I have just been put on Synthroid for hypothyroid. I’m only on it a week so it’s all new. But I have noticed that my control seems a little easier to maintain. I have actually cut back a few units here and there. Is this a real thing with hypothyroid medication? Or just a coincidence? Prior to this I had been in a pattern of really difficult control for about three years. I have achieved a decent control, but it was a lot of work to get it. This past week has almost been easy.
I am male, T1 and have been on Synthroid for 30+ years.
Or, well, should’ve been on. I was actually was “off” Synthroid for a several years so I can think of that as something like an A/B test.
I have never noticed any obvious differences in ease of control whether on or off, but yes there is a difference of a few units in insulin needs.
My hypothyroid symptoms when not taking Synthroid, are swollen glands (how I was originally diagnosed) and some hair loss. (As well as a big TSH number in the lab tests!)
I have Hashimotos . I was not converting levo t4 and I started t3 in addition now and that helped my bg. Increasing only t4 seemed to cause spikes. I think it depends on the person. Some people need more insulin with thyroid meds. If you have reverse t3 that causes resistance. I seem to be having worse lows now though. But overall my basals have increased. Basically, normalizing t3 levels can help bg management.
