# Overmedication signs?



## aleks80 (Aug 31, 2011)

Hello,
I am taking L-thyroxine for 3.5 months now.

in the begining my TSH was 5.8
I began taking 25mg L-thyroxine.
After 1.5 months, the TSH went to 3
The doctor asked me to switch to 50 mg.
1 month later my TSH was 1.9. I began feeling that my heart rate goes too high. Also I began feeling shortness of breath. Several weeks later I switched to 37mg daily, but the symptoms continued. The cardiologist made me ECG, my pulse was very high and blood pressure elevated, and prescribed me some medications for lowering them.
Now I still feel bad, is it possible L-thyroxine to damage your heart?
Now I stopped taking the L-thyroxine for several days, and went to do lab tests. I decided to measure also the FT3 and FT4:

FT3: 4.95 (3.1-6.8)
FT4: 22.78 (12-22)
TSH: 1.97 (0.27 - 4.2)

Is it possible such small dose (37 mg - I weigh 90kg.) to raise my heart rate and blood pressure and to make me feel short of breath? I feel so awful.


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

If your body is absorbing and using the medicine well, then yes, this could be the explanation. You may have a very sensitive system, with a small window of "good" TSH levels. I think many of us would feel great with a TSH of 1.97, but it may not be right for you.

I'm assuming by your post that you started taking the L-thyroxine because you were slightly hypothyroid, as indicated by your slightly elevated TSH at the beginning. Because that's only "a little bit high" perhaps 50 mcg is too high of a dose for you. I don't understand why your doctor doubled your dose after 6 weeks, when your TSH was decreasing on the 25. 25 might be the right amount for you.

Were you feeling good/better on your original dose of 25? If so, I'd check with your doctor to see if you can go back to that.


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## joplin1975 (Jul 21, 2011)

Prior to surgery, my TSH was right around where yours was...they prescribed 50 mcgs and I felt awful. I didn't ever get my blood re-tested b/c I went straight to surgery, but the elevated heart rate & blood pressure, along with a generalized agitated feeling are essentially what I experienced. Long term elevated heart rate and blood pressure can cause hardening of the arteries, but, again, that's long term.

I think you might be a candidate for 25 mcgs, but you'll need to speak with your doctor.


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

aleks80 said:


> Is it possible such small dose (37 mg - I weigh 90kg.) to raise my heart rate and blood pressure and to make me feel short of breath? I feel so awful.


Yes. Everybody's responses are right-on. Chiming in with my newbie experience; I also think you are just very sensitive to medications. How are you when taking other things? Do you notice similar sensitivities?

I was on 50 mcg, then was bumped up to 75 mcg which felt like a LOT to me. So I stepped down to 62.5 mcg, then slowly back up to 75 mcg and then 88 mcg. Those are pretty small dose increments (12.5 mcg at a time) and even they were noticed relatively quickly. When they tried to bump me from 50 mcg to 75 mcg to 100 mcg in a couple weeks' time I felt absolutely awful.

Yup, a very narrow therapeutic window for levothyroxine. My doc informs me that it is also a logarithmic scale, not linear. So that makes things even *more* difficult. I am surprised there aren't ways to fine tune things further with smaller dose increments for the in-between folks.


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

aleks80 said:


> Hello,
> I am taking L-thyroxine for 3.5 months now.
> 
> in the begining my TSH was 5.8
> ...


Perhaps you are not converting too well. That is what it seems like to me. Your FT4 is in the upper limit whereas your FT3 is right at the mid-range of the range provided by your lab. There is a reason the FT4 is built up in your system like that. Usually we would see FT4 a bit lower and the FT3 a bit higher indicating that conversion is taking place.

It makes me wonder if you have had any antibody tests. There are antibodies that are binding and blocking to the receptor sites.

What does your doctor say about these labs?

How is your Ferritin level?

Ferritin http://www.thewayup.com/newsletters/081504.htm
(should be 50 to 100; the closer to 100, the better)

Not sure I have been helpful; it's a puzzlement!


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## aleks80 (Aug 31, 2011)

Octavia said:


> Were you feeling good/better on your original dose of 25? If so, I'd check with your doctor to see if you can go back to that.


I did not have much hypothyroid symptoms, the increased TSH was found accidentaly connected to another lab test so I am not sure how better I should feel from the medication...


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## aleks80 (Aug 31, 2011)

Andros said:


> Perhaps you are not converting too well. That is what it seems like to me. Your FT4 is in the upper limit whereas your FT3 is right at the mid-range of the range provided by your lab. There is a reason the FT4 is built up in your system like that. Usually we would see FT4 a bit lower and the FT3 a bit higher indicating that conversion is taking place.
> 
> It makes me wonder if you have had any antibody tests. There are antibodies that are binding and blocking to the receptor sites.
> 
> ...


The antibodies are:
ATG - 36 (do not remember the reference ranges, i think <6)
ATPO - 158 (ref.range probably <30)

You said something about problems converting? But if this was the case, then the metabolism and heart rate wouldn't go up? or I am wrong?

Never heard for Ferritin, i'll check


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

aleks80 said:


> I did not have much hypothyroid symptoms, the increased TSH was found accidentaly connected to another lab test so I am not sure how better I should feel from the medication...


Are you saying that the TSH, the FT4 and the FT3 were not taken at the same time?


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## aleks80 (Aug 31, 2011)

Andros said:


> Are you saying that the TSH, the FT4 and the FT3 were not taken at the same time?


only TSH was tested until now. The doctors are saying that it is more sensitive and no need to test the otehr.
I decided to test FT4 and FT3 myself.

With these TSH,FT3,FT4 levels is it safe to stop taking the l-thyroxine for week or two? How much time is needed to see what will be the values without the medication?


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

aleks80 said:


> The antibodies are:
> ATG - 36 (do not remember the reference ranges, i think <6)
> ATPO - 158 (ref.range probably <30)
> 
> ...


It just depends; low Ferritin can cause the same symptoms. That is why I inquired.

However, you do have antibodies indigenous to thyroid disease. Thank you for posting them.

As for your TSH and the other levels. They must be all taken at the same time in order for a proper assessment.


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