I just saw in the latest forum poll comments today that someone mentioned Achilles problems as if they were a given with thyroid problems. This was news to me, but a real light bulb moment. For the last month or more I have had a steadily worsening problem with my left Achilles tendon. I just assumed that I had injured it (no memory of doing so) but it is just getting sorer and sorer, rather than better. I have a bus pass because of another medical problem so I have taken to using the bus whenever I can, even for short hops. While this is great for taking the weight off the pain, I'm damn sure it's not doing my fitness and health any good. I used to walk everywhere.
I find that even putting my foot flat on the floor if I have been resting on my toes is excruciating and I have to do it really slowly, groaning all the while because the vocalising helps the pain! I limp constantly and it's particularly embarrassing when I stand up after sitting because I am so stiff and sore in all my joints and muscles I walk like a 70 year old woman.
What exactly is the relationship between thyroid and the Achilles tendon, and is there anywhere credible this is mentioned 'legitimately'? I'd like to raise it with my doc, but I just know he will be sceptical and sneering - his usual default mode. Tell me this isn't an old wives' tale and actually has some scientific credibility....
P.S. I think I also suffer from Plantar fasciitis in my feet. I have chronically painful feet and have had for a long time now (years). It did go away when I was thin, while ill with gallstones, but it came back as soon as I gained back a little weight (I'm talking about a stone), so I don't think it's a (wholly) weight-related issue. I am overweight, but not obese.
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Chancery
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Just typical of doctors they do not know any common clinical symptoms of hypothyroidism. Plantar facilities being one of the approx 300. Joint aches/pains are common as are muscle pains.
They think we are hypochondriacs if we keep turning up at the surgery complaining of this and that but they are completely unaware of how our lives can be changed through hypo and we DO want answers. They are not forthcoming from the medics.
When I was first put on levothyroxine I turned into a stiff, painful, cannot move person. Combing hair was an impossibility, shuffled instead of walked..........
When the Endo added some T3 I immediately felt the benefit. I switched to NDT (myself) and also felt very much better. Now, I am on T3 only and am well at last.
I'm not saying that T3 is the be all and end all but some people do have an improvement as it is the Active hormone we all need in our receptor cells. If levo doesn't convert properly we wont have sufficient. Get your GP to test your FT3 to see the whereabouts. We should be toward the upper part. Go down to FT3 in this chart for info.
Some of us cannot convert T4 properly. Some have a Gene D102 which does the same thing.
Ask for a new blood test. Have it as early as possible, fast (you can drink water) don't take levo for around 24 hours before the blood test. Take it afterwards. Also ask for B12, Vit D, iron, ferritin and folate if you've not had them recently.
Tell your doctor you are fed up being unwell. You want adequate medication - one that improves your health. Unfortunately, they appear to know nothing other than diagnose by the TSH and tell us 'normal' when we feel anything but, and we are relying on them to know but find them wanting.
Funny you should say that, Shaws, about developing aches and pains when you were put on Levo. I am now just going into my 3rd month of Levo and I seem to be more achy than I was before I started, and I was pretty achy. Certainly the Achilles problem has come on during that time. It seems truly bizarre though to imagine the Levo is making things WORSE. Isn't it supposed to be improving things?
I've just had a thyroid test taken - I don't know the results yet - with a view to whether I should continue on Levo or not. I was, truthfully, all for dumping it because it doesn't seem to be doing anything for me, and it was one more med. But I have had improvements to my skin (and itching) and also to overheating, all of which were unexpected. So I don't know if it would be rash to get rid of it before it has a chance to work its magic.
I can't imagine I'd get my doc to add T3, especially if it's not a standard policy thing. He doesn't do off the book type manoeuvres! And I am REALLY reluctant to mess about with thyroid meds myself. My B12 is good because I get monthly injections and they won't retest my Vit D because it was tested last within the year. I know, I couldn't believe that either. How do you know if you have got your Vit D up to a good level (I was deficient) if they won't measure it to find out? God bless the NHS.
I had no idea they didn't check on the Vit D to ensure you had reached a good level. It must just be an assumption if they say to take X amount and that's it.
