Would Discontinuing Synthroid Cause Adverse Effects?

Posted on Tue, 13 Oct 2015

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

Tue, 13 Oct 2015 Answered on

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : I have been on a very small dose .1mg of synthroid for a few years. The past 4 days I've been sick and forgot to take it. I would like to not take it any more because I don't really think that I need it. Can I just quit taking it?

Answered by Dr. Vaishalee Punj (10 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Not taking will show effect in 2-3 weeks

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thanks for your query.

The effect of not taking supplement will show in 2-3 weeks. 0.1 mg is 100 mcg and is not very small. It may be considered as small dose. Not taking it will not cause any emergency issue. You will just feel lethargic. Reducing the dose and checking would have been a better idea.

So if you don't take it you will need to check your thyroid profile in 3-4 weeks to see how you are doing. If it shows low thyroid then you will need to restart it.

Hope it helps.

Dr Vaishalee

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj