# How much longer?



## bbdailey (Sep 29, 2011)

Hey everyone I basically asked this same question on my other post but I havent gotten a response and Im feeling really crummy. I started taking the levo a month ago and havent felt better yet. The first time I took the medication I started feeling better around 3 weeks to a month. This time I took the 50mcg levo for a week then the 75 for a week and a half then back to the 50 for the past 2 weeks. The last week I have felt worse and its confusing me. Do you guys think that switching from the 75 to 50 is what is making me feel awful. I thought I would be feeling better by now but I hope it wont be much longer. Anyone have similar stories?


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## Octavia (Aug 1, 2011)

Many of us have learned that patience is key when it comes to feeling better when dealing with thyroid disease. Sometimes it takes months.

Are you feeling ANY different at all?


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## bbdailey (Sep 29, 2011)

Im feeling worse. I was working before and just dealing with the feeling because ive become numb to it almost its been with me so long. But the past 3 weeks have been worse and worse. The 75 mcg made me feel hyper so i went back down to 50 and the past week I just havent felt good at all. Very tired, kinda anxious, just not well.


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## webster2 (May 19, 2011)

Do you react to color additives etc.? In the 50 mcg, there aren't any. However, in the 75 mcg, FD&C Red No. 40 Aluminum Lake, FD&C Blue No. 2 Aluminum Lake. I know some people that are bothered by the extras in medications. Just a thought...


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

This is probably the most frustrating part of thyroid problems. I am going through this process again myself right now and it is super-rough. Hang in there, things will get better!

Your experience sounds a lot like mine. I started with and took 50 MCG of generic Levothyroxine for over a year, with no changes to the dose. I began taking it in early February 2010 and while I generally felt a little better within weeks, it seemed to take until late April or early May to really give things a kick. During this timeframe my TSH went from 6.82 down to 1.79 (and probably a little less).

So my rough guesstimate is that it took me 3 months (~12 weeks) to get things steady at a constant dose of 50 MCG. Your mileage may vary, everyone is different.

Fast forward to this year and my TSH was creeping up over the spring and summer... 2.72, 3.17, 3.28, 3.64. Due to my own impatience and the complications of thyroid issues versus doctors' understanding, I went from 50 MCG to 75 MCG to briefly 100 MCG, back down to 62.5 MCG, then up to 75 MCG and on to 88 MCG, followed by adding some Cytomel (both 2.5 MCG and 5.0 MCG), and even trying 100 MCG of Levothyroxine again.

It is so hard to be patient and wait when you don't feel good. I think you are right-on when you point to the frequent thyroid medicine dose changes you had recently. My gut impression (I'm no doc) is that by giving your body external thyroid hormone it gets briefly lazy and slows its own production. So if you were taking 75 MCG and then backed down to 50 MCG, your body has to ramp things up itself again. Too quick an increase for me made things awful. So did too much medication -- I wound up feeling hyper, anxious, depressed, and stomach upset (but sadly, no extra energy).

If I had it to do all over again I would have gone from 50 MCG to 62.5 MCG (half a 125 MCG pill), THEN on to 75 MCG and go from there. Slow & steady.

hugs3


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## bbdailey (Sep 29, 2011)

Thanks for your reply bigfoot! Your right patience is the hardest part! The past year I have lost almost everything in my life and I am trying to get everything back together but I have to give it time. Hopefully my body will adjust soon and I can live a normal life again!


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

You will get there, we all will! hugs6

It is a tough issue, these thyroid problems -- few people understand exactly what it's like unless they've been there. It's hard for family members, friends, and doctors to see you as "sick" or not feeling well when there really isn't many obvious outward signs & symptoms. Instead, it's this huge collection of smaller things that come together as one big puzzle. You can walk and talk, so to them, you're absolutely fine.

Dunno, but this might make you feel a little better; I went through a year of chemo before being diagnosed with hypothyroidism and now Hashimoto's. If I had to choose I would say the chemo was easier! (Seriously.)

:hugs:


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