No, no, no—that is raw data for every adverse event reported by anyone to the FDA with that individual somehow suspecting a link to the drug—with dozens and dozens of such ‘reported’ events for one of the safest and most widely taken drugs around. That 1% is the percent of all reported effects, not a percent of the people taking it.
Millions and millions of Americans take Synthroid or its equivalent, and they often take it after the first presenting symptoms that caused thyroid testing included depression. Then, it takes weeks for the drug to be fully built up in your system, so it doesn’t have immediate effect.
That raw list of any supposed side effects has everything, including the kitchen sink, in it. You would never find suicide or depression listed as an actual side effect of the drug.
Taking too much of it and getting too much thyroid in your system can lead to the like of heart palpitations and so anxiety could presumably come from that, but that is an overdose level.
If people can’t convert T-4 to T-3 adequately that can lead to the drug not accomplishing its goal or having the intended effect, but it doesn’t cause suicidal thoughts or actions.
I took the medication and had a nervous breakdown that included suicidal thoughts and feelings. I found references online from respected medical resources that said that this could be one side effect of that medication.
I stopped taking the medication and had a resolution of all of my symptoms within 3 days. At that point, once I stopped taking the Synthroid, I was NOW hypothyroid (for two months) until I could get back to my doctor for a prescription change to Armour thyroid.
In my hypothyroid state, my depression was resolved.
I never had these problems again.
That is my personal experience. I have spoken with other women who’ve had the same experience with that medication. I’ve spoken with THREE doctors about this who’ve seen similar negative reactions to Synthroid. In the words of one of my doctors, “It works great for most people, but some people can’t handle it.” (Another of my doctors told me that she preferred to prescribe it because ‘it is easier to test the accuracy of the blood levels than Armour.’ NOT that patients did better on Synthroid over Armour.)
The closest I can come to understanding why is that Synthroid may not convert as well into T-3. I’m not saying that this is the problem, only that this is MY best guess.
You say that millions of people use Synthroid without adverse reactions? True. And millions of people use Prosaic without any problems yet we still discuss the few that do.
If you don’t like it, you can lump it. I know what I went through and how to avoid going through that again.
Armour or compounded thyroid all the way for me, baby.
And NO, I’m not saying that EVERYONE should stop taking Synthroid. Do what works for your own body. I have a friend who’s been thriving on it for years. We’re not clones and what works perfectly well for one person may not work for another.