Vitamin D is a hormone as is B12 and if not at an optimum I don't think that would be helpful for us at all.
You can also put up a new post and say you had a low Vit D and were given supplements but they wont give a test to know your present level.
Because levothyroxine is a also a hormone replacement I sometimes think because it is synthetic it might not work so well for some people as it does for the majority. As you are feeling a small improvement that's good.
Levo should convert to sufficient T3 and T3 is the Active hormone that the billions of receptor cells in our body requires, the brain contains the most.
Also if the level isn't at optimum it can affect our heart as well as give us other problems. We have billions of thyroid receptor cells in our bodies and each one needs T3. Even if slightly hypo it might have taken years for our thyroid gland to fail. If you convert levo well that's fine.
I know, the Vit D thing is bizarre. I'm going to query it with my doc and see if he can 'appeal' it. I've stopped taking the tablets, but I'd like to be sure I'm not being an idiot in doing so. Talk about staggering about blind!
But I'm right in saying, am I not, that docs don't normally prescribe T3? I'm pretty sure I 've seen on here that it's usually only a few folk who get it from better educated endos?
On the NHS can we ask for the full range of tests? I intimated this at my last GP visit and told it was a lot of nonsense and the single test they did as sufficient! I am so unwell I feel helpless!
You can ask your GP. Say you want to get to the root of your problem in order to recover your health and it would be good to know your Free T4 and Free T3 as both need to be towards the upper part of the range enable us to feel better. Excerpt from Thyroiduk.org:
Undiagnosed hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism can cause a great strain on the heart. Hypothyroidism can cause coronary atherosclerosis (furring up of the arteries) due to high cholesterol levels. Dr Rowan Hillson tells us in her book, “Thyroid Disorders”, “Lack of T3 and T4 alters fat metabolism… and this can lead to furring of the coronary arteries (coronary atherosclerosis) and reduction of the blood supply to some of the heart muscle. This causes angina… - pain in the chest on exercising, which is usually relieved by rest. Coronary atherosclerosis can cause angina, a heart attack or coronary thrombosis.”
Blood test should be as early as possible and fast (you can drink water). Leave about 24 hours between your last dose of levo and the blood test and take it afterwards.
If he refuses you can have a private one with a recommended lab who give a small discount if you put Thyroiduk's code number. It's usually on the labs details:-
Thank you x I have a booked GP appointment next week and def going to discuss... Just want to feel well again... If she refuses again... Seriously thinking of going private!
The problem is they've been told that they've only to go by the TSH. which leads to lots of problems for us, the patients. They should be concentrating on us being relieved of clinical symptoms.
These are also symptoms which patients have reported greatly improved or totally went away once they were moved over to Natural Desiccated Thyroid and allowed to find their optimal dose. Or even adding synthetic T3 to synthetic T4 has given great improvement. It’s also important to correct low iron and cortisol issues.
Thanks for the link, Shaws. That's a very comprehensive list, and yes, I have a tremendous amount of them, but every time I bring them up the doc says they could be anything. Truthfully, I don't tell him a 99th part of the problems I have because he doesn't want to hear it and they seem so vague, even to me. Just to illustrate the point, I had a rash for 14 months, which turned out to be Erythema Multiform, an allergic reaction to medication, and he gave not one jot. If it hadn't been for me begging him to send me to a dermatologist he would never have lifted a finger. This is what I'm dealing with!
It's a pity some doctors are like that. Why do they train if they don't even 'google' the info for the patient and then prescribe. We, the patient, has to do it when the GP isn't forthcoming because we are suffering. I've had some bad reactions to some meds as well.
I know, tell me about it. With the rash, I went through about four different diagnoses, from ringworm to Rosea, all on my own, asking for various treatments, before I could get something concrete out of him. It was only when it developed pronounced target-shaped lesions that he could identify it. And it wasn't really because he was trying hard, or was remotely concerned, it was because it was so clear cut a child could have spotted it!
