SYNTHROID Reviews (LEVOTHYROXINE SODIUM)

Average Rating: 2.6 (900 Ratings)

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 Type: Rx Drug

  

SYNTHROID  (LEVOTHYROXINE SODIUM):  Levothyroxine is used to treat an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism). It replaces or provides more thyroid hormone, which is normally produced by the thyroid gland. Low thyroid hormone levels can occur naturally or when the thyroid gland is injured by radiation/medications or removed by surgery. Having enough thyroid hormone is important for maintaining normal mental and physical activity. In children, having enough thyroid hormone is important for normal mental and physical development. This medication is also used to treat other types of thyroid disorders (such as certain types of goiters, thyroid cancer). This medication should not be used to treat infertility unless it is caused by low thyroid hormone levels.   FDA Approval Date: 2002-07-24 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

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Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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More on SYNTHROID: Reviews Summary  |  Drug Safety Information

RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR SYNTHROIDCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 1  supposed hypothyroidism extreme fatigue, depression, constipation, negativity in general when I've always been a positive person, feeling like I can't think or make decisions and I'm a therapist, overall feel like I'm disconnected from my life. I have gained 80lbs in 3 years and I've NEVER gained weight in all of my life. I hate the so-called options for healing in our medical world. This has been hell. F 36 3 years
7/31/2007
 5  hypothyroid none. I have used Synthroid for years and have been very satisfied. I can tell when I need an increase in medication. I get tired, start to gain weight and hair coming out more. I go to my doc and get bloodwork done. One time years ago I did this and my doctor said my levels were fine and he wouldn't increase my Synthroid, but I knew how I felt. I switched doctors and told my new doctor how I felt. She agreed to increase my Synthroid but wanted me back in six weeks to make sure we didn't over do it, which would cause other problems. The increase helped and I learned that if my levels are in the middle of the normal range, then I don't feel good. But if I am in the high normal range, I am fine. Everyone is different and if you've suffered hypothyroidism, you know your own body and its signals. Find a doctor that will listen to you and work with you. My doctor knows I need enough meds to stay in the high normal range in order to feel good. F 41 15 years
7/28/2007
 4  Hypothyroid I've been taking the generic of Synthroid for 4 days. I have a lot more energy, I salivate more (almost the way I used to when I quit smoking), and around 9pm like clockwork I get tired, but still have energy to stay up. I've always been sensitive to heat, so sweating a little more, but not more than usual. What's amazing is, my stomach doesn't hurt after I eat anymore. In 1999, 2000, & 2001 doctors didn't know if I had Hypo. I was told my levels were fluctuating. Since 2001, I have gained 35-40lbs that I just can't lose - even though I eat like a bird and exercise regularly. It has been frustrating. In 2007, I was diagnosed with Hypo with a TSH level of 23.10. My father also has hypo and synthroid has helped him for more than 35 years. We'll see how I fare. M 33 4 days
7/24/2007
 3  High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Feeling speedy and foggy brained simultaneously. Weight gain. Am I the only one here who is taking this for hypertension? I'm on two other drugs for it also (Amlodipine and Diovan). I also take two antidepressants and two allergy meds. All cause brain fog and all cause weight gain, so it's hard to separate which is causing what. After reading the other comments, I'm wondering if this drug is doing more harm than good for me, especially since NObody else is taking it for hypertension. My hair isn't falling out yet, but I'm not sure I'd notice since I feel so blah. The reason I'm looking at this site is because my lower lip has been itching and swelling off and on for over a month and read somewhere else that it could be Synthroid -- but I don't see anything else like that here. F 60 7 months
7/22/2007
 5  hypothyroidism None whatsoever. Once a year my doctor tests to see if my dosage is right. It's been changed minutely three times in 25 years. Right now I take 125 mg five days a week and 112 mg the other two days. M 62 25 years
7/19/2007
 1  hypothyroid chest pain, weird (perhaps irregular) heart beat, insomnia, difficulty breathing, burning in the chest area, hair loss, more emotional first time taken 3 years ago (1mg) TSH 250, 28yrs old, diabetic. After 4 days, felt like having a heart attack every time i moved. Was healthy before, no heart problems of any kind. So I stopped synthroid, went on a diet instead, some vitamins increase, and for a while on supplement for thyroid that had bovine source (called TFN), and iodine. 2 month later TSH was 20, few month later a third of that. 3 month ago, was put on it again. Same thing even with half the dose of 0.5mg. As soon as stopped felt better. Tried after a week again for about 1 month, same symptoms. And again, and again. This has now been 4 times where i feel bad 3 days after starting this medication, and normal after stopping it! I can't climb a set of stairs while i am taking synthroid, even though i did high altitude climbing in the mountains and ran marathons before. Maybe it is good for some people but for me it is EVIL M 28 60 days
7/12/2007
