I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism for 4 years now and am still struggling with my endocrinologist to get my dose right. The last few months I have been suffering with severe pain in my shoulder - which a physio says could be related to my thyroid problem. I thought others might like to be aware that an under-active thyroid can cause muscle and joint pain - I certainly did not realise. I have been reading the info on this site and now I can connect other things like stiffness and difficulty walking upstairs at times, odd pains in other joints - knees, hips and back ache.
I can relate to that. I've been underactive for 4 years following treatment for an overactive thyroid. I've grown accustomed to the muscle pain, aches and twinges and still manage to exercise without pushing myself too far. Initially I thought I'd never feel 'normal' again, but I accept that I have to make allowances and I don't let it get me down.
“But I accept that I have to make allowances and I don't let it get me down.”
No you don’t have to accept this or make allowances, both of you deserve to be treated as an individual and treated for your individual symptoms…the aches and pains you are experiencing are quite common and should be addressed your doctor who should be treating you for your Symptoms and not just your blood tests
I will stress that I am not medically qualified and that what I say is my opinion, any treatment should be always undertaken with the advice and guidance of a qualified person.
It is my guessthat you may be suffering from myopathies (the medical term for diseases that affect skeletal muscle which can be caused by the thyroid complaint). As you get your treatment right this should ease and can and does go away. If All your meds are correct you may have to be referred to a rheumatologist.
Some doctors tend to just look at the result of the TSH level but should test for TSH,T3,T4, B12 and others to ensure all your levels are correct, they have to treat the symptoms not the rely on just the blood results. Of course this tests can be expensive but if you are still suffering from symptoms you must insist that they are carried out
As I keep saying you don’t have to “Accept the symptoms you are getting. research everything you can find out what are the Normal levels discuses if added T3 medication could help take what you find to your doc…help them to help you…don’t accept anything you should be expecting the best treatment and continuous work to get you as near to 100% as possible the link attached may help with your questions about the muscle pain.
Please don’t sit back and accept less that 100% effort to help you get back to normal. I have found out so much from reading everything I can. How to eat the right foods, how to do the correct exercise, how and when to take my medication, what foods to avoid, what other medication clash with mine.
,
Don’t forget Knowledge is Power.
:mrgreen:
I was miserable for a long time and did not realize that my increasing aches and pains in my joints and tendons were not due to age, sports, injury, early arthritis, bad shoes...pretty soon I could not climb stairs or rise from chairs with out huge effort and I felt like I was 100 years old. My doctor told me I was depressed and recommended I walk for 5 minutes a day! I did not feel depressed, just in pain. Oops I forgot to say that I had already been diagnosed with Hashimotos 16 years hence and was taking synthroid. So my husband insisted that I go to an endocrinologist and he listened to me and said that I was under medicated and had a serious case of hashimotos and needed to be given t-3 and t-4 not just t-4 (synthroid only has t-4) so he prescribed ARMOUR which has both t-3 and t-4. The first day I could feel that I was going to get better and with each increasing day I felt better. I never thought that I could recover. It was like going to the fountain of youth! I have my life back I am so happy again. My body is not like a boulder that I can hardly bare any more.
Hello
I have been aching and struggling to enjoy walking, or any physical activity for more than two years. My feet swell easily, my eyes are sore and I forget so much. Life has been difficult and I was always told that I suffered from stress ( I was even prescribed pills but decided that if this was stress I could fight it and the side-effects sounded gruesome).
Two weeks ago, when a new doctor joined our surgery, I mentioned my aches and pains to him and he sent me for a blood test. I have Hashimotos. At last I might be taken seriously. On 50g I feel no better and have just been given 100g. pills and a referral to an endocrinologist.
Your description of your body being like a boulder is so like mine. You have given me hope when you say that after taking some pills it was like going to the fountain of youth.
I am keeping my fingers crossed - I can't wait to feel normal again.
Thank you everybody who writes on here and understands what it is like.
Hi there. I was diagnosed hypothyroid six weeks ago and told it was autoimmune ( hashimoto`s) last week so this is still all pretty new to me.
I was started on 25mcg Thyroxene and am now up to 100mcg a day as my last TSH was still over 100.