I try hard to be understanding because they are 'overworked' and only have fifteen minutes, and so forth, but it's hard. It's very, VERY hard! I actually told him at the outset that I felt my meds were causing an allergic reaction, I even got him to test for Lupus, which he grudgingly did, but he never believed me. At the end of the day I've ended up with neutropenia, low sodium (that landed me in hospital), hypothyroidism and erythema multiform from this one medication, and we won't even start on the other 'lesser' side effects, like mild Sjogren's, migraines, ataxia and social anxiety. All from one med, that he still doesn't really take seriously. In the face of that it's kind of hard to keep saying ' he's overworked, he only has fifteen minutes'. I guess I'm just heartless!
Achilles pain was one of the later symptoms of hypothyroid for me, and one that pushed me to act. But I found out it was sorta indirectly caused the condition.
Through an elimination diet, I found that I had developed an intolerance to amines in food. This came on very suddenly, in July of this year. If I eat too many amines, I get soreness in my achilles and my neck/shoulders. It goes away if I keep a strict diet. Based on the research I've done, low T3 means low enzymes responsible for processing amines in food, which I think is what caused my problems. Enzymes also require certain temperatures to be effective, and my body temps were very low.
I've seen some improvement so far, but I'm not "cured" of the intolerance yet. I've only been taking thyroid hormone for 5 weeks though, and I think it could take up to three months to feel better entirely.
Hi Silver. I've had a look at Amines, but all I can find is the most frightening chemical compound analyses I've seen since leaving school biology behind! Are you talking about amino acids in food? Or is it scary amines in dyes and the like? No, sorry, I see you do mean food, so does that mean you can't eat proteins of any sort? Have you had to go vegan?
It's hard to find information on, because I don't think it is a common sensitivity. That, and it can be very hard to figure out if you have it. I'll put some links at the bottom with more info. Pretty much all food has amines in it, so basically you just have to eat low amine foods. Beef, as long as it hasn't been aged too long, is low in amines. Chicken is too as long as you remove the skin. But it's a really dull way to eat. I miss bacon, pork is high in amines even fresh. I'm really hopeful this problem will go away soon!
This is a blog by a woman who had all these food sensitivities for years and found out that it was actually due to Hashi's. It cleared up for her after about a year on thyroid hormone:
Well that's a bugger of a thing, Silver. You poor thing, I really do not envy you, working with that list of prohibitions. It's almost like being allergic to food, full stop! You do wonder how people develop sensitivities like these. Any idea what might have happened to you to throw your metabolism off so badly? (Not the right word, I don't think, but I can't think what else really covers the body's ability to use foods) Is this an old problem, do you think, or a relatively modern development for you?
Eh, it's not so bad. I've been having various muscle pains for 2 years, but the doctors were useless. Couldn't tell me why anything was happening. I developed GI issues during that period too, chronic gastritis and acid reflux. I was terrified I was developing rheumatoid arthritis!
The intense achilles tendon pain and the neck/shoulder issues didn't start until July of this year though. I had to quit my part time job. In a weird way, I'm almost grateful though, since it made me research what could be happening. I didn't have any of these problems up until 2 years ago, so I don't think I'm incapable of producing the proper enzymes. I think I'm currently just not making enough. I think there's a genetic risk for hypothyroidism in my family, and I guess I managed to trigger it somehow. I did lose a lot of weight a few years ago, and I think that can be stressful for your body. I've had most of my vitamin levels checked, and other than folate I'm ok. I'm currently supplementing that. Hopefully once enough T3 enters my cells, I can go back to eating normally.
I don't know whether my Achilles was affected by low thyroid or not - I definitely had problems bending at the ankle when I got up in the morning, that's for sure. I also had plantar fasciitis. These were late onset symptoms for me, and were also one of the first to go once I got on to T3.
Thank you for this link..I found that very interesting. I have problems with my left ankle and putting weight on my right foot. Never associated that one before. I have support socks by scholl on prescription from my GP and they have helped. Have tried made to measure support socks but amazingly some of them have come back a little odd ( depends who measured them lol, )
Arrrg! I've watched both those little videos and I can't see any difference in the way their Achilles tendons react. Unless, of course, they are BOTH hypothyroid. In which case I'm stymied. I need to go on Youtube and see if anyone does a normal reaction compared to a poor one. I must admit, however, that right now the thought of anyone, including me, hitting my Achilles tendon makes me want to hide under a bush! But thanks for the link anyway, some interesting info on that page. And interesting to know that T3 helped you. Was T3 prescribed by your doc?
