Too much thyroid medicine

[am412]

I take .025 dose of synthroid but grabbed my husbands pill bottle this morning which is 8 times the dose. Do I need to be concened about this?

[flyingfool]

Be sure that you are reading the units correctly between the two prescriptions.  

1,000 mcg (micro grams)  = 1 Mgs (miligrams)

So in your case 0.025 mgs = 25 mcgs

Another way to look at it is that you are taking 25 mcgs.  Well 8 times that is 200 mcgs.  And while a high amount it is not totally unheard of.  When you get to the 200 mcg level it would indicate that his thyroid is actually producing next to nothing.

The key is to get your Free T3 and Free T4 tests done.  And the general rule of thumb is that symptom relief seems to occur when the FT4 is about mid range and the FT3 in the UPPER 1/3 of the range.

Do not let the Dr's just treat you enough to put you in the range.  if you stay in the lower parts of the range you will likely still not feel well.

If your Dr's ONLY test TSH.  Find a new Dr. ASAP!  They will almost assuredly not be able to adjust your medication to make you feel well.  TSH is completely unreliable tool to tweak medicine dosage.

[goolarra]

Synthroid builds in your system over several weeks.  Your levels today are a combination of everything you've taken for the last six weeks.  Call your doctor...he might advise you to discontinue your usual dose for a few days to compensate.  

I recently read an article by a doctor who stated that due to the long half life of Synthroid we could probably take 7 times our daily dose once a week with the same effect as taking it daily.  That's not something I'd want to try, but it does illustrate the nature of the drug.