 3  hypothyroid irregular periods, leg pain, very tired, and moody. I don't feel that depressed anymore so im glad for that I really dont like this medicine, it seems to me it does more harm than good! i was reading the comments and read the one from the women that miscarried(very sorry for that), but i have a 4 yr old son and cant seem to get pregnant on it, anyone have this problem? F 24 12 months
7/11/2007
 1  Hypothyroidism For many of us Synthroid alone will never work. Synthroid has only T4,levothyroxine. Your body is supposed to convert some of that T4 into T3 but in some of us it doesn't. Then you must take a separate pill which contains T3, or, take a pill which contains both T4 and T3 such as Armour Thyroid or Thyrolar. Armour is animal thyroid, while Thyrolar is synthetic. I have had doctors, including one endocrinologist, insist that my TSH, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, can be brought down with Synthroid alone. Many months of my life have been devoted to Doctors "adjusting Synthroid dosages". It is amazing the number of doctors who have argued with me about this. I have been taking throid supplements for about 30 years. It isn't something new. The best medicine for me is Thyrolar. The Thyrolar website tells you that their pill contains one part T3 to 4 parts T4 and it works for me. Unfortunately it was on backorder and I am currently on Levothyroxine (T4) .075 MG along with a separate pill of Cytomel (T3).025 MG. It was too much and I cut the Cytomel pill in half. I hope to get back on the Thyrolar soon. The Thyrolar is measured in Grains instead of MGs. I take two grains daily. M 83 6 months
7/8/2007
 4  thyroid was removed I have had no side effects. Most of these patients should discuss how they take the medicine (empty stomach) and vitamin and food interactions will interact with the efficacy. If you are losing your hair, maybe you should have a complete hormonal panel done. There could be other reasons for this. F 51 4 days
7/7/2007
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 2  hypothyroidism Depression, mood swings, weight gain, anxiety attacks, lack of focus I was diagnosed with Graves Disease and treated with RAI causing me to become hypothyroid. When I first began taking synthroid I felt great and began to loose weight, however, within three months I began having hyperthyroid symptoms again. After two adjustments, I am supposedly on the correct dosage, however, I feel awful. I have up and down mood swings, depression, anxiety attacks, weight gain (1-2 pounds/month), and I find myself going from task to task and never being able to complete anything. I feel like I am going crazy! I have been to both my endocrinologist and my ENT and both say that my blood levels are normal on the .88mgs that I have been prescribed. My doctor now wants to treat me for depression, but I feel like she would be treating a symptom rather than finding the problem. I wish I knew what to do! F 38 1.5 years
7/5/2007
 1  Hypothyroidism None for first 5 years. Then muscle weakness, joint stiffness and pain. I think it was a lack of T3 that may have been the problem. Armour has given my life back. I took this med. for 12 years. I never guessed it would sneak up on me. I was fine for several years then noticed I was getting week. It was after about 5 yrs. that I started getting stiff. I could not make a fist or even snap my fingers, rolling over in bed or pulling up the covers was almost impossible. I could not even lift a gallon of milk. Getting on the floor was a threat to life! I was tested and considered for Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Rheumatoid arthritis among other things. We were rethinking the whole thing, when my husband told me to check into Synthroid. I had been on this medication for 12 years, the numbers were always good, so doctors (and even we) didnāt give it much thought. After checking into it, I decided to try Armour Thyroid, a natural thyroid medication. IT DID THE TRICK..... I have been symptom free for eleven months. It took four years to find it, but Thank the Good God, we did. Moving once again..... And loving it..... F 42 12 years
7/5/2007
 1  Hypothyroidism miscarriages I posted several down. I just miscarryied again. I found out Tuesday that we lost our baby. This will be the 3rd miscarriage I have had before 8 wks since I have been on synthroid. My TSH levels were at 2.73 last time I had them checked which was recently. Have any of you experienced miscarriages and had it corrected just by changing the strength of your medication? I have read several articles on line saying to get pregnant and maintain a pregnancy, your levels should be between and 1 and 2. Do any of you find that to be true? Let me just tel you, I had a son prior to being diagnosed w/ hypothyroidism. I never had these problems til I began taking Synthroid. I hate this stuff. I believe it is the root of all evil or maybe I am just not on the correct level. I have not actually seen a specialist. I am in the process of trying to get a referral. I don't think my pcp knows what she is talking about. This has been the most frustrating thing in the world. Had I known then what I know now M 32 5 years
7/5/2007
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 5  hypothyroid Not a one...unless I miss a dose! Don't miss any doses!! (it won't affect your thyroid numbers, but could cause slight side effects) I had quite bad physical symptoms, crashing as if I had low-blood sugar, and sleep problems. The Synthroid helps a lot, my blood levels are in the normal range, but you really MUST add exercise to your routine to balance yourself...it's easy to fall into lethargy and sloth-like states using synthroid. As I said, DON'T MISS A DOSE, and if you do, take it as soon as you realize. It takes several missed doses to get your levels messed up, but for me it's a side-effect of the medication, that one missed dose can mess up my physical being again. Remember to keep checking your thyroid levels, as the dosage may need to be slightly altered up or down as you change as a person. M 43 2 years
