Can change of medication hurt joints

[kim3012]

Had thyroxine changed from activas to teva now on mercury in the last month. Last week or two I have been getting a very painful hand and painful back return and sore knees... Can a change of medication cause these symptoms.... (arthritis runs in family so hopefully not this...) tia

[shaws Administrator]

Joint and muscle pain can also be a clinical symptom of hypothyroidism.

Did you feel o.k. on your other two levothyroxiones/

[kim3012 in reply to shaws]

I felt fine on activas and then last month they chaged to teva felt tired and bad head aches. Then two weeks ago put me on mercury and I've had joint paint so don't know which one is affecting me if it is the levo.. but always felt fine on activas

[shaws Administrator in reply to kim3012]

Go back to your pharmacist and insist that they supply Activis for you. Explain you are having unpleasant symptoms on Teva and Mercury. Sometimes we can be badly affected by the fillers/binders in hormones. Don't suffer unnecessarily. Many members have had similar problems. Always check when you pick up your prescription as sometimes I've found that another person has put in one that doesn't agree with me.

[LAHs]

Basically yes. It was certainly my experience when Forest Pharma was bought out by Activis (and my sensible GP retired at the same time). I had been stable and well on the Forest Levo for five years then awfully ill with arthritis like symptoms for the next three years while my new Endo tried to find a brand which would work - overlooking, however, that a suppressed TSH really didn't matter but nevertheless refusing to increase my dose. Eventually I started to study the subject, realized I had a stupid Endo so fired her and got onto NDT. All symptoms disappeared and I never looked back.

Any brand change or dose change may produce negative reactions which may or may not "settle down" given time. Get a blood test and look into you T3 level, is it greater or less than it was on your previous brand? There are other things to look into but look at this first, for me my pains went up or down with T3 level.

[kim3012 in reply to LAHs]

Actually getting t3 testes next week... so hopefully should show me something it was 0.9 last time it was checked in September 2016. So where would I be looking for it to go up or down?? Thanks

[Clutter]

Kim3012,

Yes, it can, which is why its best to stick with a brand which suits you. Ask your pharmacist to switch you back to Actavis or Teva, whichever you preferred.

[kim3012 in reply to Clutter]

Think I will do t know why its been changed but I'll just say I want back on activas on it for 5 years no issues...

[Saggyuk in reply to kim3012]

Yes, Teva bugged my kidneys which gave me back pain

[LAHs in reply to kim3012]

Yes, good idea, stick with what works. It's quite time consuming (and often unpleasant) to get to an optimal dose, the last thing you want to do is mess around with a brand.

Answering your question though: Ask for your Free T3, Total T3, and Free T4 to be measured and anything else that was in your previous blood test (relevant to thyroid). Then look for any difference.

The better solution however is to return to Activis. You might want to ask the doc as to why he changed brands, if it is just to save a few pounds that is not good idea. It is worth a little extra to feel well. The way you feel is paramount.

[Northie]

Morning peeps. Glad I saw this post today, I was given a different one this month and I've been shaking like a washing machine on fast spin and waking in the middle of the night feeling really nauseous. This didn't happen with actavis. Will pop to docs and ask for different ones.

Ps. Trying to type this on my mobile with quivering pinkies is quite a larrrf! ....wishing you well fellow thyroidies...

Pps. The upside of shaking is the thought of all the calories I must be burning....hurrrr hurrr......