Levothyroxine

CarlyF

Hi all,

I've just started levothyroxine to treat borderline thyroid levels to see if it will help me with my fatigue.

I've only been on them now since Sunday, but i'm still getting real dizzy after taking them, can't drive in the morning and I hate my work being effected by my condition.

I'm just curious if anyone else had similar when starting? My pharmacist, who has been on this for 12 yrs said to take them first thing on an empty stomach, but i'm thinking if I take them at night, then i can sleep through most of the dizzyness i get... or maybe I should go see my doc this week if it should be going away, i'm hoping i will get used to them soon though.

THanks for any advice / experiences shared.

Carly

elnafinn

Hi Carly

I have no medical experience, but I have been taking thyroxine tabs (Levothyroxine) since I was 16 years old after having a nodular goitre removed and I am now 60 years old. I have always taken the med in the morning and I have never felt any dizziness at all afterwards. That does not seem right at all by my way of thinking that you should be feeling dizzy. At first it is very much trial and error with the help of your consultant/gp as to how much thyroxine you should take daily and blood tests then show if you are taking enough, too much or not enough. It can take a while to find out what dosage you do actually need. Over the years, from starting on half a tablet after my operation and experimenting with that, along with bloodtests to check and with my consultants expertise, I went up to taking quite a high dosage for years but now I only take 125 mcgs daily. I have blood tests at least twice a year at the surgery to check.

I hope that when you are having blood tested for levels of thyroxine it is checked for T4 as well. I would ask that question. Mine was not some years ago and in the end to cut a long story short I was taking too much thyroxine for a long time which is not good for bone density for starters.

I hope it can soon be sorted out for you and you no longer suffer from dizziness. I would go back and see your gp in a couple of days if symptoms persist.

Elna x

tjc123

Hi Carly

I take my levothyroxine first thing on a morning & I have never had any dizziness at all.

Sorry Im not much help but I would speak to your GP
tjc

wannabewriter

Hi

I've been on levothyroxine for seven years now, always take it first hting on an empty stomach. If you take it at the end of the day it can not be as effective as you have other things to contend wth (other medications, some foods like cruciferous veg are particularly bad for thyroid).

At first, I did get dizzyness but that was because I wasnt a big breakfaster. Now, I take the thyroxine and then eat about fifteen minutes later and it's all fine. I would get it checked out by your GP though.

It could also be coinkydink and you might be coming down with something else! I say this cos it normally takes a good few weeks for thyroxine to get into the system properly (most brands have a half life of about 8 days, so you shouldn't start feeling effects until at least a week in, took me months to feel the effect of mine!)

Good luck xx

wannabewriter

Also, a really quick thought, if you are on painkillers some of them (NSAID based ones I think) can give you a false thyroid blood test result, so you need to come off them two days before your test. Didn't know this til my pharmacist pointed it out!

tiggernut

Hi Carly,

I've been on 125micrograms for over 20 years now and have never had any problems. Maybe the dose needs adjusting.

Anita.