What Causes Weight Gain And Heat Intolerance While On Synthroid, Prednisone And Levothyroxine?

Posted on Tue, 7 Jun 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 7 Jun 2016 Answered on

Tue, 5 Jul 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I have hypothyroidism. I take 175 MCG of Synthroid daily along with 2.5 or 5mg of PreniSone daily.
I am an active 72 year old and walk 2.5 to 3 miles a day. Two things have happened lately, I have become heat intolerant and gained a few pounds. Can you help?

Answered by Dr. Mirjeta Guni (7 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Hello!

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for asking!
I read your query and understood your concern!
175 mcg of levothyroxine is a high dose and should be monitored every 6 months if the last hormonal level has been within the normal ranges.
Heat intolerance is a symptom of over dose of levothyroxine, anyway it should be confirmed laboratorically.
The over weight might is a side effect of the prednisone treatment.
So i would recommend you to check the TSH level and to adjust the dose of levothyroxine if abnormal.
Hope thw information will help and i am opened for further questions.
Kind regards,
Dr.Mirjeta

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Naveen Kumar