I buy my own T3 and don't involve my doctor in my thyroid care at all.
Nobody has ever hit my Achilles tendon either. I just assumed that it was involved in some way in me not being able to bend at the ankle. So I could have misled you.
I must admit, if I have something wrong with me that can't be seen with the naked eye I tend to try and diagnose and fix it myself if I possibly can. So my apparent Achilles problem and my plantar fasciitis were both self-diagnosed.
Ah, self-diagnosis - first they drive us to do it by their lack of interest and concern, then when we spot something (usually vital) they missed they pretend it hasn't happened, but if we get it wrong they tell us off for doing it. One day I'll lose my temper and blurt, "Well if you did your job, I wouldn't have to." But not yet...
I would love to say that to some of the doctors I've met. It will never happen though, I'm too much of a coward.
My local hospital is absolutely dire. But as I get older I become more and more aware that it is the place I'll end up if I have health problems, so pissing them off isn't really possible. I'd be too scared it would backfire on me.
Ah well, just remember this, it is statistically proven that the patients that complain the most get the best treatment. I've actually seen that at work during hospital stays. It's the quiet, nice, no-trouble ones that get overlooked. So there is something to be gained from being the moaning obnoxious one - let out your half-crazed old lady and let rip!
A year or two ago I watched a youtube video about a man in the UK who had botched surgery done on his shoulder which left him in severe pain. He was also given drug treatment that made his pain worse. He started trying to get help to fix the mess the NHS had made. I don't know what he did to antagonise people but he found himself banned from his local hospital. He got arrested for trespass, threatening behaviour etc, even though he claims he didn't do anything that the hospital staff said he did. CCTV footage of anything concerning him vanished too - surprise, surprise. So it was the word of the staff against him, and there was nothing he could do.
Sadly I can't remember enough about the video I watched to find it again, but it was a scary lesson about the potential pitfalls of rocking the boat.
Hooo dear, he stepped on toes, didn't he? Either that or he was unlucky and got some total barsteward with a God complex on his case and it was trickle down from that. But I have seen the complaining thing in action firsthand. When I was in hospital with gallstones, I had a young Russian girl opposite me who complained about EVERYTHING, non-stop (her mother was in at the same time on a different ward and did the same thing!). She got way more drugs than the rest of us. Of course maybe they were just trying to keep her in a drugged stupor to shut her up!
I wouldn't dare do any of that. I don't consider myself to be lucky. In fact I think I'm very unlucky. If I tried to work the system to my advantage I would expect it to backfire on me spectacularly.
Well, you can always try whining and wheedling in a tragic manner. I'm not proud of it, but I resorted to that once or twice 'inside' (that's what hospital feels like!) I got to the stage that if I didn't need drugs I took them anyway and stashed them away out of sight for when I did need them. I did the same with biscuits, and a banana once.
Ah, it's amazing what pain and starvation does to you...
I had terrible achilles pain both feet. Went on for years even on Ndt. Complained to my gp he sent me to physio who tortured me, she had me in agony, by the 3 rd treatment I said don't dare touch my achilles , I never went back. Strangely what relived it for me was b12 self injections every other day for 3 weeks. Never suffered since. I still have hard lumps on the actual achilles tendons but no more inflammation or pain. Well that's what sorted it for me.
Hope you find what helps you too.
in reply to
I remember being tortured by a physio once upon a time...ouch.Put me off my feet for a whole week.
Chancery - I do think you know after following this forum that it can take up to 17 years for research ( even if done honestly without being financed by Big Pharma ) to catch up with mainstream medicine. Better to listen to the old wives tales - after all Western Medicine is only around 100 years old ! How did we survive the other million or so ?
I know if I lower my VitD horrid aches and pains return. I take 10,000IU's daily.
