My doctor just today prescribed synthyroid for me. Does anybody have any info and experience with this medication? I am 3 years out from diagnosis and doc says my thyroid is now toasted so I guess this is a med I'll take for life. Any information would be helpful. Thanks,

Pam

Hi Pam,

Yes, I too have to take thyroid pills. After about 5 months after treatment I was having all sorts of problems. Had Thyroid test and I ended up with hypothyroidism.

From what I have read here on OCF there are a lot of us with this condition.

I am also having some other problems with Body temperature. I am going to go to another Dr. Soon so I can get it under control or a least some answers.

So Girl you are not alone on this one.
Take care,
Diane

I just started taking levothyroxine (generic synthroid) last November. By the time they put me on it I was having severe bhypothyroid symptoms, as they had not tested me in a year (although I thought they had tested me over the summer). I was constantly exhausted, could not get warm, etc. In the two months since then I have gotten most of my energy back and don't get chilled so easily.

My understanding is that synthroid, in the correct dose, has very few side effects you need to watch out for. The trick to keeping your thyroid stable with it is you have to always take it on a completely empty stomach and not have anything in your stomach for an hour after taking it--even having a morning cup of coffee after taking it can disrupt it's effectiveness!

You are definitely not alone, though. My understanding is this is a pretty common after-effect of radiation to the neck.

Nelie

Pam,

I am so glad that you posted this question. Everyone that has completed their treatment should be tested. I think it gets over looked at times.

Nelie, I did not know that coffee would interfere. Thanks for mentioning that.

Pam, the other Dr. I am going to consult is called a Endocrinologist. I could not think of the name on my other post to you..

take care,
Diane

Pam --

My mother began taking synthetic thyroid pills after her thyroid was removed in the early 1960s (yes, more than 40 years ago), and my husband has taken them for a "sluggish thyroid" for about five years. Your doctor will periodically do tests to fine-tune the dosage -- for example, my husband takes one pill every other day -- but neither has had any problems with the medication.

All the best,
Leslie

Thanks Diane, Nelie and Leslie for your responses. I started with the medication this morning - hearing from you guys made me more comfortable doing so and am now looking forward to not being so cold most of the time and a little more energy would be nice. I did read somewhere that you should limit your intake of soy with the Levothyroxine. I am going to ask my pharmacist about amounts. I drink a glass of soy milk daily but thought I would put a hold on that till I talk to the pharmacist. Will let you know what I find out. Take care everyone

Pam

Hi Pam, I have been on synthroid now for almost a year...I was so incredibly tired and run down all the time, finally had my blood work done and it came back showing I have hypothryoid (sp?). Anyway, my doc has gradually increased the dosage, to get the proper level on blood test, but I am always tired......I have soy milk every morning with my cereal..Take Care and I hope you start feeling more energetic, oh and I was extremely cold all the time (hands and feet) that has stopped.....Carol

Altho John is in such gloomy shape that it's hard to know what is going on when, I am latching on to this thread for a "ray of hope" for some energy boost for him. He has been Levothyroxine 75 mcg for a couple of years. However, he takes it with his am feeding most of the time. Somehow the info about taking it on an empty stomach got lost . I'd like to know what dosage you all are taking and how often you get a thyroid test run. Thanks, Amy

Amy,

Dr. S put me on Levothyroxine 0.100 mg (100mcg) - 1 tablet in the mornings on empty stomach - don't eat for an hour,like Nelie said. He didn't say how often he would run a thyroid test - just that we would see where I'm at at my next check-up in April.

Carol,

Thanks for the added info - I would think a couple servings of soy a day would be OK - I just don't like dairy milk anymore - the soy is much more palatable to me - dairy milk seems to be too thick for my dry mouth - even the skim milk. I am so tired of being cold - how long did it take for you to notice improvement in that area? Thanks, Pam

I've been on synthroid for almost 2 years now. As a result of my last blood test, they upped my dosage to 75 mcg. I started getting symptoms around 5 months after completion of Rad treatments. The symptoms were a sudden 4 or 5 pound weight gain, sluggishness, and cold extremities. I felt cold all the time. I also had symptoms of what I thought was carpel tunnel syndrome in one wrist, but was told that it might have also been a symptom of the fried thyroid, as hypothyroid can cause fluid retention at the joints. After starting Synthroid, the joint pain cleared up, and I felt much better.

The symptoms returned a month ago, and sure enough, my blood tests showed a need to increase the synthroid dose. I don't remember being told to take it on an empty stomach, but I do remember instructions to not take a multivitamin which contains iron, as it would interfere with absorption. The multivitamin should be taken later in the day.

I found some good info at AllThyroid.org
Here's a link to the website:
http://www.tsh.org/index.html

It is a very easy side effect to manage. Synthroid has been around for more than 50 years,and is one of the most prescribed drugs in the world. The generics have not been around as long, and have gotten a lot of bad press about consistent dosing. My doc writes the script to be filled as written, and luckily, because it is relatively inexpensive, my drug plan dispenses Synthroid as the generic. I am to have another blood test after I have been on the new dosage for 6 weeks, and adjustments will be made based on that.

Hope this info helps.

Good Health,

Chuck