6/28/2007
 1  Hypo Tons of negative side effects over time. I posted twice below. I have been off Synthroid for about 3 or 4 weeks now. No weight gain, other than being a bit more tired than usual (which I think is from stress anyhow), I feel great - back to my old self. I am FREE!! I will never get on a perscription drug that must be taken daily again!! My thyroid is working ok on it's own - thank God. I do believe the selinium supplements are helping my thyroid. I can not tell you how relieved I feel to not be dependent on a drug and have to worry about popping a pill everyday. No more worrying about having to refill scripts. In my case, I was able to free myself. (Oh and the hair stopped falling out too!) F 38 3 years
6/22/2007
 4  hypothyroidism graves Slightly upsets my stomach Everyone who just stops taking this medication all of a sudden needs to stick with it. Want to know why you feel like crap when you first take it? Your thyroid stops producing T4 and T3 because you are replacing its function with Synthroid. So at the onset you actualy become more hypo then you were until your levels level out. Please do your research before stopping your medication and deciding it's not working. A lot of people feel worse when they start taking Synthroid, it originaly completely messes up your metabolic function while you adjust your dosages, give it at least 6 months, the benefits long term if you keep on it and constantly tweak your dosage are better then being constantly hypo (leading to high cholestorol and heart disease). Also, take B12 and Vitamin D as being hypo is proven to make you deffecient in these vitams. B12 def. has the exact same symptoms as hypothyroidism, so try a vit B suplement if you still don't feel right, and get out in the sun once in a while. M 21 1 years
6/21/2007
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 4  hashimoto's thyroiditis/hypothyroid I have the normal hypothyroid symptoms. I can't say that there are any specific side effects of the meds though... I haven't really felt "normal" for 7 years since the birth of my daughter. I know this site is to post about synthroid, but I wanted to make a comment about armour thyroid. People with autoimmune thyroiditis like hashimotos should not take armour and in fact armour will make it even harder to function as it has natural thyroid hormone in it (from pig) and when you have autoimmune thyroiditis, your body is constantly attacking the thyroid so if you are ingesting natural hormone, your body will in theory attack even harder making it difficult to aleviate the symptoms of hypothyroidism. I have heard good things about it and am sort of disapointed it didn't work for me. In my case my hormone levels completely reversed and were out of control - TSH 20+, etc. In general though I haven't ever noticed a complete reverse of my thyroid related symptoms, synthroid has helped keep my thyroid in a more regulated level (TSH 0.034) and if I have to be on it for life, so be it. F 31 7 years
6/20/2007
 2   These are my sister's side effects - shortness of breath; chest heaviness; problems swallowing especially when lying flat; chest pain. Has had thyroid removed....doctor tells her there are no side effects to the drug. F 48 12 months
6/20/2007
 1  thyroid removed Depression, mood swings, weight gain, low libido, fatigue,crying spells, sleepiness, and no energy. I have been taking synthroid for 2 years and I am dissatisfied. I have gained weight, hair loss, mood swings, and low libido. I want to stop taking it. I spoke to a co-worker and she stopped her synthroid and her THS levels is normal and she had her glands removed as well as I did. Do we really need to take this medicine everyday of our lives or is this a gimick? I feel terrible on this stuff. I have no energy, and cry at the drop of a dime. I am depressed. I feel worse now than I did before I had the surgery. F 32 2 years
6/15/2007
 4  Hypothyroidism Beware of taking conjugated estrogens (Prempro) for HRT as they bind with the thyroxine and counteract the effects. Began getting sleepy all the time constant hunger and weight gain. Gained close to 100 lbs over a year and went to doc for testing. My tsh was 86.7 and doc put me on Synthroid 25mcg. Had to increase dosage over the next 5 years to 250mcg. Found out that the Prempro I was taking for HRT(both overies removed due to benign tumors) was interfering with my Synthroid. Had my Gyn reduce prempro dosage and am now feeling much more energetic and am losing weight. Have had to stay on brand name Synthroid as the generics do not have the same effectiveness for me. F 38 5 years
6/13/2007
 3  hypothyroidism Have been on 25 MCG since March, so about three months. I was also taking Crestor for high cholesterol. I have a feeling of stuffiness in my ears and I always feel like I'm moving even when I'm sitting or just standing. Not sure if this was a side effect of Crestor or Levothyroxin.(stopped taking the Crestor because I am worried that side effects are more likely to be from that, since this is a more recent and controversial drug). I haven't noticed any positive changes in weight or energy. Doctor told me my TSH levels were back to normal. I never experienced a problem before taking this. She thought my antibodies indicated sluggish thyroid. Not sure I am benefitting from this and don't like being on medication. How do you get off without causing more harm to the sluggish thyroid? F 56 3 months
6/12/2007

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