Synthroid Uses, Dosage & Side Effects

If your provider determines that you are taking too much levothyroxine, they will reassess your treatment plan. They might advise you to change your diet if it’s contributing to thyroid overmedication. The dose of thyroid hormone replacement that you were taking during pregnancy could be too high for the postpartum period and could lead to overmedication. One situation where this could occur would be if you cut back on your fiber intake. When you make this change, you might start to absorb higher levels of thyroid medication.

Being overmedicated with thyroid hormone replacement drugs typically is uncomfortable but rarely dangerous. Your healthcare provider can help you to change thyroid-boosting supplements and/or cut back on your medication dosage in order to avoid taking too much levothyroxine. Medical conditions synthroid rashes can also lead you to have too much levothyroxine in your body. With Hashimoto’s disease, your thyroid hormone levels can fluctuate rapidly. Hashitoxicosis occurs when your thyroid is over-functioning and producing more thyroid hormone. A study evaluated the effect of long-term thyroid hormone therapy on bone mineral density in 196 women (mean age, 74.4 years) compared to a control group comprised of 795 women (mean age, 72.1 years).

Dosage or Drug Quality Issues

Because your thyroid helps to regulate your metabolism by turning on cellular function. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms then your next step will be to visit your doctor. We are grateful to the patient for allowing publication of this case report. A 21-year-old woman was admitted to the emergency department with palpitations and chest tightness.

#7. Rapid Heartrate

Consumption of certain foods and beverages such as soybean flour, cotton seed meal, walnuts, grapefruit juice, coffee, and dietary fiber can decrease the absorption of levothyroxine.
As no standard guidelines are currently available, the management of levothyroxine overdose should be individualized based on the amount ingested, as well as the clinical symptoms and signs of the patient.
This information does not apply if you jump out of bed, start doing jumping jacks, and then check your heart rate.
Some people might use their levothyroxine prescriptions for this reason, but it’s important to know that the use of levothyroxine for weight loss can result in dangerous and potentially life-threatening side effects.
Medical conditions can also lead you to have too much levothyroxine in your body.

Since hypothyroidism progresses over time, starting therapy with a low dose is helpful for reducing the risk of overmedication. I say most likely because there will always be some people who will experience the symptoms of excess Synthroid even at low doses which may not impact their lab tests. These are the most common signs that indicate your dose is too high, but, remember, thyroid hormone side effects occur on a sliding scale. For patients with thyrotoxicosis after taking excess levothyroxine, it is critical to monitor vital signs and initiate effective treatment.

You may not be able to take Synthroid if you have certain medical conditions.
The exact opposite is true when your dose of levothyroxine is too low.
We are grateful to the patient for allowing publication of this case report.
You can treat overdose symptoms usually by simply reducing your dose of thyroid medication.

Activated charcoal and hemodialysis have no role in levothyroxine overdose. This patient had a total score of 55 points, 30 for disturbance of consciousness and 25 for tachycardia, which met the diagnostic criteria for thyroid storm. Thyroid storm can occur a few days after an overdose of levothyroxine. In the cases reported by Wong et al7 and Schottstaedt and Smoller11, the thyroid storm occurred 3 d after ingestion. The delayed occurrence of the thyroid storm can be attributed to the onset of levothyroxine action, which occurs 3–5 d after oral administration. Thyrotoxicosis involves an excess of circulating thyroid hormone that has a number of causes and eventually leads to sympathetic nerve excitation and hypermetabolic syndrome.

Whenever I would treat patients who were taking too much thyroid medication (of any type), I would simply have them avoid taking their medication for a few days to allow the thyroid hormone levels to fall. Levothyroxine toxicity is rare, but it can sometimes occur accidentally, especially in children. If someone takes too much levothyroxine, symptoms might not occur for several days. Symptoms of levothyroxine overdose include irregular heartbeat, headache, anxiety, agitation, shaking, fatigue, confusion, and disorientation.

Synthroid is also used in patients who need surgery and radioiodine therapy to manage a type of thyroid cancer called well-differentiated thyroid cancer.
The TSH only gives you information about your pituitary gland (7) and it doesn’t give you information about the absolute levels of free thyroid hormone levels in your body.
This includes prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products.
The quality, the texture, and even how it lays on your head can all be impacted by your thyroid medication dose.

He received stress-dose steroids; hemodialysis was performed a day earlier, and cholestyramine was administered. Thyroid hormone levels started to improve by day seven and finally normalized in 20 days, after which the home dose of levothyroxine was resumed. This case shows that it is possible to have no symptoms even with an overdose of up to 9 mg a day of levothyroxine. Signs and symptoms of levothyroxine toxicity may not appear for several days after ingestion, and, therefore, close observation preferably on a telemetry floor is recommended until the thyroid hormone levels start to decrease. Effective treatment options include beta-blockers preferably propranolol, early gastric lavage, cholestyramine, and glucocorticoids. While hemodialysis has a limited role, antithyroid drugs and activated charcoal are ineffective.

How to Lose Weight with Hashimoto’s: Step-by-Step Guide

Synthroid is a prescription medicine used to treat hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone). Levothyroxine is given when your thyroid does not produce enough of this hormone on its own. Synthroid is a thyroid medicine that replaces a hormone normally produced by your thyroid gland to regulate the body’s energy and metabolism. If you are someone who is having trouble managing your dose of thyroid medication then I would recommend checking out this article next.

Most probably LT-4 would not be entirely dissolved by the gastric juice and may not be absorbed in the duodenum (normally about 10-15%) but would be absorbed in the jejuno-ileum (normally about 53% of absorption of LT4). In euthyroid patients, doses within the range of daily hormonal requirements are ineffective for weight reduction. Thyroid hormones, including levothyroxine, should not be used either alone or with other therapeutic agents for the treatment of obesity or weight loss. Dangerous side effects or death can occur from the misuse of levothyroxine, especially if you are taking any other weight-loss medications or appetite suppressants.

Your thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level should be checked every six to eight weeks after beginning thyroid hormone replacement until the correct level is achieved. It also should be checked after changing the brand, formulation, or dose of your medication. This article will go over why you might be taking too much levothyroxine, the side effects of levothyroxine overmedication, and when to see a healthcare provider. You can treat overdose symptoms usually by simply reducing your dose of thyroid medication.