Remember how the body is constructed. Muscles in the lower leg connect to the femur - above the knee ! Muscles of the thigh - connect below the knee. The large thigh muscles wrap around the outside of the pelvis and connect to the lower back. Which goes some way to explaining knee problems - which occur more in men than women. Men invariably have tight hamstrings !
So they are all connected and have an impact on each other. So when we are Hypo - one of the areas that suffers greatly is the lower back. T3 activity takes place in the muscles - not all of course. So when the FT3 is low muscles suffer - they do not expand and contract healthily. So imagine when the muscles of the lower back are tight - then so are the big muscles of the thigh - which in turn tightens the muscles of the lower leg and affects the Achilles tendon.
So maybe add some T3 to your T4 when dose - or at least have your dose increased and hope that it increases your T3
By the way I am in my 70th year and still have good posture ! You mentioned you walk like a 70 year old ! In my case that is good !
If you can sit on the floor - spread the legs out and see if you can clench the thigh muscles - lifting the knee-cap - do the backs of your legs connect with the floor ? If not then you have tight hamstrings which will in turn affect the lower leg.
Maybe check out Ray Long - an orthopaedic surgeon who is also a yogi - fab detailed pictures of our body structures....
Please do not expect your GP to know of any connections with the thyroid....
Thanks for that, Marz, most informative. Any minute now I am getting down on the floor to test my hamstrings! Seriously, I will. I have atrocious knees by the way. Damaged them in my early forties and they never recovered. They barely function at all. My legs are slowly but surely falling apart. Not good for someone who likes to walk. It's become so unpleasurable to me I get nothing out it but harassment and exhaustion now. Very depressing.
Hi, I sympathise and empathise with your walking difficulties. Even if I am not in too much hip and knee pain- walking a short distance makes me feel as if I've climbed a mountain. I feel totally exhausted, I would love to go for a long walk without getting out of breath and feeling shattered. I close my eyes and picture it.
Oh you poor thing, Mango, I feel for you. I get some days where I get very out of breath, especially climbing hills, but generally my biggest problem is the pain rather than tiredness. I get that afterwards, like I've done some ridiculously exertive exercise. It's a terribly vicious circle, isn't it? You need to exercise to feel better, but you're too tired to exercise in order to feel better!
Morning Chancery, Thank you for your reply. It must be even harder for you when you have been used to doing these activities. When I was younger (a lot younger)! I used to love to exercise, I walked practically everywhere. It's strange how these things just seem to creep upon us, we wake up and realise just how much is taken for granted.
And the same to you, Mango. You're right – the deadly creep of age is a miserable thing. We shall just have to keep grinning and poke it in its measly eye! X
wow, you have just given me a light bulb moment !! I have been suffering from my Achilles' tendon for 3 months ...and I have also just been diagnosed with thyroid trouble as well ....I have been border line thyroid (underactive) for well over a year with the usual symptoms, but wouldn't have thought Achilles had anything to do with it ,xx
You are my internet twin, Bessy, I'm in exactly the same boat - subclinical hypothyroid and a three month old Achilles problem. We even had our light bulb moment on the same topic - we were obviously separated at birth.
P.S And my mother's Aunt Bessie had thyroid problems. Now it's getting spooky....
I have planar fasciitis. Also Hashi tsh 1.3 which the doctor said is just right. But I stood in line for 4 hours on cement and then was walking on rocks the next day and injured my feet. One side is worse then the other. Seems stretching is improving things. I have had it for like 4 months and I am 50% better. I am seeing a foot doctor. He thinks in 2 months I should be better. I also started Yoga. I also freeze a bottle of water and roll my feet on it twice a day. Its a mess. Stretch when ever you have a chance all day long in bed.... car.....I always wonder about the thyroid seems it did a lot of damage.And I never had trouble walking on uneven terrain before. I went along time before I was treated my muscles were a mess. Also ended up getting my gallblader out. Sounds like you have PF. Have to stretch those Achilles,toes,calfs and ice your feet. All the best Susita
Hi 5858. Actually - odd you should say that about your problems on uneven terrain. I have tremendous difficulty on rough surfaces because my Achilles tendons pull really easily, like they are over-elastic. I've had that problem for years. I suspect now it might well be a thyroid thing. Thanks for the bottle of cold water tip. Going to try that one out this evening!
