Yes, a lot of the “side effects” message about replacement hormone indicates hyperthyroidism. An equal amount, if you read carefully, indicates hyPOthyroidism.
The drug that you are being given is chemically identical to T4 thyroid hormone — except for the non-active(i.e. inert) ingredients that are used to turn the chemical into a pill. It IS thyroid hormone. Therefore, if you get too much of it you will be hyperthyroid and if you get too little you will be hypothyroid, and have all of the accompanying problems of either of those two conditions. You need to get the right amount in, consistently.
There will be a period of adjustments as you start taking this drug. Your doctor has made an educated guess as to what dose of replacement you need. But it might be slightly “off”, and adjustments may need to be made — especially at first. There are some important rules you need to keep in mind, to keep this process as efficient as possible.
First: take the medication first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, and wait an hour before eating. Do not take it with any other medications, including vitamins and minerals, unless directed to by a doctor. If you take a daily vitamin, for example, you should wait until lunch. The reason for this is that there are chemicals in foods, medications and in vitamins that can prevent the absorption of some of your thyroid hormone into the blood. Once the thyroid has been absorbed into the blood, it does not matter what you eat, or take as a medication. But getting it in there, in the same amount every day, is important. I have a friend who was miserable for YEARS, taking huge doses of thyroid hormone (in both T4 and T3 forms). The T3 was giving her heart problems, and she was still hypothyroid. (Her problem was Hashimotos, not Graves.) Finally, she went to a new endo last year, who told her to take the thyroid hormone all by itself, without other medications, etc. etc. And she is on a much, much lower dose, she has eliminated the T3, and she feels much, much better. It can and does make a difference how you take this medication.
Second: Do not expect taking this pill to instantly make you feel normal again. T4 has a relatively long biological life in the body. It’s half life is just a bit under 7 days. So, when you start taking a dose of it, whatever is not immediately used is available for later use, for a fairly long time, and so it builds up in the body. It needs to build up to its appropriate level before you truly will see how the dose you are on is working. Your doctor will tell you to come back and have your blood checked after a certain period of time. In my case, the earliest my endo wanted to check was six weeks — and she preferred three months. I have found this to be pretty standard. If you check too soon, the full results of your dose may not have appropriately registered, and could find yourself on a hormonal roller coaster. DO wait the appropriate amount of time between blood checks. What this sometimes has meant in my life, is that I spend six weeks on a dose that is (slightly) too high, or too low. BUT, in the long run, I have saved myself months of misery by going along with the guidelines.
Congradulations! You are well on the road to feeling good again. Just keep in mind that it takes time for your body to heal after the hormonal imbalance you’ve been through. Look for progress, not absolutes for a while.
I hope you are feeling very good, soon.
Bobbi — NGDF Online Facilitator
