Painful tingling sensations, numbness or burning in hands, wrists, arms and elbows (carpal tunnel syndrome) can be due to a thyroid imbalance and 28.5% of hypothyroid patients may experience CTS.
The article discusses how to recover from CTS by optimising thyroid levels and B12 levels along with some tips how to look after your hands and wrists.
Thanks Clutter for this link. It is another symptom that most doctors do not recognise and some people have not had the benefit of maybe increasing their dose slightly.
Hi clutter thanks for info on CTS I found this particularly interesting as suffered symptoms of this when they reduced my meds , once my meds were optimised and i took b12 it has gone completely.
I read the article and clicked on "optimal thyroid treatment" link and was taken to a very long, high-powered advertisement for a program to "cure" hypothyroidism. A little suspect? Tempted to purchase but wonder if it's legit. Have you looked into it?
No, I haven't looked at it and wouldn't buy a programme which claims to cure hypothyroidism. As far as I'm concerned hypothyroidism can't be cured it can only be managed with thyroid replacement.
This just confirms what happened to me in 2013. I started having a kind of flicking nerve pain in my hand that developed into excruciating nerve pain that made me want to go to sleep and not wake up. I went private and had nerve conductive tests and all were NORMAL. I could barely shower/dress myself. You never knew when the pain would start or when it would stop. I couldn't bear to be in public as it made me break down in agony and didn't know what to do with myself. The doctor gave me AMITRIPTYLINE? for nerve pain and it dulled my brain but things did calm down. Eventually I decided I wanted to stop the pills and having done my own research I self medicated with sublingual B complex +B12 and have taken it ever since. My idea, NOT suggested by the doctor. As I have said before I had 2 basic bloods done for hypothyroid over last 2 years and all normal. Got very fed-up of even more unsolved symptoms and finally got an appointment with a different fantastic doctor 2 days ago. He asked my symptoms and just said sounds like thyroid, I said been tested twice before, all normal. He said "but not for T3". My blood form had 20 ticks on it for testing different things. I have no idea what results will be. He also asked what happened about the nerve pain. I tried to tell him and even though it was in 2013 the tears started coming. He completely understood the affect it had on me still today remembering the pain. I feel he will look after me but still feel so so angry that no one really helped back then and I suffered so badly, as did my family watching me beside myself with pain. There is a lot to be said for researching for yourself and brilliant sites like this. It makes you realise you are not alone or imagining it.
I was diagnosed with CTS way back in 1985, years before my Fibromyalgia diagnosis and much later Dr Skinner's diagnosis of hypothyroidism. I refused an operation at the time and have had only partial movement of the wrist since (my writing hand). I have suspected but never been able to prove the connection but why did none of the GP practices I've been under since '85 put 2 and 2 together??
Because the few weeks spent studying the endocrine system simply doesn't equip them to have any in depth knowledge of thyroid disease and symptoms apart from the obvious weight gain, hair loss and cold.
True. I feel more and more that we should try and take some concrete action to change this lamentable ignorance within general practice (not to mention amongst endos but that might be harder..). But how? I am a writer by profession (not a journalist) but do feel that a flood of articles in the national press might be a possible route. Demos might work too.. !
I'm really glad that you are making progress with your GP. I tried but mine was completely dismissive. I therefore have to get my medication elsewhere.
I'm on my 4th lol! But still have to get most of my bloods and my t3 privately. The CCG wont let him prescribe, and though he's interested in listening to what I have to say he admits he knows nothing. Cant even interpret thyroid tests.
I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome years ago when with my old surgery. It was blamed on fibromyalgia.
Since Ive been taking t3 I've had no further problems, though I do suffer periodically with de Quervains teno-synovitis, which the orthopaedic surgeon says is due to osteo arthritis at the base of each thumb.
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