Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group hypothyroid question

What's a thyroid slump feel like? Like, if I were to miss my levothyroxine several days out of the week, how would i feel different?

Anyone thinking "you'll feel like you weigh a thousand pounds and you're covered with sandbags" out there? what about appetite, weight gain and muscle tone?

tnx,

bridget

Exhaustion, needing a nap by 9am. Absolutely no sex drive. Weight gain without increase in calories. Lots of fun.

Whats the half life on that stuff? I kind of had an idea that quite a lot of it did hang about in your system for a few days, so I would guess that while you would probably notice missing a single dose, the effects of not getting enough would catch up with you much more after several days.

Ya know, if your dosage needs to be up'ed, then missing a few days of meds would be more significant.

I missed a few . . . sporadically, since it's SO FLIPPIN ANNOYING to set a flippin alarm to wake up early, take the pill, which then knocks me the HECK out for hours, THEN wake up and take my bladder pills, then wait, then eat, THEN take my pain pills so I can, like, get up and move and stuff. It's like 2 hours minimum each morning before I can get pain relief in me, mostly because of the thyroid pill. grr.

so reading this, i went and googled the question about when to take the synthroid (or whatever name yours is) and while technically you are supposed to take it just as you are, have you tried it any differently?

the reason i ask is this, i must eat as soon as i wake up or my stomach gets gastritis and i have blood sugar issues so i just decided to take it the easiest for me way first and if that didn't work, then do it differently. i take it at night and it doesn't keep me awake (read that was why they say to take it in the morning). maybe its because i take a muscle relaxant that knocks me out, but still, i don't notice anything even if i take it at a different time than the muscle relaxant.

they also say to take it on an empty stomach, but again, i can't do that. so i take it with all my other meds and food right before i go to bed.

and i've been doing it this way for about a year and a half now, maybe longer, and 50 mg has had my TSH and other numbers in the perfect range right from the start. had my blood work done within a few weeks, months at the beginning, now every 6 months right before i go to then endocrinologist and my numbers are always good.

thing is, for me, i didn't really notice that i had thyroid symptoms before the synthroid. the doctor and i decided to try it to help lessen the arthritis symptoms. other than maybe a little more energy, though my energy was really good before the synthroid, i haven't really noticed any changes good or bad while on the synthroid. yet i still think its good to have everything as balanced as i can. maybe all these things together are helping me to manage the arthritis better?

hope this helps. and if you already know you have to take it on an empty stomach in the morning........

for me, maybe i'd need less if i took it in the theoretically correct way, but my doctor did say, so long as i was consistent in what i was doing and my numbers looked good, to just do what works for me.

i find that a bedtime routine is what works best for me in general. when i have to take meds at other times, it just gets very complicated, especially if it requires not eating.

ooooooh Sue that's so tempting. I have tummy issues too (THANK you, methotrexate) and have to keep something in there, especially while I'm lying down. And that thyroid pill REALLLLLY knocks me out. Hard. Which it's not supposed to do. And I haven't had my numbers checked since i've been on it, I asked the other day and the doc said it wasn't necessary. grr.
I think I'll try that tonight. We'll see how it goes. =)

good luck, hope it works for you! and insist on having your numbers checked if you can. i do like my endocrinologist, he likes data collecting just like me, a scientist after my own heart! i was also advised by karen (the mouse) and my GP that it doesn't matter so much which brand or generic is used as long as it stays consistent. and since my mail order drug plan changes the generics around depending on what's cheapest, i asked the endocrinologist to specifically prescribe the synthroid so i could stay consistent. but i don't always stay consistent every night with the timing, and still the numbers are all good.