So I'm just sitting on the sofa chilling out as you do and I get these annoying pains in my right thigh/hip/groin. This is the first time this year I've experienced them but two times before I had them in 2012, exactly the same type of pain, but they were much worse - these were in my other leg and stopped me from using it (lifting/walking normally/even when not using it at all - pain was constant).
How can I describe the pain...? I guess it's as if I've got elastic bands hitting against the thigh/hip/groin - sharp, short and constant. I'm 5 weeks into the thyroxine and on 50mcg, is the hypo creeping back in again at all? I ask this as the first time I saw a GP about it (which was at a walk-in clinic) the nurse practitioner said I was showing hypothyroid signs. This was before my hypo was confirmed let alone even thought of.
I'm not sure if the walk to the GP had anything to do with it as I've made trips up there and back on foot several times in the past and I've never had muscle aches/pains after coming back home.
Has anyone else had similar problems and what have they done to help it? I've been putting a hot water bottle on my leg to relieve it but it hasn't made much difference. Because I'm on Levothyroxine is it safe to take painkillers?
Thanks x
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Blossom234
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Hi I would ask to have an ultra sound, just to rule out anything important.For thyroid you need THS, T4 and Free T3 done and treatment to make these the right range. You also need the other autoimmune ,hormonal tests, diabetes, B12+ foliates ( needs too be high in range), iron/ferritin, needs to be well in range.vit D, if low,corrected calcium before treatment. These should be annually. If you can get your thyroid right,then an Adranal test, through a doctor for the correct one, 24 hour urine collection, cortisone tablet at midnight and a blood test at 9 am.
I hope that helps.,
Jackie
Not sure if you know if you wish to reply to a specific post click the blue"Reply to this" under that post
If the pain comes back I will be going straight back to my GP as this is getting worrying since I'm on treatment that should be sorting the thyroid issues out. I've been tested already for diabetes and that's come back clear even though my mum and nan have it. I had problems with my last GP with blood tests so I don't know how to go about requesting my newer one for the same without sounding like a bother.
I think I did click on Reply to this but the Internet was playing up at the time (it went a bit slow.)
Pain is a strong indication that you need more Thyroxine. Vitamin D could be useful to test because many find that they feel less pain when VitD levels are optimal.
Thyroxine is not a drug, it is a hormone, so if you are in pain there is no reason why you should not take painkillers, the only proviso is not to take them less than 2 hours apart from your thyroxine.
Your thyroxine is really a very small starting dose and it's time you had a follow-up blood test to see how things are going. This should ideally include the free T3 as well as TSH and T4, but chances are that the GP will only test the TSH. When you do get the blood test result (ask the doctor for the results and the ranges) and put them on here, you will have a good deal of help in interpreting what you see.
I'm due for a blood test on the 23 August and the GP has said that's a good enough time for a blood test. My GP has written on the prescription notes to have a blood test done before the three months are up. I've been on the thyroxine since June 1st and the dose has moved up to 75mcg as per his notes on the prescription slip. The medication course he has written down is as follows:
"1. 25mcg - 2 weeks.
2. 50mcg - 2 weeks. From
3. 75mcg - 2 months onwards
- Do blood test just before 3 months
- See GP if sweaty/fast pulse."
I took the 25mcg from 1st June to 15th June, the 50mcg from 16th June to 29th June and the 75mcg from today onwards.
To be fair I don't feel any different but then again I've not been on the thyroxine long. I'll persevere with taking the 75 for another 4 weeks and take things from there. My temp has started to dip again so I'm hoping the 75 will work in time!
Yes, being hypo affects your muscles. One of my first symptoms was ankle pain when I went up or down stairways. I get the same type of pain you describe. You can certainly take some type of anti inflammatory that works for you. Don't drink wine if you take Tylenol, though.
You may need to gradually increase your thyroxine until your symptoms stop.
It's probably likely I'm not on a high enough dose, but I'm not sure if the GP is planning on increasing my dose. If he's put my highest dose as 75mcg for now, I was given the impression that was going to be the highest dose I would be on. If that isn't the case, has he prescribed me a dose within reference to the high TSH level? So if it were much higher than 22, he would've given me a higher dose of thyroxine, for example?
He's asking me to switch from a 25 dose to a 50 within two weeks and I'm a bit worried as to the thought of him not knowing what he's doing!! Although I've been on a small dose I've noticed a difference in my eyes, in which they don't look as puffy or tired but I've been feeling another dip in how I feel. The tiredness has been creeping back in and my legs feel heavy but I don't know if it's down to the thyroid. Is it possible that the thyroxine did work for a while and the thyroid has gotten used to it?
Multi-dosing is one thing I haven't done actually, I had the impression that if I take both the 25 and the 50 at the same time in the morning (as I'm on a 75mcg dose), so one after the other, that would've worked ok. But by multi-dosing does that mean I can take the 25 in the morning and the 50 sometime later?
Being moved up on dosages is worrying me somewhat given the info from your link and I have noticed my pulse rate getting irregular. It goes fast and then slow and then fast again. I went to the GP last time and she said my heart rate was fine when she used the oximeter on me.
Blossom, when I was on Synthroid many years ago, the doctor said to adjust my dose every week upward by 25 until I felt better and I think I got to around 100mcg and stayed there for about six years. My muscles were always a problem and I finally switched to Armour but the muscle issues became permanent anyway.
It's not your thyroid but your pituitary gland that senses the fact you have more thyroxine in your system so your TSH goes down BUT what happens to that thyroxine is the important part. T4 always becomes either Ft3 or Reverse T3. With enough Free T3 your body will respond well but if something isn't quite right, you may still have symptoms, and that's why only testing T4 or TSH, doesn't really tell you if things are right. If you have symptoms as you do, you need to find out what the problem is.
Thyroxine goes into your system and only breaks down by half after two weeks so multidosing doesn't really effect your daily level. T3 is different since the half life is only twelve hours. So in approximately two weeks you are at a stable level of that dose and if you still have symptoms, you are probably going to need an increase. So if you need to increase your dose, within two weeks you should be getting an idea whether that increased dose is enough. (And this is what you have done, correct?) Many people here are taking over 125 mcg. Don't be afraid of increasing. I think everyone gets a little hyper reaction as the new dose sets in. I wonder if the pulse rate is very, very sensitive to thyroxine for some reason, anyway, I don't think it's a worry. Too low of a dose of thyroxine is more of a worry. It causes an enlarged left venticle and a lag in the R wave on an EKG (whatever that means). I do have it according to my last EKG so I tend to believe it.
So, keep learning about your thyroid, things are changing and maybe your doctor doesn't know about the latest research but you can. I'm a patient who has read lots of articles trying to help myself just like you are. I spent too many years going along with mediocre care when I could have had optimal care. Don't let that happen to you.
Yes, I mean I've changed doctors due to the whole thyroid/care issue so for me to change again is something I haven't planned on doing as I've made much more progress with my newer one.
I would like to increase and even though I've only been on the 75 for a couple of days I don't think an extra 25 is going to make much difference if I felt pretty much the same on the 50 from the 25. Can I increase to a certain amount on my own or do I need to go through my doctor first to let them know that I want to increase? Are they likely to increase the dose without doing a blood test?
Well, give your 75 a chance and wait til you get to your saturation point in a couple of weeks on 75 and then call your doctor if you decide you want to try another increase. He may allow it without the blood test but then again, some are very strict. I hope you can convince him if you think you need it.
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