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Synthroid - dizziness
Recently diagnosed as hypothyroid TSH 9.78 (0.45-4.5) and Thyroxine (T4) Free 1.51 (0.82 - 1.77). I'm a senior. Prescribed 100 mcg synthroid. Started taking 1/4 pill for 4 days (ie 25 mcg) , 1/2 pill (50 mcg) for 2 days and 100 mcg for 4 days. I started taking lower dosage because I have some allergies to meds and I always start out low to make sure I am not allergic. After 4 days of 100 mcg I woke up early around 4:30am to go to restroom and I was so dizzy I fell. Did not fall hard or hit my head. I felt dizzy all day yesterday. I did not take synthroid thinking that was only thing I changed. Today, my dizziness is better but slightly still there. Can synthroid at higher dosage for people cause dizziness? I was mostly symptom free as a hypothyroid person. Only thing I've noticed is more hair dropping off, outer half of eye brow getting thinner and sometimes general lack of energy. I'm normally very energetic, so I did not notice that too much. Thank you for any info. I will be calling my primary doc who prescribed this tomorrow.
COMMUNITY LEADER
How long have you been on Synthroid? Many people are more sensitive and have to start at lower doses of thyroid hormones. If necessary, you can try splitting pills and drop down to 12.5 mcg, rather than 25 mcg and work your way up more slowly.
What are your actual thyroid hormone levels? You should be getting tested for Free T3 and Free T4, as well as the inevitable TSH. Please post current labs, with reference ranges, which vary from lab to lab and have to come from your own report. Do you know if you have Hashimoto's?
Dry itchy skin is a symptom of hypothyroidism... The electric shock feelings in your feet can be caused by long standing vitamin B-12 deficiency.
What are your actual thyroid hormone levels? You should be getting tested for Free T3 and Free T4, as well as the inevitable TSH. Please post current labs, with reference ranges, which vary from lab to lab and have to come from your own report. Do you know if you have Hashimoto's?
Dry itchy skin is a symptom of hypothyroidism... The electric shock feelings in your feet can be caused by long standing vitamin B-12 deficiency.
I am a 47 year old and what you are describing with an increase of synthroid is EXACTLY what i experienced, dizziness being the most bothersome and hard to function in daily life. I too had the electric shocks in my foot...really painful and out of the blue...didnt connect the two at first..and the itchey skin ..now my eyes itch like crazy and my nose drips. I have dropped my dose to 25mg instead of 50mg a day until i see my doctor and get more bloods.Its the dizziness i cant let go on...its getting worse.
Im 29. And after one month taking Thyroid hormones I started feeling dizziness as well, scary. And same thing with lack of energy.I stopped medication.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Because your FT4 was so high to start with, you should insist that your doctor retest your FT4 and TSH before increasing your medication, further and she should also include FT3, which is the hormone that's actually used by the individual cells. FT4 must be converted to FT3 prior to being used. You should make sure that whole process is working as it should before increasing.
Thank you everyone. My dizziness went away completely after day 6. I have started back at 25 mcg instead of 50 mcg that my doc said. Started the week 3 today and so far ok. I have noticed that I get hunger pangs about 2 hrs after taking the pill, food tastes better (before I was not really hungry), and less brain fog.
I agree that she put me on too high of dosage too quickly. I am planning on being on 25 mcg for total of 4 weeks and increase to 37 mcg. If all ok, stay on 37 mcg for 4 weeks and see if I can handle 50 mcg.
I agree that she put me on too high of dosage too quickly. I am planning on being on 25 mcg for total of 4 weeks and increase to 37 mcg. If all ok, stay on 37 mcg for 4 weeks and see if I can handle 50 mcg.
COMMUNITY LEADER
I think you need a different doctor to manage your thyroid issue (if that's what it is). Your FT4 was at the top of the range when your doctor prescribed you 100 mcg of Synthroid... First off, as I stated before, it's always best to start low and go slow - it's quite likely that there's a dose between 0 and 100 that would fit you better. It's pretty obvious that your doctor was reacting to the elevated TSH result, not your FT4 or she wouldn't have prescribed that much medication.
It also sounds like she's trying to treat you, just as she treats all her hypo patients and that's a definite no no, because we're all different. I'm guessing that she keeps a lot of her patients ill.
Because Synthroid is a very slow acting hormone, it takes 4-6 weeks for a dosage to build in your blood. You were only on the med for 10 days, with only 4 at the entire 100 mcg, so it wouldn't have had time to build.
Just as it takes time for the med to build in your system, so does it take time to get out of your system, but you weren't on it long enough for it to have reached anywhere near full potential in your blood and you've been off it, already for 5 days. If your dizziness hasn't improved, it's likely not because of the synthroid, and you should talk to your doctor about it.
It also sounds like she's trying to treat you, just as she treats all her hypo patients and that's a definite no no, because we're all different. I'm guessing that she keeps a lot of her patients ill.
Because Synthroid is a very slow acting hormone, it takes 4-6 weeks for a dosage to build in your blood. You were only on the med for 10 days, with only 4 at the entire 100 mcg, so it wouldn't have had time to build.
