Overmedicated with levothyroxine

[kritty2009]

I came into the endocrinologist's office with hypothyroid symptoms and several large nodules that were biopsied and benign.  My TSH, FT3, FT4 were fairly normal until the TSH levels gradually started to rise.  It made its way to 6.1, so my doctor put me on levothyroxine.  PROBLEM: the secretary messed up and instead of giving me 0.05MG I was given 0.15MG.  Having no knowledge of the medication, I continued to take it until the three month check-up.  Safe to say, I went hyperthyroid.  I thought the hyper symptoms were just a part of the adjustment period, and eventually the lightheadedness and sweating did subside; I felt much better than before, had energy without sleeping problems, a good mood, and my weird body pains went away.  My TSH in the follow-up came back as "as hyper as you can get".....she made a chart and i may have seen the TSH as 0.001 (though that seems crazy; maybe it was 0.01).  
Now, I'm taking 0.1MG (i guess to wean off of the triple-dosage) and am having TERRIBLE headaches throughout the day, fatigue, depression, and my back pains came back.  These are pretty much the same symptoms I had before medicated.

SO, I would like to know what problems come with being overmedicated.  Could it have worsened my progression into hypothyroidism?  I never had headaches, and now I can't go an hour without one.  

[Barb135]

I think you should call your doctor.  If the nurse gave you the wrong dosage, you need to get the right one, not waiting 3 months.  With the headaches, you may be hyper, and that's even worse than being a bit hypo.  

Don't wait the 3 months.  

[kritty2009]

what i meant was....100mcg= 0.1MG, so...what's the problem? All thyroid meds are listed as mcgs except for mine, i guess.

would you switch doctors if you were in my position?  a triple dosage of hormones later and the headaches are....really ruining me.  is waiting another three months on double my recommended dosage necessary?
i won't be tampering with my meds- it just seems like a long time just to switch back to 0.05MG....50mcg.

[gimel]

Our Aussie redhead should be sleeping by now, so I'll answer the mg/mcg question.  A milligram is one thousandth of a gram.  A microgram is one millionth of a gram.  So, .1 Mg equals 100 mcg. (.1 mg times 1000 equals 100 mcg).  Hope that helps.

[kritty2009]

My bottle says MG, not mcgs.......same as the information sheet.
Eltroxin (Levothyroxine) 0.1MG
....I'm confused.  What's the difference?

Thanks for the explanation though; that makes a lot of sense.  I was just super confused by all of the hypo symptoms.
I don't have any of my test results with me, but I'll post them soon.  Thanks

[Barb135]

Just because your TSH went to 0.001 (or 0.01), doesn't mean you were hyper.  My TSH stays at < 0.01 all the time.  You are only hyper if symptoms and FT3/FT4 indicate you are hyper.  

Any doctor who is dosing you, based solely on TSH is going to keep you sick.  AND you should always start out on lower doses and work your way up slowly.  

There was nurse in one of my doctor's offices who referred to thyroid med in MG.  It was very confusing because I always had to make the conversion to mcg in my head, in order to "stay with her"; however, thyroid dosages are listed by manufacturers in mcg.  You should always check the bottle to make sure the dosage matches the script (or what your doctor told you s/he was giving you)

You should, also, always insist on a copy of your lab report, for your records. I always mark on mine, what med/dosage I was on when the blood was drawn, along with any symptoms; that way, I know what levels to target.

You need to get a Free T3 and Free T4 test, along with TSH, and the other tests that red mentioned.  If your doctor refuses, you need to find another very quickly.

[redheadaussie]

Hi there.
  First of all thyroid medications are in micrograms not milligrams. mcg not MG. There is a huge difference! Which makes me wonder; where are you getting your dosage information, from the pack or are you just mistaken with the wording? The dose you are probably on now is 100mcgs. The previous one was probably 150mcgs. The one you should have been on would have been 50mcgs.

  Part of the problem is the sudden drop in dosage. It would have been better to drop it to 125mcgs then after time down to 100 then to 50. I wonder if you can ask you doctor to allow you to go to 125 for a the time being.

It's a bit like an addiction withdrawal, for wont of a better way to describe it. Sudden increase and the thyroid has to work out what is going on, then it finally gets used to it (so to speak) and then all that is taken away. The pituitary gland is the main element and if it gets mixed messages, as you are now on your sudden lower dose, it will be 'confused' and create body symptoms like headaches etc.

It won't harm your hypothyroidism as such. If you have an auto-immune disease such as in Hashimoto's, it will certainly be more difficult to deal with those dosage changes.

Have you any test results we can see?

[kritty2009]

I'm a 24yr old woman with a family history of hyper and hypothyroidism.
Thanks in advance for the advice!