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i finally man'd up and started my thyroid meds yesterday . i'm taking 25mcg's of levox. i was wondering will taking this make me feel better in any way with my anxiety??

Zach,

25mcg is a really low dosage. I have been on synthroid for decades and my endocrinologist recently did a blood test and told me to increase my meds. I take 50mcg/day and he had told me in November to take two extra pills a day if it made me feel better. Of course, I was too chicken to take it, so I didn't since I felt OK. Well, I just had another test and now I am in the hypothyroid range. I took an extra pill last Thursday and was anxious all day. I took an extra pill today and am fine. Anxiety and all that negative thinking junk we feed our brains can cause a perfectly harmless med to be blamed for anxiety. Obviously, the anxiety was self induced last Thursday, not from the medication, since I feel normal today.

If you are hypothyroid, which I assume you are since the doc wants to supplement you, then you will generally feel better when your TSH and Free T4 are in the correct range. I can't tell you about the anxiety--I had it when my TSH levels were perfectly normal.

I know what you mean by "manning up". I hate taking meds too, but we have to take care of ourselves and not allow our fear to control our health.

It is going to take a while for you to feel the full effects--probably 4 to 6 weeks and then your doctor will probably want to retest you.

Good for you for taking care of yourself!!

Wow, those are low dosages. I don't think that'll end up being your dosage, Zach. Thing is, what the blood tests can tell is that your body is screaming for more thyroid hormone. They can't really tell that your body has enough. So it's far easier for the doctor to continue giving you not-enough - re-test - give you double not-enough - re-test - until the blood tests come back no-longer-screaming-for-more. At least this is how it was explained to me.

Being hypothyroid didn't make me anxious. It made me drag around exhausted all the time - like walking pneumonia. Thyroid hormone governs your body's oxygen metabolism. So if you don't take your thyroid replacement meds, it's like you aren't getting enough air. Because the air you get, you can't use properly. Like a clock winding down to a standstill, your metabolism is half-dead.

I take 150 mcg/day, and I'm only 5'2". Of course, it depends on how much your thyroid is underperforming.

Good for you Zach. He is probably starting you small since you are anxious about taking meds and as you feel better they may increase the dosage. You will feel better. I think the thryroid is like when your serpentine belt is busted in the car. It effects everything else. You will feel better.
Take care

Jill~

thanks for the replies everyone. yea i know my doc prescribed me a low dosage. i dont know why it took me so long to take it. i was suppose to take it months ago an had my doc appt. the 12th of this month. so gotta reschedule so i can get these pills in for my bloodwork. so it usually takes weeks to notice ne kind of difference if any?

Zach,

When my endocrinologist changes my dosage, he retests me in 8 weeks. Once his nurse practitioner did it in 4 weeks. I have read you get clinical benefits in 3-5 days and then you level off alfter 4-6 weeks. I haven't changed my dosage in over 15 years and am just starting to up it now, so I can't remember how long it actually took me to feel better.

So you definitely need to call the nurse and tell her when you started so she can reschedule you and you don't waste your time and money on useless bloodwork.

Yes I had to be tested every 6 weeks.And now that I am stable they won't check it again for 6 months and that's if I need it.

J~