11th October 2007
I have seen this reaction at the onset of various brands of thyroid meds, not just Synthroid, in people who post here. Synthroid's prescribing information recommends reporting to the prescribing physician if headache - among other signs and symptoms - occurs... so you did the right thing.
I can tell you that most of these kinds of effects are temporary, and that as your body adjusts, the problem will disappear in most cases. Your body is used to being hypothyroid, and it sees the introduction of extra hormone almost as a hypERthyroid state... It doesn't quite know what to do with that hormone, so it reacts as if it were too much circulating.
There is a distinct possibility that you're oversensitive to the binder, fillers, or dye in the tablet; changing to the dye-free 50 mcg tablet (taking 1 1/2 tabs to equal a 75 mcg dose) can often help. Changing brands altogether is sometimes required.
Unlike your MD, I feel that your problem is almost certainly related to the onset of treatment. It only makes sense to look at the most recent changes instead of your usual coffee and water consumption when evaluating new symptoms. And MDs rarely know- unless they've been through it themselves - how treatment affects those of us in the trenches.
So... Your choice is to wait it out, if you can stand to, in the hope the situation improves on its own. Or you could ask to reduce your dose to 50 for a few weeks in the hope that the shock to your system will be reduced and maybe the headaches along with it. Or you could ask to try a different brand, like Unithroid, Levothroid, Levoxyl, et al, to see if the problem is limited for you to Synthroid.
I can tell you that most of these kinds of effects are temporary, and that as your body adjusts, the problem will disappear in most cases. Your body is used to being hypothyroid, and it sees the introduction of extra hormone almost as a hypERthyroid state... It doesn't quite know what to do with that hormone, so it reacts as if it were too much circulating.
There is a distinct possibility that you're oversensitive to the binder, fillers, or dye in the tablet; changing to the dye-free 50 mcg tablet (taking 1 1/2 tabs to equal a 75 mcg dose) can often help. Changing brands altogether is sometimes required.
Unlike your MD, I feel that your problem is almost certainly related to the onset of treatment. It only makes sense to look at the most recent changes instead of your usual coffee and water consumption when evaluating new symptoms. And MDs rarely know- unless they've been through it themselves - how treatment affects those of us in the trenches.
So... Your choice is to wait it out, if you can stand to, in the hope the situation improves on its own. Or you could ask to reduce your dose to 50 for a few weeks in the hope that the shock to your system will be reduced and maybe the headaches along with it. Or you could ask to try a different brand, like Unithroid, Levothroid, Levoxyl, et al, to see if the problem is limited for you to Synthroid.