Feeling jittery when first started Synthoird, now sleepy

[tangerinelz3]

I started Synthroid almost 2 weeks ago.  Doc started me off on 50mcg.  Had panic attacks, fast heartrate, anxiety, etc.  She told me to half the dose.  I am now taking 25mcg.   I am either half asleep or heart racing.  What is going on?  How long will this last?  Is my body now almost used to the med?  Do I need more?  I am so confused and really frustrated.  I just want to feel even, not a zombie, not a speed freak, just even.  I called my Endo again today, waiting on a call back from her.  How long did it take you to feel better after starting treatment?  Is it too early to ask to try another med?

[goolarra]

I agree with blsdnsvd...have your fiance do some reading.  The conventional view of thyroid disease is that you take a pill every morning and everything is wonderful.  Most people don't realize that thyroid disease is more akin to diabetes and can be just as miserable.  It takes time to regulate dosage.  Often, we have to start out at a low dose until our bodies get used to having the hormones again.  It takes 4-6 weeks for each dose change to stabilize, so the process can drag on.  You increase dose, wait 4-6 weeks, re-test and re-evaluate symptoms, tweak the dose if necessary.  

You have a lot going on.  You're postpartum, so those hormones are in the process of settling down again.  That might make stabilizing your thyroid meds more difficult.  Reproductive hormones and thyroid hormones are both part of the endocrine system, which is all interdependent.

The important thing is to keep moving (slowly) in the right direction.  You have to be consistent and stay on the same dose until it stabilizes.  Not doing so just drags the process out even further.

[blsdnsvd]

As I said in my earlier post, 25mcg's is a very low dose and you are probably hypo which is why you are exhausted all of the time and having brain fog. As Goolara mentioned, posting your labs will help others see where you are. Most doc's use TSH to determine how their patient "should" feel even when we tell them that we feel like crap!.. You may have to request testing for the Free's (t3 and t4) and post them here for help.

I also suffer from Antiety/Panic Attacks along with a host of other health issues due to the Thyroid.....however the most important thing is to get your levels where they should be in order for you to feel some relief.

Your fiance may want to read up on being hypothyroid and then is when he may understand, as for now you must push your doc to looks at your symptoms and ask him/her to test the labs mentioned in Goolara's post because that will determine how you feel, not the TSH levels.

[tangerinelz3]

I'm 34, just had my first child, am still going through postpartum depression. No other health issues, besides a history of depression and anxiety. I am really having an awful time. Yesterday I could barely keep my eyes open all day. I feel like I'm in a fog all the time, I'm probably about to lose my job because of being out so much. My fiancé is losing patience. When will this get better?

[goolarra]

Do you have FT3 and FT4 to post?  If so, please do along with reference ranges from your own lab report.  The "frees" are really much more indicative of thyroid function than TSH.  

Two weeks is not enough time for the dose to stabilize in your system...that takes 4-6 weeks.  If you've been hypo for a while, your body is no longer used to having thyroid hormones available and has a lot of adjusting to do.  It's often best to start out low and increase very gradually.  

I think you will start to even out before too long.  However, only you know how intolerable your symptoms are.  If you're really miserable, you might ask your doctor about starting even lower and gradually increasing as tolerated.

Do you have other health issues?  How old are you?  Any history of heart arrhythmia?

[tangerinelz3]

Ihave Hash's was diagnosed via all the blood tests, ultrasound, uptake and scan. Was first hyper now hypo with a TSH of 15

[blsdnsvd]

It seems like you are inbetween hyper and hypo thyroid. Do you still have your thyroid?? What was the reson for starting the med's (diagnosis)? 25mcg is a very low dosage and suprising that you have any symptom's at all.