T3 is needed by every single cell in the body, so it seems obvious to me that when T3 is low, you can have symptoms everywhere and anywhere. A doctor/endo who knows what he's doing - and I have met a couple - will always test reflexes - foot, ankle, knee, etc. Because it is well-known, amongst those that know, that being hypo means bad reflexes - or the other way round. Unfortunately, there are very few, these days, that do know.
My endo never tested reflexes. Another idiot. LOL In the beginning he checked t3. Now that the tsh is normal in his eyes..... thats all he checks. I do wonder about all this mess. My knee from barely doing anything ended up with a meniscus repair....... then when they went in another tear on the other side of my knee that they couldn't fix. So now I am almost bone on bone getting synovial fluid shots great LOL....All the best to you greygoose......see you all the time on the river I live on xo Susita
Yes all my aches and pains are all related to my hypothyroidism and pernicious anemia. But if I complain to my gp I'll only walk out with a prescription for naproxen or some other pain killers. No ft3 tested. Ha.
Oh Jobeth, I hear you. And I know exactly how you feel. The wailing emoticon says it all, and I don't like emoticons! That one, however, is spot on. I'm actually afraid to even bring up aches and pains. I'd rather suffer. All it does is open the floor up for my doc to exhibit every scepticism and prejudice he has, and make me feel small and foolish in the process. Nein danke!
The relationship between thyroid and Achilles is the same as the relationship between thyroid and muscle function/cartilage/connective tissue. While hypothyroid, I had frequent problems with muscle cramping. I ended up with knee problems, and a long-head bicep tear and labrum tear in my right arm.
Ah, I don't know he relationship between thyroid and muscle function/cartilage/connective tissue, Eddie, so that's one I need to look into, obviously! Actually, it might have been you who mentioned it on the forum poll comments? I remember it was a man's name. If it was you, my apologies for not crediting you. I couldn't find it again when I went back to see who had said it!
Wow... I had the same bicep tear when I was 20! I've had plantar fascitis, bone spurs in my heel(s), and gastroc recession surgery to address my bone spurs. I've also had issues with carpal tunnel syndrome and numbness in extremities. Just had TSH tested, but it came in "normal" at 1.74. No further thyroid panel tested! Just requested that after a little more research on my own. I really hope my issue is hypothyroidism so that I can deal with all of these systemic symptoms!
Your body can't do repair without enough T3 and amino acids. TSH is a diversion, get your FT3 tested. If you can afford the full panel TSH/FT3/FT4/rT3/TPOAb/TGAb, that would be better; it is helpful to know if you are harboring thyroid autoimmunity.
Achilles tendonitis is often found in individuals with hypercholestraemia - so a consultant told me, and I think there's research on that. High cholesterol, also of course common in HypoT. So the obvious guess is, that there's a common cause.
Forgot to say also that a slow Achilles tendon reflex (which isn't the same as Achilles tendonitis, I realise) is a known sign of hypoT, so clearly the hypo affects the tendon's function at the very least.
I know, I've heard this. In fact, I read it WAY back when I was first diagnosed. I've had a couple of people mention it here, but I still don't know what to look for, and that's after having seen videos! I need to go hunt it down on Youtube and see if I can learn to differentiate it.
Well Chancery, I've looked at the videos myself, and hit various relatives and myself on the ankle area with a variety of objects and weapons and I still can't work it out either.
I think it could be a lost art.
But - my daughter has achilles tendonitis and I think there may well be a link. What if the link is some nutritional deficiency? Back on Vit D, vit C tryptophan kind of area?
Hah - now I can't get the image of you running amok with a toffee hammer amid your relatives out of my head!
With the tendonitis, when I was first looking I read something about thyroid conditions causing over-elasticity of the muscle or some such, but I can't remember where I read it now! I'll need to Google it again and see if I track it down. It sounded very feasible, and certainly that's exactly what mine has felt like over the years. I can't see how it could be nutritional, but you never know. If I can find it again I'll drop you a line and let you know what the theory is and see if you think it fits.
