# Levothyroxine mega dose(starting dose!). 250mg! My results



## GREEKHYPO (Jan 31, 2018)

Hello. Two weeks ago my doctor prescribed me levothyroxine 62mg. I felt good the first day(placebo effect) but the next two days i felt like i usually feel for the last four years. I felt tired and depressed.

I said [email protected] it. I don't really have any more patience so i took the decision to take 250mg every night(4 hours after dinner). And today finally i feel good, i feel like i have energy, no depression , my eyes are not twitching , no blurry vision. I don't have any side effects.

I am 32 years old, 185 cm, 84 kilos.I did some research and found that bigger doses of levothyroxine for people with no heart problems is better than starting with low doses. Many patients after 4 weeks achieved normal function. Also before blood tests doctors used to prescribe 200-400mg doses and not 25mg they prescribe today. Really 25mg is nothing for a young male that wants to train, to work and have goals to achieve.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3267517/

Dosage of levothyroxine

Levothyroxine is the treatment of choice for hypothyroidism. It has a 7 day half-life, allowing daily dosing.12 A randomized controlled trial has shown that, in patients with no significant comorbidities, initiation of levothyroxine at a full dose based on body weight (1.6 μg/kg/day) is safe, effective, and requires fewer resources than using a more traditional approach of starting with a small dose and gradually titrating upward.32 The exceptions to this are the elderly and patients with known ischemic heart disease (see the "Levothyroxine replacement in special circumstances" section of this review).


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## jenny v (May 6, 2012)

Wait, are you saying you went from taking 62mg to 250mg?? That is a MASSIVE increase, how long have you been taking the larger dose?


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

Welcome to the board!!



> Two weeks ago my doctor prescribed me levothyroxine 62mg. I felt good the first day(placebo effect) but the next two days i felt like i usually feel for the last four years. I felt tired and depressed.
> 
> I said [email protected] it. I don't really have any more patience so i took the decision to take 250mg every night(4 hours after dinner). And today finally i feel good, i feel like i have energy, no depression , my eyes are not twitching , no blurry vision. I don't have any side effects.


Probably NOT a good thing to do - you are lucky you did not have a heart attack.

Do you have any beginning thyroid lab results with ranges you could share?

You Should also have FT-4 and FT-3 run now then reduce your dose.

Manufacturer recommended dose is 1.7mcg per kilogram which makes your dose 142.8. Your article states 1.6 which would make your dose 134.4mcg

I don't see in yuor article where they suggested taking such a high does - you are going to do yourself some real harm

Eventually you will go hyper thyroid and risk heart attack.

Most doctors prescribe and retest in 6 weeks to see how the body is reacting. It can take 4-6 weeks to feel the full effects.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

jenny v said:


> Wait, are you saying you went from taking 62mg to 25mg?? That is a MASSIVE increase, how long have you been taking the larger dose?


I'm reading it as he is taking 250mcg not mg as mcg is how it's made.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Agreed. Not advisable.

Levo builds up in your system. You may feel good now but things could go downhill quickly. Please reconsider.


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## creepingdeath (Apr 6, 2014)

300mcg is the maximum dose they make.............

You think being hypothyroid isn't fun.....?

Wait till you become hyperthyroid..........

Some people actually take this large of a dose.

But you should be doing it under a doctors care....

"hope you live close to a hospital"


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## GREEKHYPO (Jan 31, 2018)

jenny v said:


> Wait, are you saying you went from taking 62mg to 250mg?? That is a MASSIVE increase, how long have you been taking the larger dose?


Yes.That is correct. I have been taking it for 11 days. After two weeks i will do a blood test to see my tsh-t3-t4 levels. My case was so bad that i could not even digest anything. I felt like i had gastroparesis when the food sits on stomach for too long. I had no energy to get out of bed , i felt like i was gonna faint everyday, my eyes were twitching non stop and i had blurry vision.

250mg seems high but from what i am reading athletes take 200-400mg doses and before tsh blood tests most doctors prescribed more than 200mg based on how you feel. There are people with tsh level more than 10 that feel better than me. Right now i feel like i am restarting my body.

