Finally I went to a cardiologist and got on the beta blocker.  Then I was able to increase my dose of levo.  Later, after a couple of more increases, I had to increase the BB also to compensate for the levo.  I think, for the moment, everything's balanced out...in the future, maybe not.