Just as it takes time for the med to build in your system, so does it take time to get out of your system, but you weren't on it long enough for it to have reached anywhere near full potential in your blood and you've been off it, already for 5 days. If your dizziness hasn't improved, it's likely not because of the synthroid, and you should talk to your doctor about it.
I think she should have given you medication slowly and gradually increased up to 50mcg , then retested your blood. Everything I have read states older adults need to increase slowly...I was increased too rapidly and had migraines, and itchiness, and a electrical shocks feelings etc....so better to go up slowly so your gut instincts were right but I agree with barb, I would have started out 2 weeks on each low dosage...sometimes it takes up to a year to get everything balanced because you body has to adjust everything with the meds that your thyroid controls.....not just the thyroid....is a way to explain it.....
Thanks for the information and your comments. Yes, I'm older than 55 and my dizziness is lasting now 5 days. First day was bad. Now, I feel out of balance and issues with brain fog. I've never been dizzy in my life so this really threw me off.
The numbers are before starting the meds. I have been off syntrhoid 100 mcg now for 5 days. I went to see my primary doc who prescribed the meds and she said my numbers are borderline hypo but she normally prescribe 100 to 125 mcg for her patients. She asked that I cut down to 50 mcg. At this point, I want to be off completely to see if my dizziness goes away.
I check my blood pressure several times a day because I do have hypertension, but my BP even after my worst day was ok. Pulse ok.
My husband thinks it is related to synthroid because this started not long after starting the meds. What I read is that it takes some time for the meds to degrade from your body. I'm hoping this is related to high dosage of meds.
The numbers are before starting the meds. I have been off syntrhoid 100 mcg now for 5 days. I went to see my primary doc who prescribed the meds and she said my numbers are borderline hypo but she normally prescribe 100 to 125 mcg for her patients. She asked that I cut down to 50 mcg. At this point, I want to be off completely to see if my dizziness goes away.
I check my blood pressure several times a day because I do have hypertension, but my BP even after my worst day was ok. Pulse ok.
My husband thinks it is related to synthroid because this started not long after starting the meds. What I read is that it takes some time for the meds to degrade from your body. I'm hoping this is related to high dosage of meds.
COMMUNITY LEADER
The symptoms you note (hair loss, eyebrow thinning and lack of energy) are those of hypothyroidism. It's not unusual for symptoms to worsen or for new ones to appear when one starts on a thyroid medication.
Is it safe to assume that you mean "senior", as in age vs senior in school? Typically, we "oldies" should start at lower doses of thyroid med (my doctor started me at 25 mcg for 2 weeks, then up to 50 mcg for 2 weeks, then 75 mcg for 2 weeks and on up to 100 mcg), as should those with heart conditions. This is to allow our body to adjust to the medication (it's also a good idea for younger people as well).
I suspect that your dizziness my have had less to do with the Synthroid than with possibly getting up too quickly and experiencing a sharp drop in blood pressure. It can also be caused by dehydration, which could be present, if you'd not had anything to drink for several hours.
Your FT4 is very near the top of its range. Are those labs prior to starting medication? If so, it would seem that your doctor should be looking at something other than thyroid issues, with an FT4 like that, which indicates that your thyroid is most likely producing adequately; something else is driving up the TSH. High TSH does not always indicate hypothyroidism.
You should talk to your doctor about testing for Free T3, as well as the Free T4. FT4 can't be used directly; it's a storage hormone that must be converted to FT3. FT3 is the hormone that individual cells use. If, for some reason, your body isn't converting the FT4 to FT3 (most conversion is done in the liver, but small amounts are also converted in other organs), FT4 would be high, but FT3 would be low. Low FT3 could cause higher TSH and hypo symptoms, because there isn't enough for your individual cells.
Is it safe to assume that you mean "senior", as in age vs senior in school? Typically, we "oldies" should start at lower doses of thyroid med (my doctor started me at 25 mcg for 2 weeks, then up to 50 mcg for 2 weeks, then 75 mcg for 2 weeks and on up to 100 mcg), as should those with heart conditions. This is to allow our body to adjust to the medication (it's also a good idea for younger people as well).
I suspect that your dizziness my have had less to do with the Synthroid than with possibly getting up too quickly and experiencing a sharp drop in blood pressure. It can also be caused by dehydration, which could be present, if you'd not had anything to drink for several hours.
Your FT4 is very near the top of its range. Are those labs prior to starting medication? If so, it would seem that your doctor should be looking at something other than thyroid issues, with an FT4 like that, which indicates that your thyroid is most likely producing adequately; something else is driving up the TSH. High TSH does not always indicate hypothyroidism.
You should talk to your doctor about testing for Free T3, as well as the Free T4. FT4 can't be used directly; it's a storage hormone that must be converted to FT3. FT3 is the hormone that individual cells use. If, for some reason, your body isn't converting the FT4 to FT3 (most conversion is done in the liver, but small amounts are also converted in other organs), FT4 would be high, but FT3 would be low. Low FT3 could cause higher TSH and hypo symptoms, because there isn't enough for your individual cells.
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