Youtube is going to be the place to go, obviously. Let's just hope what I find is REALLY obvious!
I had achilles tendonitis for 6 months of the year for 3 years before my Dr tested my thyroid. After taking Levo the tendonitis didn't return. But recently my dose was reduced and the pain came back so I know there is a link. I mentioned my aches and pains to my present Dr and she said they were consistent with growing older (I'm 70) and wasn't really interested in my "complaints". But it does make me wonder if there are any Dr's who suffer from Thyroid problems themselves and what they do about it!
That's very interesting, Syrahose. You have direct proof that the two things are connected in your personal medical history. There definitely seems to be something there, in my opinion, not just an old wife's tale. I'm going to do a bit of serious research on this one!
If it's any comfort, my doctor NEVER wants to know about my aches and pains, and I'm only 58. When I was in my early fifties and first developed gallstone problems My doctor didn't want to know then either. And they don't want to know in hospitals either. They just use your age as an excuse to dismiss them with more 'validity'. Don’t let your doc away with it – if you feel something is relevant, make sure she listens. Don't stand for any ageism. In fact, call it that and she'll soon change her tune. I told my doc off for it!
Hi Chancery, I like that idea of calling it ageism, but that is exactly what it is isn't it? Of course I know that as we age we get aches and pains, but some are unbearable and I don't think that is "normal" at all! Nice to hear from you.
A year ago I suffered Achilles tendonitis in my right leg and plantar fasciitis in both feet. I ended up going to a private podiatry place. I got new orthotics and help because of my arches and also one leg being longer than the other. Over 5mm leg length discrepancy is significant, under isn't. So what do you do if it is 5mm? My hubby recalled that years before back in about 2007 when I was really ill, a physio commented about it but no advice and nothing came of it. But I did find the heel lift in that one shoe made a difference and took the strain off.
As for whether you are going to be prone to these things with hypothyroidism... when I was at my worst I wasn't really mobile, so therefore not putting any strain on things. Go on the T3 and feel better and other medical approaches, I was thinking I was trying to do more and it put strain on it. Plus with ME/CFS there is evidence for mitochondrial problems, so if the muscles are recuperating the strength properly perhaps that causes strain lower down on the ankles and feet. I also hear of others with fibromyalgia saying they have tendon problems.
Yeah, that's the problem, isn't it, Fiona? There are so many things that COULD be causing it, you don't know which one it is, or where to focus your attention. Doctors are very unhelpful in this regard. When I was trying to get to the bottom of my trigeminal neuralgia, my doc got very short with me and said "We could be doing tests till the cows come home here" - meaning 'stop asking for tests'. He wanted me to just accept my condition, take the drugs and shut up. Very easy for him to say, since he wasn't in pain, or living with the anxiety of the condition, or the nightmare drugs used to treat it. That's the end result of our 'medicine = drugs culture' - no prevention, no cure, just abatement of symptoms, if you're lucky!
This is the NHS for you, the envy of the world... All I can say is we just have to be proactive and take a methodical approach for ourselves. On the NHS I'd previously only got orthotics that were worth £5 and they were posted to me in a paper envelope, and by the time I got it, the envelope was torn and one was hanging out. So I was amazed I got them at all. So it made sense to address this, thinking they'd had it and not giving enough support. An easy solution. We do need to get to the root of things. With tests I'm convinced the NHS just likes doing basic tests and doesn't look in the right places.
Yep, dead right. The tests seem to be there chiefly to spot imminent death, because anything just mildly askew, even with indicative symptoms, is dismissed as being "within normal parameters". I had consistent neutropenia and low IgA but neither condition was considered noteworthy. I also had low blood sodium which eventually landed me in hospital via an emergency clinic. My doc got the results after the event, not knowing I had been hospitalised for it, and phoned me up to come in and make an appointment! The hospital consultant said it was the lowest blood sodium any of them had ever seen (it can cause coma and death) , but my doc didn't even think it was urgent. That's how much attention they pay to test results!
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