[ewmb]

#1067448

Hopeful,
Sorry to hear you are having a hard time. I have been going up slowly on my meds. I was thinking that was bad but maybe it’s better than starting out too high. I think the pharmacy should investigate quickly. If you don’t get any satisfaction from them I guess you’ll have to get your doctor to call in a new scrip for you. Are you feeling any better at all?

ewmb

[Ski]

#1067449

Yikes, what a pain for you!! I do wonder at switching your thyroid hormone replacement BRAND, we’ve always been told that it can generate some unexpected results and should be avoided. The fact is that there are a couple of brands that do not have certain dose levels, so sometimes that’s the rationale behind it ~ at this point, you’re so early on in the process that it’s probably no harm, no foul, but once you’ve reached your optimum dose (and you will, trust me!), you should resist any other attempts to change the brand of replacement.

As far as your medication being picked up by someone else ~ WHAT??? That’s nuts. Unfortunately though, there are crazy people in the world who try and use thyroid hormone replacement as weight loss pills, so it’s not unheard of that they are "black market" drugs, just so you know. I hope you get that straightened out quickly, and I hope you’re feeling better SOON!

[LaurelM]

#1067450

I once had a pharmacy try to give me a prescription for somebody else (same last name). I always double check now to see that I have been given what I was expecting before I leave the counter. Mistakes happen.

[Hopeful23]

#1018844

Hello everyone,
Whew, what a crazy month it has been. As everyone knows I had my RAI done May 22 08 and was hypothyroid July 22 08. Well They started me out on .75mcg of synthroid. I had my first follow up and my tsh was at .5 aka "normal". Lately I have been loosing so much hair to the point where I have bald spots (not kidding). I have been feeling anxious, heart rate up again, tremors, insomnia, no period etc. I called my dr, went in for blood work and was informed yesterday that my tsh is at .1. Well, they said I was being over medicated so they decreased my dose to .50mcg and switched me to Levoxyl, another name brand of levothyroixine. My question is, did they do the switch b/c of my hair loss? B/c I went in w/ complaints of a swollen bottom lip and my dr refused to switch my medication but now all the sudden they switched it w/ no questions. Ugh, will this STUPID thyroid crap EVER stop. LOL. Well the story gets better. So, I went to the pharmacy to get my medication right. They pharmacist says "Your medication has been picked up already @ 2:33pm". I said "I know i’m forgetful from all this thyroid stuff, but im not that forgetful" He laughed. I was like so now what. They showed me a signature from a Dillon Chicken scratch and said well we will "investigate’" until further notice here is 4 pills to hold you over. I said to the pharmacist, so you’re telling me you don’t know who took my medication and you wont refill it? I mean it’s not like synthroid is a market drug, can’t sell that on the playground. Ha Ha. I am just so frusterated, this is ridiculous and If they don’t figure out a medication/dose that works for me, I WILL BE BALD ” title=”Sad” /> What can I do?

[James]

#1067451

Interesting! At the GDF conference this past month I had the privilege of speaking with numerous patients at various stages of their treatment. One woman I spoke with mentioned that a switch in brand name had a very negative effect on her. I have to back Ski on this one; with that being said I certainly cannot speak from personal experience on this. It might be worthwhile asking your Dr. as to his rationale for the switch in brand. There may in fact be a very good rationale in your individual circumstances, but at the very least he should have answered that question for you. Some people seem to be very sensitive to minor changes and others do not.

Take care,

James

[Hopeful23]

#1067452

Yeah, I figured switching was probably not a good thing. I called my endo and he confirmed that at this point in my treatment that it shouldn’t give me too much of a problem. He said he was worried about my hair loss and synthroid can cause alapacia (sp) and that is a side effect that can be brutal for some people. He said mild hair loss is one thing but when it starts to show thinning/bald spots that it was something to worry about. He said switching was something that he DOESN’T do unless it is 100% necessary and he feels in my case I needed to switch. I am not feeling too bad, I am feeling more "hyper" ie. I am having trouble sleeping,I feel like I always have to be doing something or I feel like I wanna jump out of my skin. It’s no where near what I was pre RAI THANK GOODNESS. I don’t think I have the strength or will power left to deal with that all over again. LOL. A few of you mentioned "negative effects" from switching. Could you share those effects with me. LOL. That way I am more aware of anything that may happen during this. I’m kinda scared, I have not taken the Levoxyl yet (don’t yell please, lol) I figured since my TSH is low that I had a few days to decide since the half life is 7 days ” title=”Wink” />

This is kinda personal but It’s on my mind and I am too afraid to ask my dr. I was pregnant from Aug 31 09- Oct 10 09. Due you think this could have caused a drop in my tsh? Prior to my pregnancy my labs were on the low end of .5. I didn’t know if that could have caused it or if it just was too high of a dose. Thanks for listening/responding!

Krystal

[ewmb]

#1067453

Krystal,
I am on levoxyl and haven’t had any side effects like the hair thing. I would think that a pregnancy might affect your TSH as I know it does all your other hormones. I didn’t have Graves when I was pregnant with my two. I am sorry about your loss too. Sounds like that stress would also affect you also. Did you tell your endo that you had been pregnant? If not I would contact him again. Take care of yourself and get some rest when you can while you come back up or down depending on how you look at it. We are hoping for the best for you.

ewmb

[Ski]

#1067454

Sounds like your doctor’s right on track ~ I honestly didn’t know Synthroid had the potential to cause alopecia (sp?), that’s good to know. We do get some hair loss when our levels are fluctuating (even if they’re moving in the right direction, how annoying is that?), but bald spots are truly out of the norm, so if this solves that problem for you, that’s PERFECT.

The "negative effects" we refer to are really just basically a readjustment period ~ in other words, if you go from taking 0.5 Synthroid to 0.5 Levoxyl, you may not end up at the same thyroid hormone level (ironic, I know), so then you would have a period of time trying to dial in the RIGHT number with the new replacement brand. Since you’re still dialing in your FIRST "right" number, it’s really not that much different for you, but once you find a good dose and are stabilized, switching brands could be an issue. It could trigger the minimal hair loss and other symptoms of fluctuating levels.

I agree, you should tell the doctor that you were pregnant for a short period of time ~ that could have confused the issue briefly. Usually the antibodies give you a break during pregnancy, but they can come back in full force afterward, so if you’ve got any remaining thyroid tissue, it could’ve elevated hormone production in response. This is one of those things the doctor would appreciate knowing, because it puts all the puzzle pieces together on what’s going on and why.

I’m so glad to hear that, even with these symptoms, you are feeling better than you were at your worst ~ that’s a good sign! Keep on keepin’ on, you’ll get there!

[Hopeful23]

#1067455

Thanks Sky and Emily ” title=”Smile” />
I did tell him about my pregnancy and he is still happy about the dose/medication change so we shall see. I am super energetic, it’s pretty funny. I forgot what it felt like to be hyperthyroid. I get so much more accomplised ” title=”Smile” /> Well, I’ll keep updates on the new meds/dose. Again, thanks for all the support. I love my GDF family!!

[Author]

Posts