So anyway, for a variety of reasons, mainly financial, I stopped going to my personal trainer about 9 months ago and started stress eating, and as could be predicted I’ve really packed on the weight. Now that I have Obamacare I had a free annual checkup visit last month and the doctor noted the weight issue with concern. She had done a thyroid workup last year and said I was somewhat hypo thyroid and prescribed levothyroxine to kick my levels back up.
She asked if I had been taking it as prescribed and I told I had not as I took it for about a month last year and absolutely nothing happened. She told me that it often takes several months for the medication to work (really?) and doubled the previously prescribed dose to “50 MCG” tabs.
So, maybe it was a bad idea but over the last week or so I’ve been taking two 50 mcg tabs a day instead of the prescribed one and I’ve found it’s starting to have something of an appetite supressant effect. It’s slight but it’s noticable.
Honestly I’ll take any help where I can get it re appetite control. Is doubling up to 100 MCG a day of levothyroxine more of a danger than being fat?
"You shouldn’t take more levothyroxine than your doctor prescribes.
If you take too much of the drug, you may develop symptoms of overactive thyroid, including fatigue, sensitivity to heat, increased appetite, and sweating.
Symptoms of a levothyroxine overdose may also include:
•Confusion and disorientation
•Shock
•Coma
•Death
If you or someone else has symptoms of an overdose, call a poison control center at 800-222-1222. If someone collapses or isn’t breathing, call 911."
Bad idea. Really really bad idea. Thyroid storm is not something you want to do to yourself.
You may have noticed that thyroid replacement hormones are dosed in micrograms, and 2 digit numbers of micrograms. A very little bit of increase can cause a huge change in thyroid function.
It often takes 6 weeks to see an effect from starting or an increase in synthroid. Not quite “several months,” but more than one.
Assuming you’ve already taken your double dose today, PLEASE call your doctor tonight and ask her what to do for your dose tomorrow morning. Have her paged. It’s that serious. I don’t know how to advise you to fix this, because changing down drastically in thyroid dose is dangerous, too. Any change, up or down, should only be done at the direction of a doctor.
Thyroid storm is a worse-case scenario. However, taking too much of the drug WILL cause hyperthyroidism, which can seriously damage your heart and lead to heart failure. Appetite suppression is not a symptom of hyperthyroidism. Early symptoms of hyperthyroidism are subtle, but it can lead to tremors, nervousness, agitation, sweating, and a racing heart beat.
You should take the drug as directed and go back to be regularly monitored so they can adjust the dose properly. This might take some time.
I’ve been fat far too much of my life. I despise being fat and my struggle to control my appetite torments me daily. I’ll fully admit that being overweight (for me) is such a huge negative on so many levels in terms of the quality of my day to day life it can affect my judgment. When I was working out I had a small leash on it but when I stopped it ran wild again. The struggle is just such a PITA.
Have you talked about that with your doctor? There are prescription appetite suppressant drugs that might help you, such as saxenda.
The thyroid medication isn’t going to affect your appetite even if it speeds up your metabolism.
I asked her specifically about appetite suppressant drugs. She was not a big fan of them and told me they had a lot of side effects and to try the thyroid meds first before anything else.
One thing that did work very effectively back in the day before it was outlawed in the US was Ephedra. It would crush your appetite all day.
I take the opposite medication, to calm an overactive thyroid. Untreated, I have occasional heart palpitations and am constantly, severely overheated. I can eat like Val Kilmer at a buffet wedding, though, and nothing sticks.
You will find that you will live longer if you do as your doctor says. And also if you consult with your doctor BEFORE deciding on your own to increase your dosage!
And consult with a pharmacist, these people are experts at drugs and dosages.
Furthermore, there is extensive physicians information on each drug from the drug manufacturer, on their web site and on the Physician’s Desk Reference web site. There you will find detailed information on “drug trials” where they determined what will happen if TOO MUCH of a drug is taken - what is a safe dosage, etc.
If you value your life, I would READ EVERY WORD OF THIS INFORMATION!
Furthermore, some drugs require that they be increased gradually. And/or reduced gradually when stopping. To suddenly start taking a high dose can be dangerous. And/or to suddenly stop taking some drugs can be dangerous.
I would start by reading the following topics on the above page…
ADULT DOSAGE & INDICATIONS
DOSING CONSIDERATIONS
CONTRAINDICATIONS
WARNINGS/PRECAUTIONS
ADVERSE REACTIONS
DRUG INTERACTIONS
ADVERSE REACTIONS
PATIENT COUNSELING
Don’t mess with thyroid Rx. It needs to be checked frequently, and tweaked often to keep it in range. Unlike other meds, that are wishy washy as to dosage, thyroid needs to be spot on. Your body can’t self-regulate and accommodate.
So she doubles the dose from last year when told it didn’t have much impact? I’m going back to one pill a day but this doesn’t sound like a med that is all that precisely metered by the body.
Technically, she did double your dose, but Synthroid tablets jump from 25 to 50 mcg. After that, it starts to come in smaller increments. So you didn’t jump a lot of steps.
I don’t have a thyroid at all (removed due to cancer), so I’m on a much higher dose. For me, a change of 12 mcg does make a big difference even at much higher doses (I’m at 137 mcg now).
You may already know this, but how you take it can have an impact on its effectiveness. You should take it an hour before breakfast and not have any dairy, soy, or walnuts within 4 hours after taking it.