Could I be allergic to Synthroid

[midniteblue]

I been taking Synthroid for years along with my Nardil antidepressant with no problems until a doctor told me to lower the Synthroid dose and I didn't listen and got sick and went to emergency room. Ever since then I been having problems increasing and tolerating higher doses of Synthroid. I am on 100 mcg of Synthroid with probably about 15. TSH by now. Every time I increase my meds I get bad jitters. When I take my vitamins/minerals it reduces the jitters alot. I am supposed to increase my Synthroid but can't tolerate the increases and I am stuck with my TSH being high. I don't know what to do. I was most of the years on Synthroid, then was also switched to Levoxyl then Unithroid back then and went back on Synthroid. Why can't I tolerate Synthroid? One other different doctor said to reduce my Nardil and I did and that helped me increase easily when the Synthroid dose was lower. Now am at the higher dose of Synthroid and can't do it. I used to take 2 Nardil's a day and lowered it to one a day and been on one a day since. Do I have to stop taking Nardil altogether? Not sure if my Nardil is causing my problem or I just may have built up antibdies against Synthroid being I took it for years and stopped and went back to it and or because I haven't listened to lower Synthroid when I was told to. Reason for that is because I went thru 3 different doctors with different opinions, they kept changing the doses and brands. I was thinking of coming off Nardil but Nardil has been reformulated and scared to get off of it. My psych doesn't want me to come off afraid I will get worse. Sorry for confusing story. I just have to somehow find out what's causing my intolerance to Synthroid. My TSH is normal if on 150 mcg but was severely jittery on that dose, but my t3free was low. He wanted me to go on Cytomel but was so nervous already I decided dont take Cytomel. So I am now on 100 mcg of Synthroid and my jitters are mild but still uncomfortable. I also take Centrum vitamins/minerals and calcium citrate and iron supplement and wondering if those are giving me high TSH blood test readings and taking higher doses of Synthroid really too high for me and not needed. I try to figure it out what it is and Ic ome up with all different thoughts.

[ChristineVA]

As far as I know, none of the vitamin supplements you take are going to give you false high TSH readings.

Jitters and nervousness is not really an indicator of a true "allergic" reaction. Certainly, when your TSH is high and you are hypo, your body is going to be very sensitive to increases in thyroid hormone. Some people notice it very easily and others don't feel anything with med changes. I have read a lot of people who have issues when trying to take more and more thyroid hormone. They get jittery for a few weeks, it goes away, and then the cycle starts again when they increase the dose.

It could be that you have a very sensitive nervous system and sensitive cardiac state. Many doctors, when faced with a patient who fills jittery on thyroid meds, will prescribe a beta-blocker medication such as propanolol. This lowers the heart rate and takes the nervous systems off of "alert" which the meds can cause.

I may have missed this in your post but do other brands of thyroid hormone work better for you? If so, I would try that. If not, I would seriously talk to the doctor about taking a beta blocker in combination with an increasing dose of thyroid hormone. It is not good for you to stay with such a high TSH long-term.

[midniteblue]

Thank you for replying about my problem. I can't really have beta blockers being I am asthmatic and also I take Nardil and can't have propanolol. I just can't understand why doctors can't help me. I was wondering about other brands but I hear it's not good to change brands too and I have done that in the past and wondering if that was part of that caused this jittery to begin with along with the other stuff I went through. I may have to find another doctor. I always go to bed feeling ok and I sometimes wake up with jitters too.

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

As far as I know, none of the vitamin supplements you take are going to give you false high TSH readings.

Jitters and nervousness is not really an indicator of a true "allergic" reaction. Certainly, when your TSH is high and you are hypo, your body is going to be very sensitive to increases in thyroid hormone. Some people notice it very easily and others don't feel anything with med changes. I have read a lot of people who have issues when trying to take more and more thyroid hormone. They get jittery for a few weeks, it goes away, and then the cycle starts again when they increase the dose.

It could be that you have a very sensitive nervous system and sensitive cardiac state. Many doctors, when faced with a patient who fills jittery on thyroid meds, will prescribe a beta-blocker medication such as propanolol. This lowers the heart rate and takes the nervous systems off of "alert" which the meds can cause.

