Has anyone missed one dose of Levothyroxine and had vertigo?

madwells1

I am on 112 of levo and that has really helped me. I think I forgot my dose this morning for the first time ever, and by 2-3PM I was having major vertigo and dizziness.

From what I have read, I don't know if this is because I missed my dose, or if something else is going on. Does anyone have any experience with missed doses?

I honestly need to invest in a pill box.

Fuzzipeg

Hi, your message came in at 12-41 UK time, I hope you are feeling easier by now or this morning as it is here.

Headaches can be an indicator of a missed dose, I'm not sure about vertigo and dizziness. You can take a dose later, may be up to 6 hours if you have an empty stomach and are not expecting to eat for an hour. I would not take a late dose if I were almost 18 hours late, it might give you a too high level when you usually take it, thought of a fellow patient.

Dizziness and vertigo can be related to labyrinthitis, and inner ear issue, I strongly suggest if your symptoms have continued you see your doctor. Its not usually serious but its as well to have proper advice as sometimes a medication is helpful, my daughter was advised it should pass

and hers did. It is best to see someone to be sure of the cause.

All the best, hope you feel better soon.

stevephi01

Hi, I hope you are feeling better, I'd also suggest seeing a healthcare professional if you aren't back to normal.

There have been times in my past where I missed doses, in my case I didn't notice any difference if it was one day but there was a period when I didn't have the tablets for a fair length of time and the most noticeable thing I remember is being so lethargic.

madwells1

Thanks @stevphi01. I think that there is something different going on. Going to wait one more day to see if it improves after my next dose and then go in for routine check up if I still feel funny.

bametels

I have dealt with vertigo - Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). This is short episodes of vertigo because dislodged pieces of inner ear “crystals” that send mixed signals to the brain resulting in vertigo. This may or may not be what you are experiencing. My doctor sent me to a physical therapist who gave me exercises to stop it. You can search online for information on this form of vertigo and for instructions/videos on how to do the exercises. It's quick and easy. I hope you get relief soon. It's pretty scary and disconcerting because it occurs with no warning. When I've had periods of time when it was happening more frequently, I started doing the exercises even when I did not have symptoms to help prevent it. Hope you get an answer and feel better soon!

PS - I have hypothyroidism.The endocrinologist that my MD sent me to thinks I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis because I had thyroiditis many years ago. However, the antibodies test can back negative but she said you can get a negative result even if you have it. As far as I know, the BPPV is not related. I have on occasion forgotten to take my Synthroid but it has not caused vertigo. I did invest in a pillbox. It's the only regular med I take, but my hectic lifestyle leads me to forget to take it or be unsure if I've taken it. The pillbox helps.

CSARdiver

No - the reaction time for these and similar medications is 5-7 days. If you were aware of the missed dose and this caused you stress that may be responsible, but there is no causal relationship.

kp7067

Typically, Levo builds up in your system over like, 10 days or so. One missed dose shouldn’t give you too many-if any- symptoms. It’s my understanding that constipation, bloat/puffiness, lethargy, and other general symptoms of hypo would be related to low thyroid hormones.

You should talk to your doctor. If your hypo is caused by an autoimmune disorder, than your more likely to have another autoimmune- and they can cause all kinds of weird symptoms. Also, there could be a million non-serious reasons for dizziness/vertigo that are easily treated.

shelleysykeskeene

I've gotten vertigo, light headed, brain fog etc on missing a dose - however I found out that I have hashimoto's - not just hypo anymore. I found I have bradycardia caused by my thyroid (fancy name for slow heart rate) and my heart rate would drop which caused a BP drop and that's where my symptoms were coming from when I missed doses. For example my normal resting HR is between 68 and 75. When I skip my meds my resting HR can go as low as 55 beats per minute causing my symptoms.

Fuzzipeg

I wonder if you should seek another opinion. Many doctors treat Hashi the same as basic nutritional hypo, when one's diet is lacking iodine and other minerals which your thyroid and other organs should turn into t3 and things. As someone with Hashi, only controled, it sounds more like t3 being low for you. Your system should convert levo t4, into t3 and for some reason there is likely a problem with conversion, it can be complicated. When you have Hashimoto's you have antibodies because your immune system is involved something can intervene and make the normal conversion less effective, in my experience medics have to take a simplistic vew when low t3 can be involved. Many think you will always have high levels of antibodies because they can't be reduced, where as, it is possible to reduce antibodies if you can find which foods are causing the reactions.

My dietary reactions were less common so I opted eventually for private testing. There are regular suspects for autoimmunity, dairy, glutein, soy, and crusiferous veg. Though there are other far less common reactors too. If you go down the eliminaiton path try eliminating one group at a time, it can be wearing because commonly eliminating glutein can take 6 months to a year to feel any difference, dairy can be less, I reacted to casein the dairy protein and achieved results in 48 hours. Which is why I sought more enlightened support.

May i suggest you refer to your online National Thyroid support sites, they give the same information where ever you are, (I looked them up years ago). As well as these there are other sites which I found helpful, Stop the Thyroid Madness, otherwise STTM, and the Hypothyroid mom, there are others. One site gives 300 possible symptoms, it gets difficult when we have our own personal symptom batch and doctors are looking for a handful. Hashi is not a life sentence if you can discover what is driving the antibodies. I have also read on line medics, Chris Kresser, Josh Axe and others, look to see their qualificaitons. Look for fundimental advice being similar.

I hope i have given you some ideas. I hope you get yourself well soon. Take care.