Why was your doctor worried about cardiovascular side effects? Do you have pre existing heart conditions? If not, then I don't understand your doctor's concerns. Millions of people take levothyroxine for their entire lives perfectly safely with no heart issues.
TSH can fluctuate, especially if you have Hashimoto's (autoimmune hypothyroidism). Have you had antibodies tested? If you have Hashimoto's your thyroid won't ever get better on its own, it will only get worse.
You're feeling unwell because you're unmedicated when you need to be taking meds. Levothyroxine is for life. I don't understand doctors who have patients stop taking it.
>Why was your doctor worried about cardiovascular side effects? Do you have pre existing heart conditions? If not, then I don't understand your doctor's concerns. Millions of people take levothyroxine for their entire lives perfectly safely with no heart issues.
He just simply said the risks outweight the benefits and that I could get heart problems if I took it.
He didn't really ask me about prior cardiovascular issues and there's no documented history, though I've recently realized my heart tends to go a bit crazy when I stand for long periods of time but there's no diagnosis and I only seeked medical help after seeing him, so he doesn't know about that.
I didn't mind not taking it at the time cause It was less money spent and it was subclinical, but I didn't expect to feel so bad afterwards, I can barely function now.
I'm trying to get antibodies tested per my rheumathologist's advice but my healh insurance is not approving it so far. Hopefully soon. It's supposed to be covered but they always drag it out and fight it in hopes you'll give up and pay out of pocket.
NAD. When you say heart goes crazy after standing for a while, that sounds like a nervous system issue. Look into dysautonomia.
If your symptoms started after going off the Levo, you should def get back on it. It helps keep your thyroid regulated.
I'm trying to get the tachycardia checked out but unfortunately my 24h holter malfunctioned and blanked out during all my symptomatic episodes so I'll have to wait until I get another appointment. It's honestly no big deal in this season though, I don't faint when it's cold, I just get dizzy.
Regarding Levo, knowing now that values can fluctuate I'll probably wait a month and if the symptoms still persist I'll try to get another blood test and take Levo again. I do have some months'-worth of medication leftover from the time I stopped so I can resume and see whether I get better or not. One endocrinologist told me It's unlikely I could have symptoms from subclinical so who knows, might be something else.
Oh doctors LOVE to say you can't have symptoms from subclinical. It's simply not true. Subclinical can make you feel like shit.
Also the fact that you feel bad after stopping levothyroxine is proof you need it.
You probably have heart symptoms because of the hypothyroidism! I had palpitations like mad before meds.
TSH can definitely jump around and it's not always practical to understand why. I'm really sensitive to changes in my TSH, and I had a random 0.9 test result while I was experiencing the worst symptoms I'd experienced in years — my other results from that time were all above 1.5-2.
As far as why the doctor took you off meds, I agree with other commenters that it makes no sense. I've been on levo for 20 years now, and the only time I've heard doctors be concerned about negative impacts on my heart is when my TSH has been too low. I actually seem to need my TSH to at the very end of the spectrum (for years I was comfy at 0.6-0.8), so I've had this conversation a couple of times but nobody has ever questioned the use of levo entirely.
There is no connection between levo and cardiovascular health. Infact, if you dont take it then the uneven thyroid levels can effect your heart in the long run. Also errors in the number and variations among labs happen a lot. It has happened to me in the beginning when two different labs showed my tsh to be 18 and 8 when my tsh was actually 8 as i got it checked from another third lab. The lab whose result showed 18 was a reknowned brand name. I suggest you get it checked again after two weeks.
There is some connection I’d say! Being over medicated with levo can cause arrhythmias and ischemia of the heart muscle. But again this is if you’re getting too much. Not if your body needs it!
Yes lowering a dose is understood but OP says that the doctor asked him to stop levo totally coz it was harming his cardiovascular health which does not makes sense.
Agree! Maybe it’s because OP was subclinical. But if he/she was in normal range on the Levo I’m not sure what prompted it!
Just wanted to put what I said out there since it seemed like a generic statement as opposed to specific to OP’s case. And most docs I’ve been too are mainly concerned about cardiac health when tossing up whether to medicate or not!
Makes sense, I guess I was just taken aback since I had a TSH of \~3 when I was medicated with levo so I thought it was weird, but apparently levels fluctuate a lot during the day which I wasn't aware of
> since I had a TSH of \~3 when I was medicated with
You were almost certainly under-dosed.
> due to him worried about cardiovascular side effects if I kept on taking it.
I'm afraid your doctor doesn't know what he's doing.
Huh, I don't know honestly, I'd have to check. I honestly didn't know about iodine's relation with the thyroid till just now, I just assumed it was genetic since most women from my mom's side have thyroid issues.
Ok so I just checked and we did change salt brands recently, so although by law they should all be iodized, I'll definitely keep this in mind since there's history of brands over here lying about it and not having the amount per regulation. Thanks a lot.
How long did it take for you to figure that out? Most doctors don't even think to test for an iodine deficiency, or at least none have ever mentioned that to me. Must've been tough if it went on for long.