I have to say it was quite a relief to be able to put a name to all the pains and symptoms I have been getting.
I was putting all my feelings down to the menopause, and most of it could be due to that. But I couldn`t work out why I was sooooo tired all the time, gained so much weight (2stone in a year) and my muscles hurt so much when going for a short walk or climbing the stairs.
My skin is so dry that I look as if I have leprosy (SP?).
I could go on and on, but I`m sure you know the rest of the symptoms.
It has helped me so much being able to talk about it to people who know what I am talking about.
Regards Vonnie XX
if you have a look at my first post some way back on this page\" Thyroid v old git syndrome\" you can see how i was at your point..it is nigh on a year now and i am nearly back to normal... go have a look
[quote:71e9ef234f=\"ally\"]I can relate to that. I've been underactive for 4 years following treatment for an overactive thyroid. I've grown accustomed to the muscle pain, aches and twinges and still manage to exercise without pushing myself too far. Initially I thought I'd never feel 'normal' again, but I accept that I have to make allowances and I don't let it get me down.
I have just been diagnosed with underactive thyroid and for the last 5 weeks have had real bad shoulder and bicep muscle pain, after reading this I guess I'v got my answer and it is probably connected , I hope it goes as soon as my thyroxine has kicked in.
HI
I also believe that you shouldn't have to suffer this way. I've been down a rough, rocky road trying to get my GP to listen to me. You will find many of my complaints on this site under the username of 'ms'. I even stopped taking thyroxine and went for herbal (not that it did me any good).
Cut a long story short, I am now in the care of an endocrinologist at the hospital. I type up my current symptoms and take them with me each time I go. I have muscle and joint pain and feel I am so old. I am 36 years old and have three children to look after.
I wish there was more help out there for us. I, like many of you, just want to be able to get on with my life again. I have learnt to accept that I will never be 100% again but just want to be able to do take an interest in living.
I hope you get all the help you need.
ms
Hi ,
i have been diagnosed with Hypothriodism for two years now, however i feel ive had it for many years. I have recently started suffering with tendon pain in my shoulder, knee and writsts. I am waiting for an operation on my shoulder because apparently the tendons are trapped under the bone. I woke up the other morning not been able to use my right hand due to excrutiating pain in my wrist. Doctor as diagnosed tendonitis! Last year my knee give way and i ended up on crutches for two weeks, tendon and ligamant damage! i am absouloutly fed up of been in pain , please can anyone tell me if they too experience any of this ? i honestly don't think i can put up with it anymore. I am only 47 and feeling like a pensioner.
Hi Yana,
I will be 47 in July and I understand your pain!!! I want
everyone to read the following info!! As much as we all would
like to think that our Dr's will have all the answers to help us
get well,it is unfortunate that when it comes to wellness issues,such as thyroid,adrenal,and all other hormonal issues,even the endocrinologists are taught,in medical school,to treat all hormonal imbalances and deficiencies with drugs.They are NOT
taught that if given the right NUTRIENTS that we are deficient in,our hormones CAN and WILL be able to function
NORMALLY.Another thing to understand, which Drs do not
tell their patients,is that EMOTIONAL STRESS GREATLY
AFFECTS HORMONAL BALANCE and our ability to absorb nutrients from our foods (even if we are eating healthy)..and
nutrients are what produce and allow hormones to work
correctly! Onmore thing to understand..our foods are covered in pestisides these days,sometimes even the "organic" foods,
which cause hormonal disruption in the body.Bottom line..we can learn to balance our OWN HORMONES and get them to
work properly with nutrition supplements,a proper diet and learning how to regulate our stress in healthy ways,which greatly
affects And allows the adrenals and thyroid to function
properly! Lastly,medications like Synthroid very often make
thyroid problems WORSE and,at the very least,DO NOT HELP,
IMPROVE OR BALANCE THYROID
PROBLEMS bc medications are synthetic and our bodies
cannot make thyroid from anything synthetic.If anyone would
like to contact me for further info,I have alot of info for u!
