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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Are The Side Effects Of Levothyroxine?

Is muscle pain (I think it s muscle) among the side effects of levothyroxine? I ve been taking it for 2 weeks and have had sharp pain of such intensity it makes it difficult to turn over in bed at night. The pain is between the shoulder blade and my spine on the right side. I m assuming it is muscle because the pain intensifies as I move in a way that activates the muscle in that area.
posted on Tue, 1 Nov 2016
Twitter Sun, 27 Nov 2016 Answered on
Twitter Mon, 28 Nov 2016 Last reviewed on
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Muscle crap can occur as a side effect of levothyroxine. This is temporary and shall resolve in few weeks once you reach a stable serum TSH.
Other possible side effects of levothyroxine are nervousness, excitability, tremor, muscle weakness, fatigue, cramps, sweating, flushing, heat intolerance, headache, insomnia, tachycardia, palpitations, restlessness, depression, difficulty in sleeping, and excessive weight loss. Even if any side effects occur, this is seen in early stage of treatment and often resolves with progress of time once you achieve a stable dose of levothyroxine. So monitoring of treatment is essential. Serum TSH should be measured to monitor for adequate replacement. Advice
1.     Continue levothyroxine as advised
2.     Take rest for few days
3.     Apply any over the counter muscle relaxant cream such Relaxyl ointment three times daily
4.     Measure your serum TSH after 6 weeks; take the report to your doctor. Doctor will titrate the dose of levothyroxine as per serum TSH level
5.     Regularly check your blood pressure and pulse rate
6.     Avoid smoking, coffee and alcohol
I hope this information will help you. I will be happy if you ask another question
Thanks

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What Are The Side Effects Of Levothyroxine?

Muscle crap can occur as a side effect of levothyroxine. This is temporary and shall resolve in few weeks once you reach a stable serum TSH. Other possible side effects of levothyroxine are nervousness, excitability, tremor, muscle weakness, fatigue, cramps, sweating, flushing, heat intolerance, headache, insomnia, tachycardia, palpitations, restlessness, depression, difficulty in sleeping, and excessive weight loss. Even if any side effects occur, this is seen in early stage of treatment and often resolves with progress of time once you achieve a stable dose of levothyroxine. So monitoring of treatment is essential. Serum TSH should be measured to monitor for adequate replacement. Advice 1. Continue levothyroxine as advised 2. Take rest for few days 3. Apply any over the counter muscle relaxant cream such Relaxyl ointment three times daily 4. Measure your serum TSH after 6 weeks; take the report to your doctor. Doctor will titrate the dose of levothyroxine as per serum TSH level 5. Regularly check your blood pressure and pulse rate 6. Avoid smoking, coffee and alcohol I hope this information will help you. I will be happy if you ask another question Thanks