Joint pain

[Bloomers4]

Hi I've been in agony with all my joints, swelling as well. Results of bloods today means my thyroxine has been increased from 25mg to 125mg. Bloods re my joints are not showing anything dodgy so can only assume it's my thyroid. Has anyone else suffered with joint pain and swelling and has it improved when your dose has increased? Thanks

[Clutter]

Bloomers4, being undermedicated can cause joint pain. Vitamin D deficiency and low ferritin can also cause joint pain so it may be worth asking your GP to test.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Increased from 25mcg to 125mcg? In one big jump? An increase of 100mcg?

Or do you mean increased BY 25mcg, from 100 to 125?

Increases should be gradual and by 25mcg each time. From 25 to 125 in one go is far too much and could cause problems.

[humanbean in reply to SeasideSusie]

I second what SeasideSusie has written. 100mcg is a huge jump that may backfire on you.

Depending on the dosage of the tablets you have been prescribed, could you increase in stages of 25mcg?

It might be okay to increase by 50mcg to begin with if you are relatively young and fit with no known heart problems. But after that I would definitely start going up in 25mcg stages.

I would also suspect you have low vitamin D. Other minerals and vitamins that are vital to anyone with thyroid problems are folate, ferritin (iron stores) and vitamin B12. If you can get your doctor to test these, ask for a copy of the results and post them in a new question. Don't just accept it if you are told the results are "normal". What you want is "optimal" not "normal".

[Anthea55]

Years ago I had swollen joints which weren't improving, so I had tests done for food intolerances. My main problems were with wheat and oats. After giving those up my joints improved and my digestion improved.

What I'm saying is that you may have food intolerances. Many of us find that a gluten free diet helps our symptoms. You could give that a try and/or you could find a nutritionist who should be able to identify your own intolerances. Look at the website for bant.org.uk where you can find a nutritionist near you.

You may also have vitamin/mineral deficiencies. Thyroid medication works best if these have been addressed. See this page on the ThyroidUK website

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/treatm...

You can get some of these tests done by your GP.

[Hidden]

I'ver noticed my joints ache whenever I get a bit on the hyper side with my thyroid med dosing. And while I don't have it down yet it may be as little as 12.5 mcg more than I need. I'm guilty of getting impatient, self dosing, and paying the consequences a week or two later.

[Hypopotamus]

When I was put on Thyroxin, and my TSH kept going up as they increased the dosage, I got pain in my joints. This was due to me not being able to convert theT4 so the body was doing what it does with all toxins that it can't get rid of, ie storing them in the joints.

I'm not saying this is what is happening in your case, but it is something to think about. The pain went after I switched from \t4 to T3 (Liothyronine).

[MariLiz]

Have you had your B12 levels checked? If that is low, and it often accompanies thyroid deficiencies, joint and muscle pain are symptoms.

[Cheetara79]

Hello

This is my first post on HealthUnlocked!

I had really bad joint pain over the winter and I had to beg my Dr to test my thyroid levels, turned out I wasnt on enough thyroxine and it was increased by 25 mcg to 150 per day. After a few weeks I noticed such an improvement, this along with my taking Vit D (I have a deficiency) , zinc and magnesium supplements. Unfortunately over the past few weeks pain in my hands has started up again and a little in my knees, I feel drained all the time. When I can I find gentle stretches help or use a Barbara Curry yoga DVD. At night I spray magnesium on the soles of my feet, I find that helps me get a good nights sleep too.

My TSH on 1 Feb was 1.7, they didnt test my T4 or T3.

[Heloise in reply to Cheetara79]

Hi Cheetara, you should probably make your own post since not many will see it. It looks like you may need another 25 mcg. increase. It would help to know your FT3 and FT4 levels but since your TSH is so good, they often refuse. BUT you can have a good looking TSH and still not be at optimal blood levels.

[Bloomers4]

Hi all, thanks for your comments, my post wasn't very clear, I'm still getting my head around all this.. I started off on 25mg then at Christmas it was increased to 25mg one day, 50mg the next so alternate. Now it has been increased to 125mg every day. I'm feeling really poorly at the moment so I'm just taking the increased dose as I can't function and I don't really understand much about this, such as what is FT3 or TSH. If anyone could explain in really simple terms or direct me to somewhere that does I would be really grateful? Many thanks

[silverfox7]

There is a lot of information about how it works on the Thyroid UK site. To go from 25/50 on alternated days to 125 is a huge increase! Your body could be finding this difficult or you may have gone hyper ( to high) and you then get similar problems to being under medicated and do don't feel any better, possibly worse.

Everything works slowly in the thyroid world as we strive to get better so we must be patient and do things at a pace out body can cope with more easily. Your doctor should have raised your dose to 50m g a day and stay on that for 6 weeks. 4-6 weeks in the time it takes for that dose to get into your body and be stable. do then you should be retested. If you tolerated the last small increase well but you are still low in the range and still showing symptoms then it may be increased by 25 a day and if your body does t like that or it's too much from your next set of reading in another 6 weeks then you may drop a little on alternate day and again retest after 6 weeks. I know it sounds as though it will take time and you can't wait to feel better but it's easier to get there if you go slowly so as I said be patient as that is much easier to interpret in the long run.

Read the info I suggested and ask if there is something you don't understand and we can help you. We have all been where you are so you are not alone, we understand. That little 25 mcg is quite strong!