Hi
I have been on levothyroxine for 9 years with no problems. After introducing a squat circuit into my workout my muscles stiffened up in my gluteus, hamstrings and lower back. I put this down to the squats and continued. As the days went on I stopped the squats but I kept getting stiffer in the muscles and kept trying to stretch them. The pain then spread to my hips and groin. I was struggling to walk especially after sitting down for a while. The pain/ stiffness then spread to my shoulders and then knees. The Dr have sen me for a scam on my back and completed blood tests for rheumatoid arthritus and infection ( both negative). The more I research thyroid function I think my muscle pains may be due to my thyroid medication.
Hi
i have been on levothyroxine fir 9 years with no problems. I am presently experiencing muscle pain/ stiffness in my joints in varying degrees. At worst unbearable at best uncomfortable. Effected areas are gluteus, hips adductors always, shoulders and back of knees. After sitting in one position for a time I am so stiff in the hips it is ridiculous. Once I get moving they free up. Do you think it may be the medication ? Appreciate your thoughts as it's gone on for three months
Wow! Reading the posts here is eye opening... I never thought to check on my hypothyroidism for my issues...
I was diagnosed with Polymyalgia Rheumatica January. Woke up suddenly, 30 days prior to diagnoses which I had to tell doctor about, unable to move in bed without excrutiating pain in all sides of my hips on both side, groin, hip flexors, hamstrings tightened up so bad I couldn't bend over, my shoulder wouldn't allow me to push covers off my body.
here I am 8 months later, tapered on Prednosone at 7 mg now...have crazy side effects! Can't tatse food, dry mouth, skin, acid reflux, lost 20 lbs.
Now I'm wondering if it's my thyroid! Primary doctor will only use TSH test. Rheumy just got my T4 test and it is high. I'm on .75 Levo.
I'm really going to push to find doctor to help met get on NDT.
my favorite ENT doctor moved away!!! He said I have Hashimoto's but I don't know if primary doctor has this info or knowledge... Dang...I'm in such pain still and on this nasty corticosteroid...
What type of doctor should I seek????
Hi Yana, I have an underative thyroid and developed calcific tendinitis in the supra spinatus tendons of both shoulders. It came on very suddenly and I am convinced it is connected with taking levo. After two and a half years of taking strong pain killers and being in agony, I searched on line and found a treatment called Extra Corporeal Shock Wave Therapy. The NHS uses it for zapping kidney stones and for something called Plantar Fasciitis, but not for shoulders. NICE guidelines are positive about the treatment. I researched private treatment and have had two sessions, one more to go. I have stopped taking ALL pain killers and my shoulders feel better than they have done for years. The treatment is very painful when administered but each session only lasts 10-15 minutes. There is some information on Health Unlocked under tendons/thyroid disease. If you want more info I'll PM you.
I would like more info on this, my shoulder blade area including spine hurts big time daily. And recently if I pull my arms across my chest to stretch I hear crackling now. How did they diagnose/test for this calcification tendinitis?
thanks.
Layne
It was diagnosed via an ultra sound scan which was done on the NHS.
I just realized that this forum is in the UK and I am in the USA. But we all have the same problems. I have been hypo for over 10 years and I dont think the dr can get the meds right. MY legs and feet swell . I could function for a while but now I can just about walk. Endos keep saying it was something else but other doctors, and I have been to over 30, can't tell me what the something else is. The calves of my legs swell and ache. Has anyone gotten any relief?
I was dx 18 months ago with Hypothyroid, but I also have severe pain in my hips, back, in fact most places. I was then told by a Dr I have fibromyalgia. I also suffer sever headaches and migraines which seem to be tied into this too. Although I think I have had mild thyroid problems etc for a while.
I note that advice has been given to get your other thyroid levels checked, well I tried to keep a note of my levels but my Dr wont tell me and seemed to think I was challenging her dx, I just wanted a picture of how my levels were doing, she sent my to a endocrinologist and he was just rude and said he didn't need to see me. so that was very upsetting! It seems it's hard to find a Dr who will discuss this with you and give you any information on your condition, I've had no info on Fibryomylagia and am wary of asking for my info !!!
Good luck to you all, hope your conditions improve.
Hi
Is it possiable to send me your info on the underactive thyroid.........What you are saying, I belive to be true.