Also with my impaired digestive tract i doubt i am properly absorbing all the levothyroxine.

FINALLY I DON'T ADVISE ANYONE TO FOLLOW WHAT I AM DOING. I am a grown man and responsible for what i do. I just want to post my results. If i go hyper i will post it. Right now i am taking levothyroxine for two weeks(first 3 days 62mg, 11 days 248mg). Still i am not cured and feel tired most of the time but there are many hours that i feel great and my digestion has dramatically improved.


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## creepingdeath (Apr 6, 2014)

It's a very high dose.....
I'm guessing in about two months you'll know what were all talking about.
You're looking for a fast fix......
I've been treated for thyroid disease for 7 years now and I still ain't right............
But then again it might be your dose............
Everyone's different and I've heard of all kinds of strange things with thyroid disease.

Good Luck to you...........


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## GREEKHYPO (Jan 31, 2018)

creepingdeath said:


> It's a very high dose.....
> I'm guessing in about two months you'll know what were all talking about.
> You're looking for a fast fix......
> I've been treated for thyroid disease for 7 years now and I still ain't right............
> ...


I can't wait months or years to feel good. The research shows that full dose replacement gives fast and better results. Although i don't take 1.6-1.7mg per kilo but a lot more. I do this to shock my system. I will lower the dose after a week. I will go from 250mg to around 185mg. After two weeks i will post here the results from the blood test.

Today i woke up tired again with headache and eye twitching. I know that there isn't a quick fix but i try to speed things up. Doctors don't have a clue about this disease. They prescribe 25 or 50mg and it does not matter to them if you are a young thin male with no heart disease or a 60 years old fat man with heart disease.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

> The research shows that full dose replacement gives fast and better results. Although i don't take 1.6-1.7mg per kilo but a lot more. I do this to shock my system. I will lower the dose after a week. I will go from 250mg to around 185mg.


You are not following full dose replacement - you are playing a very dangerous game with your health. This "shocking my system" is likely to get you dead.



> Manufacturer recommended dose is 1.7mcg per kilogram which makes your dose 142.8. Your article states 1.6 which would make your dose 134.4mcg


Time to stop playing doctor -


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## creepingdeath (Apr 6, 2014)

Hey, I'm a guy too who is somewhat like an athlete. I work as a skilled Laborer in the construction field. 
When I was first treated I was given 125mcg of Levothyroxine because of no heart problems.
The full dose when going by my body weight.
Within a month I was in the ER with breathing issues.
I had to cut back on the dose but suffered this breathing problem for weeks to a month till my levels went down.
IT WAS NOT FUN...........

You might want to listen to people who have been through trying to get well faster taking more meds than prescribed.


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## Isthmus123 (May 19, 2016)

This is really the most careless thing I have ever read on this board. Why not start at something more reasonable like 88mcg? Maybe 100 mcg after 6 weeks?
You're making an impatient, emotional decision-and not a good one.


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## GREEKHYPO (Jan 31, 2018)

Isthmus123 said:


> This is really the most careless thing I have ever read on this board. Why not start at something more reasonable like 88mcg? Maybe 100 mcg after 6 weeks?
> You're making an impatient, emotional decision-and not a good one.


With all the posts about my future death i lowered the dose from 250 to 185mcg. After two weeks i will do the blood test. It would be two weeks or 250mcg and two weeks of 185mcg. Something tells me that still i will be hypo. It has been more than two weeks and still i am hypo. I am a little better but i still have fatigue, my eyes are twitching, constipation , headache.

Maybe switch my dose and take it in the morning? I take it at night 4 hours after dinner now.


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## fttfbass (Jan 8, 2014)

I see a couple of potential issues with being on such a high dose.

The first is the most obvious. Once you go hyper, you'll be hyper for a while. It takes a long time for T4 meds to build up in your system. It also takes a long time to leave your system. By the time you start feeling hyper, it's going to be way too late to make any adjustments for quick relief of hyper symptoms.

I don't know how low your labs were, but I'm not understanding why you think you need a full replacement dose of T4 meds. T4 meds work in addition to what your thyroid is still putting out. It's not like T3 meds which do suppress TSH and your own thyroids hormone production. Unless I missed the part where you had your thyroid removed?

