# Feeling hyper on levo



## bbdailey (Sep 29, 2011)

So I started taking levothyroxine 50mcg at the beginning of october and after a week switched to 75mcg(with approval from doctor). The past few days I have felt kind of hyper and yesterday and last night were pretty bad. I barely got any sleep because I was so anxious and uncomfortable. My heart was racing and I just felt off. I know that there are ups and downs when getting on the right dose but is it bad to feel hyper? Should I contact my doctor or is this just part of the process?


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

It's part of the process _and_ you should contact your doctor. It may have been too big of a jump.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

bbdailey said:


> So I started taking levothyroxine 50mcg at the beginning of october and after a week switched to 75mcg(with approval from doctor). The past few days I have felt kind of hyper and yesterday and last night were pretty bad. I barely got any sleep because I was so anxious and uncomfortable. My heart was racing and I just felt off. I know that there are ups and downs when getting on the right dose but is it bad to feel hyper? Should I contact my doctor or is this just part of the process?


I never heard of a doc starting a patient on 50 mcg. and then bumping them up to 75 mcg. in one week. This is not a good plan.

The patient should stay on the initial starting dose for 8 weeks, get labs of TSH, FREE T4 and FREE T3, get clinical evaluation and if titration upward is needed, it should be done in small increments with the repeat of the above process for as long as necessary until the patient is euthyroid (feeling well.)

So.......................I do believe a call to your doctor would be in order. Your body did not even get used to the first dose of 50 mcg.. It takes 8 weeks for T4 to build up and level off.

Please let us know what your doc has to say and also how you are feeling. I know that many of us here will remain concerned until we hear from you.

None of us are docs so we can't tell you to stop your med or continue on. If for any reason you think there is a serious problem, get to the ER. These things always happen on the weekend.

Welcome and do take care!


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## northernlite (Oct 28, 2010)

Andros is right on. You should be back at 50 mcg until you see how your body responds to that. Next step would be 62.5 if you need an increase which many doctors don't think of because levo is not manufactured in that dose. It is half of a 125 mcg so it is easy and cost effective to take!


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

northernlite said:


> Andros is right on. You should be back at 50 mcg until you see how your body responds to that. Next step would be 62.5 if you need an increase which many doctors don't think of because levo is not manufactured in that dose. It is half of a 125 mcg so it is easy and cost effective to take!


+1!


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## bbdailey (Sep 29, 2011)

Thanks for the comments! I plan on taking a 50mcg tomorrow and then getting in touch with my doctor to get another prescription for 50. Will I stay hyper for a while since I took the 75 for a week and a half or should the symptoms simmer pretty soon?


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

bbdailey said:


> Thanks for the comments! I plan on taking a 50mcg tomorrow and then getting in touch with my doctor to get another prescription for 50. Will I stay hyper for a while since I took the 75 for a week and a half or should the symptoms simmer pretty soon?


Let us know how you are feeling back on the 50 mcg. and also what your doc has to say.

Everyone is so different in how they react. You did not take the 75 mcg. for a long time so I would say a few days and you should simmer down. Let us know.


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## bbdailey (Sep 29, 2011)

So my doctor is fine with me going back on the 50 mcg levo then checking levels in 6-8 weeks. Im still feeling anxious and a little uncomfortable....also I feel like im getting heart palpitations but I have a hard time telling if its the heart or muscle contrations? I have been able to sleep though so hopefully I will calm down within the next few days and start to feel more normal.


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

Here is an awesome article about anxiety (and other things) and endocrine diseases: Link

Of interest is the fact that Dr. Hall mentions the following in his report about sleep -- and I would say based on personal experience he's right on. Once you start sleeping better things _should_ be on the road to improvement.

"The anxiety associated with significant hypothyroidism usually resolves within days to months following the initiation of treatment. The clinician must remember that the central nervous system effects of profound hypothyroidism may not fully clear for two to twelve months after successful treatment. Sleep and growth hormone production during sleep have been shown to be disturbed for weeks to months following the replacement of thyroid hormone. Return of these functions to normal seems to be related to the cessation of the anxiety states that these patients experience.34 Kales et al have shown that patients' improvement parallels restoration of their normal sleep patterns, and, in fact, note that the return of a normal sleep pattern is an excellent predictor of treatment outcome."


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## Gwen1 (Sep 3, 2011)

bigfoot said:


> Here is an awesome article about anxiety (and other things) and endocrine diseases: Link
> 
> Of interest is the fact that Dr. Hall mentions the following in his report about sleep -- and I would say based on personal experience he's right on. Once you start sleeping better things _should_ be on the road to improvement.
> 
> "The anxiety associated with significant hypothyroidism usually resolves within days to months following the initiation of treatment. The clinician must remember that the central nervous system effects of profound hypothyroidism may not fully clear for two to twelve months after successful treatment. Sleep and growth hormone production during sleep have been shown to be disturbed for weeks to months following the replacement of thyroid hormone. Return of these functions to normal seems to be related to the cessation of the anxiety states that these patients experience.34 Kales et al have shown that patients' improvement parallels restoration of their normal sleep patterns, and, in fact, note that the return of a normal sleep pattern is an excellent predictor of treatment outcome."


How did you come across him (Dr. Hall), bigfoot? That is some good research!
And I can match his findings with my own experience.


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

Thanks! Stumbled across that one by blind luck. Yeah, it sure is amazing how some of that stuff matches up. Oh the fun of Google!


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