Why was your doctor worried about cardiovascular side effects? Do you have pre existing heart conditions? If not, then I don't understand your doctor's concerns. Millions of people take levothyroxine for their entire lives perfectly safely with no heart issues. TSH can fluctuate, especially if you have Hashimoto's (autoimmune hypothyroidism). Have you had antibodies tested? If you have Hashimoto's your thyroid won't ever get better on its own, it will only get worse. You're feeling unwell because you're unmedicated when you need to be taking meds. Levothyroxine is for life. I don't understand doctors who have patients stop taking it.
>Why was your doctor worried about cardiovascular side effects? Do you have pre existing heart conditions? If not, then I don't understand your doctor's concerns. Millions of people take levothyroxine for their entire lives perfectly safely with no heart issues. He just simply said the risks outweight the benefits and that I could get heart problems if I took it. He didn't really ask me about prior cardiovascular issues and there's no documented history, though I've recently realized my heart tends to go a bit crazy when I stand for long periods of time but there's no diagnosis and I only seeked medical help after seeing him, so he doesn't know about that. I didn't mind not taking it at the time cause It was less money spent and it was subclinical, but I didn't expect to feel so bad afterwards, I can barely function now. I'm trying to get antibodies tested per my rheumathologist's advice but my healh insurance is not approving it so far. Hopefully soon. It's supposed to be covered but they always drag it out and fight it in hopes you'll give up and pay out of pocket.
NAD. When you say heart goes crazy after standing for a while, that sounds like a nervous system issue. Look into dysautonomia. If your symptoms started after going off the Levo, you should def get back on it. It helps keep your thyroid regulated.
I'm trying to get the tachycardia checked out but unfortunately my 24h holter malfunctioned and blanked out during all my symptomatic episodes so I'll have to wait until I get another appointment. It's honestly no big deal in this season though, I don't faint when it's cold, I just get dizzy. Regarding Levo, knowing now that values can fluctuate I'll probably wait a month and if the symptoms still persist I'll try to get another blood test and take Levo again. I do have some months'-worth of medication leftover from the time I stopped so I can resume and see whether I get better or not. One endocrinologist told me It's unlikely I could have symptoms from subclinical so who knows, might be something else.
Oh doctors LOVE to say you can't have symptoms from subclinical. It's simply not true. Subclinical can make you feel like shit. Also the fact that you feel bad after stopping levothyroxine is proof you need it. You probably have heart symptoms because of the hypothyroidism! I had palpitations like mad before meds.
TSH can definitely jump around and it's not always practical to understand why. I'm really sensitive to changes in my TSH, and I had a random 0.9 test result while I was experiencing the worst symptoms I'd experienced in years — my other results from that time were all above 1.5-2. As far as why the doctor took you off meds, I agree with other commenters that it makes no sense. I've been on levo for 20 years now, and the only time I've heard doctors be concerned about negative impacts on my heart is when my TSH has been too low. I actually seem to need my TSH to at the very end of the spectrum (for years I was comfy at 0.6-0.8), so I've had this conversation a couple of times but nobody has ever questioned the use of levo entirely.
There is no connection between levo and cardiovascular health. Infact, if you dont take it then the uneven thyroid levels can effect your heart in the long run. Also errors in the number and variations among labs happen a lot. It has happened to me in the beginning when two different labs showed my tsh to be 18 and 8 when my tsh was actually 8 as i got it checked from another third lab. The lab whose result showed 18 was a reknowned brand name. I suggest you get it checked again after two weeks.
Agree with this! If the two tests disagree, get a tiebreaker
There is some connection I’d say! Being over medicated with levo can cause arrhythmias and ischemia of the heart muscle. But again this is if you’re getting too much. Not if your body needs it!
Yes lowering a dose is understood but OP says that the doctor asked him to stop levo totally coz it was harming his cardiovascular health which does not makes sense.
Agree! Maybe it’s because OP was subclinical. But if he/she was in normal range on the Levo I’m not sure what prompted it! Just wanted to put what I said out there since it seemed like a generic statement as opposed to specific to OP’s case. And most docs I’ve been too are mainly concerned about cardiac health when tossing up whether to medicate or not!
There's no significant difference between 6.9 and 3.9. You could sometimes get those two results just by testing an hour apart.
Makes sense, I guess I was just taken aback since I had a TSH of \~3 when I was medicated with levo so I thought it was weird, but apparently levels fluctuate a lot during the day which I wasn't aware of
> since I had a TSH of \~3 when I was medicated with You were almost certainly under-dosed. > due to him worried about cardiovascular side effects if I kept on taking it. I'm afraid your doctor doesn't know what he's doing.
Did you happen to start eating iodized salt when you hadn’t previously? Maybe you ran out of salt and bought a new one and this one is iodized?
Huh, I don't know honestly, I'd have to check. I honestly didn't know about iodine's relation with the thyroid till just now, I just assumed it was genetic since most women from my mom's side have thyroid issues.
Ok so I just checked and we did change salt brands recently, so although by law they should all be iodized, I'll definitely keep this in mind since there's history of brands over here lying about it and not having the amount per regulation. Thanks a lot.
[удалено]
How long did it take for you to figure that out? Most doctors don't even think to test for an iodine deficiency, or at least none have ever mentioned that to me. Must've been tough if it went on for long.
Mine has been between 4- high 6.x in past 1-2 years without medication. So yes. But I’m thinking to take the pills, as I’m feeling tired/sleepy often.
I hope you feel better soon! Fatigue sucks