Thyroid - sore throat and stomach upsets - Thyroid UK

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Thyroid - sore throat and stomach upsets

Henson1980 profile image
9 Replies

Hi Everyone

A few weeks ago i was put on an increased dose of thyroxine 50mcg as my TSH levels were 6.79, I'm still experiencing sore throats, some face pain and upset stomachs, is this due to the side effects of the thyroid or the medication do you think? I'm also taking supplements to help support the thyroid, only 1 a day even tho it states 2, still feeling very tired with no energy...fed up..starting a new job tomorrow need to be on the ball! 🙁

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Henson1980 profile image
Henson1980
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9 Replies
Henson1980 profile image
Henson1980

Also just to mention I am unable to any dairy it causes bad cramps and stomach upsets everytime I touch it!

Clutter profile image
Clutter

Henson1980,

You should have a follow up thyroid test 6-8 weeks after increasing Levothyroxine dose to check it is sufficient.

The goal of Levothyroxine is to restore the patient to euthyroid status. For most patients that will be when TSH is 0.4 - 1.0 with FT4 in the upper range. FT4 needs to be in the upper range in order that sufficient T3 is converted. Read Treatment Options in thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_... Email louise.roberts@thyroiduk.org if you would like a copy of the Pulse article to show your GP.

Arrange the blood test early in the morning when TSH is highest and fast (water only) as TSH drops after eating and drinking.

I would ditch the supplement. It contains iodine which hypothyroid patients should not take unless they are iodine deficient and it contains soy which no-one should take unless it is fermented soy.

200mcg Selenium is thyroid support.

Good luck starting your new job tomorrow :)

Henson1980 profile image
Henson1980 in reply toClutter

Thank you that's very helpful so do you suggest that I get the 200mcg supplement instead? Also is this painful throat a symptom of being hypothyroid? I switched to soy milk because I couldn't tolerate diary, are you saying that soya should be avoided? Sorry for all the questions I'm just trying to get this right so I can start feeling the benefits! Thank you x

Clutter profile image
Clutter in reply toHenson1980

Henson1980,

Definitely ditch the soya and that supplement with iodine in it and replace with 200mcg selenium. Iodine used to be given to hyperthyroid patients to lower their thyroid hormone levels and raise their TSH.

High TSH flogging the thyroid can make it enlarged and can cause tenderness and pain in the throat and neck.

If you can't tolerate dairy milk try almond or coconut milk.

Henson1980 profile image
Henson1980 in reply toClutter

Great, thanks very much for the reply I will put all of that into action! Fingers crossed! X

shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator in reply toHenson1980

Maybe you've become sensitive to lactose which is also in milk products.

As well, if hypo we most probably have low stomach acid which can also give us symptoms which are so similar to high acid that GP may prescribe antacids when we may need to take digestive enzymes or Betaine with Pepsin tablets in order to put acid in stomach and these (either of them) will provide acid which dissolves the food we eat.

scdlifestyle.com/2012/06/hy...

scdlifestyle.com/category/s...

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

Have you had vitamin D, ferritin, folate and B12 checked? If not ask that they be checked when you get thyroid retested after 6 weeks on new dose.

Sounds like you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) as you are reacting to dairy. Have you had thyroid antibodies tested? If result was high this is Hashimoto's

Link about dairy and Hashimoto's

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

Henson1980 profile image
Henson1980 in reply toSlowDragon

Hi slow dragon, yes vit d and b all within normal dangle, I haven't been tested for thyroid antibodies but Hashimotos runs though the whole of my mums side of the family so it's a possibility! If this is the case will they need to treat me differently in terms of the mess I'm on? I'm on Levo 50mcg and as suggested by Clutter I'm going to start myself on 200mcg of selenium xx

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply toHenson1980

Vitamins within range may not be enough, that's why it's important to get actual results and ranges

Eg B12 range is typically 210-680. GP would say result is "OK/fine" if result was 215 or 675

With Hashimoto's we tend to need B12 at top of range, plus good folate.

Ferritin at least mid-range & vitamin D at least 70, 100 nmol/L is better

Medics don't treat Hashimoto's any differently, but to make progress and feel better you may need to adjust diet further

Eg many find changing to gluten free diet helps

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

Bone broth is good at healing gut

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

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