Levothyroxine and joint pain muscle aches

[Ari3]

I have been on Levothyroxine 50mcg for more than a month since I started withthin a week my muscles started to ache and joints were in pain.Now it has gone worse my lower butt and hip area has pulsating pain like electrical sensation I have lost weight iam quite skinny now iam 58.7 kg I lost 1kg in two weeks no appetite at all insomania at nights .Ibhave stiff muscles on shoulders feet it’s hard now for me to walk.ais this a side effect from Levothyroxine?Should I change medication? Can I try Armour would it help and how to introduce it? Is this a side effect from Levothyroxine?i also have a red bumpy spots like rash on my skin after of couple of days it comes and goes on chest and neck arms .Does this indicate I can’t tolarate Levothyroxine?Gp says Levothyroxine is the best and that is it.It has made my life miserable:(all vitamins are in range I checked !

[LaurieRose]

Have you had your vitamin d level tested? I had the same problem as you and was tested to see why. It acme back a severe vit d deficiency. I noe have to keep taking fultiym d which go prescribes and it worked within 3 days. If I stop the pains come back again, but then go when I start again. Everyone's different but it's worth having your vitamin and minerals tested.

[Pascha1]

I felt same on starting Levothyroxine with all the aching GP palmed me off with the age thing 13 years later I got T3 and those aches and pains have only just gone, maybe get asked for referal to an Endocrinologist as they are the only ones allowed to prescribe T3 Not sure you will have much luck on NDT or Armour unless you go private, you can try asking for it but think GPs and seems some Endos are scared of it for some reason.. but as LaurieRose says have Vit D tested and B12, ferritin folate to be tested and anti bodies if not done already

Im sure someone who on here that knows about vitamins will advise you on what to get checked soon they are very helpful on here ...

Good luck and at least you are searching now to solve your problems I was fobbed of for 13 years and a complete mess .. but since having T3 added I dont ache and have all the problems I had that were not treated by Levothyroxine alone,, I also found I have genetic Dio2 fault which means i dont convert levothyroxine that well and need T3 added to get to all the cells ..

[Ari3 in reply to Pascha1]

How do endo check if u can convert or not?mine said it’s too early to say I have private endo yes my next appoitment is after a month.he said for me to continue to have 50mcg and he will see if t3 is needed to add he said that it’s nothing to do with Levothyroxine .Did u have skin rush too at times red patches?my bit are good bit d 85 b12 excellent all in upper ranges. How can I know if I can convert from t4 to t3?any advice?

[Catlover3]

Hi. I suffered with horrendous hip pain when I started thyroxine. The doctor said it was rheumatism and wanted to treat me for that. I also had a weird icy feeling in my chest, migraines, fainting, palpatations, heavy legs, with thyroxine which the doctor didn't believe were being caused by the medication. I eventually stopped and changed to nature-throid and have not had any pain in my hip. I still have problems with temperature changes and that can cause migraines for me and occasional palps but I have hashimotos and do get flare ups. Generally my health improved by changing to nature-throid but it is a case of trial and error to get to a reasonable state of health. Hope you improve soon.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Sounds like you have low vitamin levels. Very common when hypo.

You say yours are in range. But are they optimal?

Assuming you are in UK

Vitamin D needs to be at least 80-90 nmol. Many find it needs to be over 100nmol

For full evaluation you ideally need TSH, FT4, FT3, TT4, TPO and TG antibodies, plus vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 tested

Low Vitamin D can cause bone and joint pain and insomnia

Essential to know if you have high thyroid antibodies too. This can cause poor gut function and weight loss. Gluten intolerance is common too

Getting dose high enough to improve gut function helps

See if you can get full thyroid and vitamin testing from GP. Unlikely to get FT3

Ask GP for coeliac blood test too

Private tests are available

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have money off offers.

All thyroid tests should be done as early as possible in morning and fasting and don't take Levo in the 24 hours prior to test, delay and take straight after. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results

Link about antibodies

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

Link about thyroid blood tests

thyroiduk.org/tuk/testing/t...

List of hypothyroid symptoms

thyroiduk.org/tuk/about_the...

[Ari3]

My vitamin d was 86 good range I guess