Your body may not know what to do with such a high starting dose and may convert a lot of the T4 into Reverse T3, which is definitely not ideal.

Using such a high dose to shock your body may do just that. Which in turn could mess with your adrenal function.


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## GREEKHYPO (Jan 31, 2018)

fttfbass said:


> I see a couple of potential issues with being on such a high dose.
> 
> The first is the most obvious. Once you go hyper, you'll be hyper for a while. It takes a long time for T4 meds to build up in your system. It also takes a long time to leave your system. By the time you start feeling hyper, it's going to be way too late to make any adjustments for quick relief of hyper symptoms.
> 
> ...


Thanks all for the replies.

In my country doctors don't really know much about thyroid. Most they specialise at diabetes. Two relatives have hashimoto and still they feel terrible and depressed after many years. Doctors just don't know what they are doing. TSH and T3 T4 levels can show that you are fine and you can feel terrible. For example my TSH (4.7 mIU/ML) is considered normal in my country although new research shows that anything above 1.5 means that you have hypo.

Doctors don't prescribe on how you feel. How a 32 years old male can feel like a 90 years old? With no strength to get out of bed? With indigestion, constipation, hair loss etc.

My lab results were these

T3 0.90 ng/ml

T4 6.7 mg/dl

TSH 4.7

I do care about my health but i don't have patience with the low dose. I think i might do a blood test next Monday. It would be 3 weeks after i started the medication


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Just to clear the air -- you are preaching to the choir. We have ALL felt horrible.

My post-op TSH was 121. That's not a typo -- *121*. I was almost hospitalized.

You know what we did not do? We did not blast my body with massive doses of levo. Why? Because it can have a significant negative impact on your heart and I like my heart to stay healthy.

It took 18 long months for this to regulate and stabilize. I work full time and have an active and busy life. I do not do well with being patient. But that's the ironic thing about thyroid disease. If you aren't patient, you will learn to be.


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## GREEKHYPO (Jan 31, 2018)

joplin1975 said:


> Just to clear the air -- you are preaching to the choir. We have ALL felt horrible.
> 
> My post-op TSH was 121. That's not a typo -- *121*. I was almost hospitalized.
> 
> ...


What i don't understand is why you think i will kill myself. Many athletes with no hypothyroidism take 200-300mcg doses just to lose fat or to increase performance. Right now i take 185mcg from a generic levothyroxine drug made in my country . Can anyone show me any research that shows that people with no heart problems died because they took 200-300mcg levothyroxine?


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

I never said you would kill yourself. Others might have, but not me.

I said it was not advisable. I said there is a risk of cardiac issues. Cardiac issues does not = death. But, still, from where I sit, I would select fatigue and a lower quality of life for a few months over heart issues.


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## GREEKHYPO (Jan 31, 2018)

I forgot to mention that although it is February we have sunny days in Greece so i go out and walk at least 30 minutes under the sun. I can tell the difference. I always felt better during spring and summer. I guess with vitamin d thyroid pumps out more thyroid hormones.

Also i refuse to take vitamin d supplements. Most people with hypothyroidism have leaky gut and constipation and can't absorve properly foods or vitamins.


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## Lovlkn (Dec 20, 2009)

> Can anyone show me any research that shows that people with no heart problems died because they took 200-300mcg levothyroxine?


Warnings and adverse reactions are in the drug insert.



> the common clinical signs and symptoms include nervousness, insomnia, mild tremor of hands, *tachycardia*, mild elevation of body temperature, *blood pressure elevation* and loose stools. Rarely more *serious late effects occur, including coma, convulsions and acute psychosis.* Cardiac effects aside from tachycardia are seldom seen in young adults but *may occur in middle age and older adults, with reported arrhythmias and acute myocardial infarction.* However, only one fatality has been reported.


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279036/

What you have been told is true and medically proven.

This board cannot condone your practice of ingesting massive doses of levothyroxine, nor the sharing of your experiences doing it, therefore this thread will be locked from further posting.


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