Hi, Shelley! I've taken Synthroid for years, noticed that the last time I refilled, they gave me the generic, which I've taken all this month, and was on Levothroid before the Synthroid. I've never had any side effects from any of it.
I don't understand why they told you to suspend the Synthroid, since my experience has been that once you are on a thyroid supplement, you stay on it. I found the following info: Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is treated with thyroid hormone replacement. A small pill taken once a day should be able to keep the thyroid hormone levels normal. This medicine will, in most cases, need to be taken for the rest of the patient's life. When trying to figure out the amount of hormone you need, you may have to return to your doctor several times for blood tests to guide adjustments in the medicine dose. It is important that the dose be right for you. A yearly visit to your doctor will help keep your levels normal and help you stay healthy overall.
The other info I found on side effects of Synthroid was that rash could be a sign of an allergic reaction. But one site I found pointed out that there are a LOT of things that can interact with it. Here's the link: http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/r.../syn1421.shtml
and the list of interactives are found near the bottom of the page.
That's all I've got for you, hope someone else can post something more helpful.
Hugs,