I may have missed this in your post but do other brands of thyroid hormone work better for you? If so, I would try that. If not, I would seriously talk to the doctor about taking a beta blocker in combination with an increasing dose of thyroid hormone. It is not good for you to stay with such a high TSH long-term.

[ChristineVA]

I don't know if this helps, but I often get jittery in the morning and it can last several hours. I never know when it is going to happen, but morning time is the worst for me (even if I don't happen to take a Levoxyl that day).

I am a very anxious person at times and, according to my doctor, I just produce a lot of adrenaline (always have even as a baby). I think that it is just part of my "cycle" to produce a lot of adrenaline in the morning. I'm certainly much more calm in the evenings. I consistently have a fairly high resting pulse rate in the A.M. and it will be back down to around 68 beats per minute in the evening. It's odd and it's just me.

I'm thinking that you are similar to me in that your body is VERY sensitive to the hormone changes. It's just one of those things I think you might have to work through. It would be very helpful if you could find a doctor who would work with you on this. I understand about not taking the beta blocker but there are other meds that do the same thing (calcium channel blockers) that might work with your condition. Also, a little Xanax or Ativan could get you through the rough patches until you normal. Antidepressants can actually be quite stimulating so that may not be helping.

[Brillig]

Originally Posted by midniteblue

I been taking Synthroid for years along with my Nardil antidepressant with no problems until a doctor told me to lower the Synthroid dose and I didn't listen and got sick and went to emergency room. Ever since then I been having problems increasing and tolerating higher doses of Synthroid. I am on 100 mcg of Synthroid with probably about 15. TSH by now. Every time I increase my meds I get bad jitters. When I take my vitamins/minerals it reduces the jitters alot. I am supposed to increase my Synthroid but can't tolerate the increases and I am stuck with my TSH being high. I don't know what to do. I was most of the years on Synthroid, then was also switched to Levoxyl then Unithroid back then and went back on Synthroid. Why can't I tolerate Synthroid? One other different doctor said to reduce my Nardil and I did and that helped me increase easily when the Synthroid dose was lower. Now am at the higher dose of Synthroid and can't do it. I used to take 2 Nardil's a day and lowered it to one a day and been on one a day since. Do I have to stop taking Nardil altogether? Not sure if my Nardil is causing my problem or I just may have built up antibdies against Synthroid being I took it for years and stopped and went back to it and or because I haven't listened to lower Synthroid when I was told to. Reason for that is because I went thru 3 different doctors with different opinions, they kept changing the doses and brands. I was thinking of coming off Nardil but Nardil has been reformulated and scared to get off of it. My psych doesn't want me to come off afraid I will get worse. Sorry for confusing story. I just have to somehow find out what's causing my intolerance to Synthroid. My TSH is normal if on 150 mcg but was severely jittery on that dose, but my t3free was low. He wanted me to go on Cytomel but was so nervous already I decided dont take Cytomel. So I am now on 100 mcg of Synthroid and my jitters are mild but still uncomfortable. I also take Centrum vitamins/minerals and calcium citrate and iron supplement and wondering if those are giving me high TSH blood test readings and taking higher doses of Synthroid really too high for me and not needed. I try to figure it out what it is and Ic ome up with all different thoughts.

IMHO, IMMHO, you are talking serious drugs here. Nardil is not just an anti-depressant; it's a monoaminedoxidase inhibitor. That's serious business, my friend!!!!
EVERY SINGLE DRUG YOU TAKE MUST BE RUN THROUGH THE DOCTOR WHO HAS YOU ON NARDIL, OR IT CAN KILL YOU! I'm sorry to sound melodramatic, but I believe that the MAOUI's are the best drugs for depression, far better than the phony SSRI's and SNRI's, they have very severe problems, as I'm sure you know. You can eat the wrong food and DIE! Them's no small potatoes.
BE certain to check with the doctor who is prescribing the Nardil, how your Synthoid may interact. This is very important. If your doc doesn't answer, I always find that my pharmacist is the best source of this kind of info, anyway.
Good luck to you. It's an uphill battle, because one doesn't go on a Maui, unless the depression is severe, and I will hold good thoughts in my heart for you.
Allergy, not likely, but bad interaction, very possible!
Take care of you.