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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 Levothyroxin?

Recently started taking levothyroxin for hypothyroidism. My arms have started going to sleep on the night since I began taking it. I had a parathyroidectomy a month prior to beginning the levothyroxin, and did experience some numbnes and tingling from low calcium, but didn t ever have my arms go to sleep. Taking extra calcium doesn t seem to help, so,I m wondering if it is a side affect of the levothyroxin.
Tue, 25 Nov 2014
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hello there,
Thank you for your question. Levothyroxine has this side effect of causing tingling or numbness in the limbs but it is quite rare. About 0.07% in some studies have had this side effect. But knowing your history of parathyroidectomy it appears more likely that its your calcium levels that maybe responsible for this numbness. You need to be thoroughly examined to find the cause with some clinical signs to see hypocalcemia (low calcium levels) and maybe some blood tests like Serum Calcium along with Serum Albumin also testing for thyroid function with TSH values. Even getting a Serum B12 level will help. With these reports we can conclude the exact cause for your numbness.
Hope this helps.
Take care.
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What Are The Side Effects Of Levothyroxin?

Hello there, Thank you for your question. Levothyroxine has this side effect of causing tingling or numbness in the limbs but it is quite rare. About 0.07% in some studies have had this side effect. But knowing your history of parathyroidectomy it appears more likely that its your calcium levels that maybe responsible for this numbness. You need to be thoroughly examined to find the cause with some clinical signs to see hypocalcemia (low calcium levels) and maybe some blood tests like Serum Calcium along with Serum Albumin also testing for thyroid function with TSH values. Even getting a Serum B12 level will help. With these reports we can conclude the exact cause for your numbness. Hope this helps. Take care.