Almost two weeks of missed synthroid... getting really worried and need a doctor's advice??

Question

I had my thyroid removed about 10 years ago due to Grave's disease and now I'm on .175 mg of levothyroxine daily. I ran out of prescriptions, and my pharmacy has been trying in vain for over week to get ahold of my doctor. I asked if I could have some in the meantime, and they gave me three pills. Those are gone now, and they said they can't give me anymore until they have a prescription. So now we're on day 10 and I'm getting really nervous.

I am sleeping about 15 hours a day, falling asleep pretty much every time I sit down. I'm feeling extremely down in the dumps for no reason. Can't seem to get myself in a good or motivated mood. I just feel like I'm going through the motions every day, like I'm not even here.

I'm getting myself worked up because I know I can die without thyroid hormone in my body, and I'm so upset that no one will give me the medication I need. Am I blowing this out of proportion? Am I going to be alright?

Answer 1

Call the doctor's office yourself. Some offices are notoriously bad about approving pharmacy refill requests. Actually, there is no max to how many emergency pills you can give a patient. They will just be taken out of your next refill. The law in my state says you can give an emergency supply for the emergency period.

Answer 2

There's nothing wrong with going to another doctor. If your doctor is going to go out of town without having anyone to cover for him shopping for a replacement would probably be a good idea! In the short term you could probably go to an urgent care clinic and get a prescription for a week or so of pills.

Answer 3

You are probably not going to die because of missing your pills but it may give you some symptoms. It takes several days for all of your medication to clear your body so you have had some leeway before all the meds are gone out of your body. Unless your doctor is a sole practitioner, there is always someone who takes "call" for patients whose doctor is on vacation. This person can prescribe a refill for you. Call them again today and ask to speak to whoever is on call for your doctor!