Let's talk about levothyroxine. We have thyroid medications and anti-thyroid medications, but let's talk about thyroid medications, which is levothyroxine. The brand name is Synthroid.
This is a synthetic thyroid hormone. You can remember this by the memory trick, levothyroxine looks like thyroid and Synthroid looks like synthetic thyroid. Levothyroxine is used for patients with hypothyroidism, aka those that don't have enough thyroid hormone.
Hypo, think low thyroid hormones. Levothyroxine is also used as a hormone replacement after a thyroidectomy. If we break apart that word, thyroid means, well, thyroid gland, and ectomy means removal of. So this is removal of all or part of the thyroid gland.
These patients are suffering from a lack of thyroid hormone, so they're in need of thyroid hormone. Since they can't get it from their thyroid gland naturally, we use a synthetic form, aka levothyroxine. Let's talk about the mechanism of action. The thyroid gland produces hormones such as T3, aka tridothiamine, and T4, aka thyroxine. But remember, in hypo...
both thyroidism we have low levels and after a thyroidectomy we might even have no levels because we took the thyroid out. So levothyroxine replaces or mimics the hormone thyroxine also called T4. This is easy to remember because thyroxine is literally spelled out in the medication name levothyroxine. All right let's talk about the must-know side effects of levothyroxine. Although this medication works to increase thyroid levels, the medication can exert its effect too much, leading to hyperthyroidism.
So the side effects will be the same as hyperthyroidism. If you remember from the thyroid lecture, thyroid hormone gives you energy, so everything will be increased. You can remember this by thinking, levo is elevated.
So we'll have increased energy. such as nervousness and tremors, an increased blood pressure, increased pulse, increased NGI function, aka diarrhea, and an increased in metabolism, which leads to weight loss, as well as an increased temperature. These patients typically have a hot sensation. So we just talked about the negative side effects, but what does a therapeutic response to this medication look like?
What indicates the medication is working? An improved mood, improved energy levels, and vital signs that are normal all indicate the medication is working. Okay, let's talk about patient education for levothyroxine.
The first one is you do not want to stop taking the medication if symptoms resolve, especially in those pregnant women with hypothyroidism. This is because thyroid hormone is needed for fetal development in utero. In terms of administration, it should be taken once a day, in the morning, at the same time.
It should be taken 30 minutes before a meal on an empty stomach. It may take 8 weeks to see the full effect of this medication, so medication adherence is a must. Something to note about levothyroxine is it's a lifelong therapy. This patient will be on it for the rest of their lives. You can remember this by the memory trick levothyroxine think lifelong therapy.
If you want more information like this, you can find it in the complete pharmacology flashcards. It breaks down medications into easy to understand and no fluff like your textbook. The link is in the description below.
Happy studying future nurses!