Levothyroxine

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tiffanyhope13

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Hello again!

Tiffany here from the USA. 🙂 I just started a new thyroid medicine because I have two thyroid nodules and my TSH is up a bit. I started 5 days ago, and it has seemed to raise my blood sugar quite a bit. I put a call into my doctor today about it, and the medical assistant said he never heard of that. I looked it up and it actually can! Has anyone experienced this at all? Now I will have to adjust my 24 hour, I'm thinking. Still waiting for the doctor to call me back,

Thank you!
Tiffany
 
Hi Tiffany.

I have been using levothyroxine for some years, and whilst I have heard of it raising blood sugars, it;want something I experienced myself.

One thing I would say is that Levothyroxine is a drug that works by reaching a therapeutic dose, not be each dose we take, so it can take a few weeks to see any full impact of the medication or dose change.

For myself, when I started it, and at each dose increase (until the dose was about right), I found I had quite profound impacts (improvements in my symptoms), then it sort of crashed and burned, back to near/where I started. It can take several months to get the doses of Levothyroxine right for you.

Whilst I an certainly not giving you dosing advice on insulin, I would urge you not to do anything too extreme, too quickly, or you could be on a rollercoaster of tweaking.

Maybe your diabetes team might have some guidance for you.

When are you next due bloods to monitor the impacts of your new medication?
 
AndBreathe said:
Hi Tiffany.

I have been using levothyroxine for some years, and whilst I have heard of it raising blood sugars, it;want something I experienced myself.

One thing I would say is that Levothyroxine is a drug that works by reaching a therapeutic dose, not be each dose we take, so it can take a few weeks to see any full impact of the medication or dose change.

For myself, when I started it, and at each dose increase (until the dose was about right), I found I had quite profound impacts (improvements in my symptoms), then it sort of crashed and burned, back to near/where I started. It can take several months to get the doses of Levothyroxine right for you.

Whilst I an certainly not giving you dosing advice on insulin, I would urge you not to do anything too extreme, too quickly, or you could be on a rollercoaster of tweaking.

Maybe your diabetes team might have some guidance for you.

When are you next due bloods to monitor the impacts of your new medication?
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Thank you for the reply! This is great information and I appreciate it! I started on the thyroid medication because I have gained a little bit of weight and because I have two nodules. My doctor wants to see if the medication shrinks the nodules in 5 months. My TSH is only around 4-7, so she is keeping me on the lowest dose of 25mg M-F, not the weekends. She doesn't want me to go hyperthyroid (which I wouldn't mind if I lost 7 pounds). :D

I called and spoke to her assistant yesterday, but they are BAD about getting back to me. I don't see her again for 5 months, after the ultrasound. I raised my long acting from 14 to 15. It isn't too drastic, so I am going to see what that does until they call back - if they call back. I love my doctor, but they are horrible at getting back to me.
 
tiffanyhope13 said:
Thank you for the reply! This is great information and I appreciate it! I started on the thyroid medication because I have gained a little bit of weight and because I have two nodules. My doctor wants to see if the medication shrinks the nodules in 5 months. My TSH is only around 4-7, so she is keeping me on the lowest dose of 25mg M-F, not the weekends. She doesn't want me to go hyperthyroid (which I wouldn't mind if I lost 7 pounds). :D

I called and spoke to her assistant yesterday, but they are BAD about getting back to me. I don't see her again for 5 months, after the ultrasound. I raised my long acting from 14 to 15. It isn't too drastic, so I am going to see what that does until they call back - if they call back. I love my doctor, but they are horrible at getting back to me.
Click to expand...
25mcgr is a tiny dose, and usually only used in the UK for those with certain medical conditions, like osteoporosis, or are over 60, and even then it is usually a starting dose.

I do hope it works for you, but at that tiny dose, I'd keep my hopes managed.

If this is the first time taking Levothyroxine, it would be usual, in UK to retest your bloods after 6-8 weeks to see how your body is managing with it.

good luck with it all.
 
AndBreathe said:
25mcgr is a tiny dose, and usually only used in the UK for those with certain medical conditions, like osteoporosis, or are over 60, and even then it is usually a starting dose.

I do hope it works for you, but at that tiny dose, I'd keep my hopes managed.

If this is the first time taking Levothyroxine, it would be usual, in UK to retest your bloods after 6-8 weeks to see how your body is managing with it.

good luck with it all.
Click to expand...
Thank you! My doctor finally got back to me and said this med does not raise blood sugar. She insisted I may have other issues, like a UTI or infection. This is very disappointing, as I do NOT have an infection. I may get some blood work done to confirm and get back to her. I don't see her again until August. It's also disappointing she is eliminating my symptoms entirely. :(
 
How have your glucose levels been recently @tiffanyhope13 ? Are they settling down a little?
 
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