Numbness in fingers of left hand

[Caroline888]

Hi everyone,

For some weeks, I have been waking in the night with numb fingers. Is this a symptom of hypothyroidism or is it a side effect of levothyroxine? I take levo any time between 3.30 and 4.30 a.m. If it's a side effect of levo can I safely ignore it? It doesn't trouble me at all in the day.

The second thing I want to ask: my multivitamin contains iodine (150 mcg). Is this ok with hypo? I am a vegetarian so probably get very little from my diet.

I would be grateful for any advice.

Best wishes to all

Caroline

[Marz]

If you have Hashimotos - then iodine can be controversial. There may be other ingredients that are not helpful - so best to take the things you need individually for good results. There is not enough of some ingredients and if you increase the dose then you can overdose on something else ....

Do you know your B12 level - for the numbness I am thinking

[Caroline888 in reply to Marz]

My B12 is a bit above range (due to the multivitamin). All vitamins and minerals good apart from low ferritin. (No iron in my multi)

So you think I should not be supplementing with iodine at all? I don't drink milk tho I do eat a pot of natural yoghurt every day. I don't care much for bread or eggs and don't use salt in cooking or on my food so always felt i might be deficient.

Being a vegetarian, a multi vitamin has always seemed a kind of insurance against deficiencies due to my restricted diet. This is possibly about to become gluten free too if my next blood test indicates hashimoto's.

I am grateful to you for your comments. I think I will have to do some research on iodine and hypothyroidism next. Sometimes it's very hard to know what to do for the best. Advice changes from day to day doesn't it? This week, for example, I've read one thyroid expert saying give up coffee if you have a thyroid issue and another saying include salted orange juice, butter and coffee in your breakfast!

Thank you so much for taking the trouble to reply. And so fast too!!

Best wishes

Caroline

[Marz in reply to Caroline888]

healthunlocked.com/search/i...

Over 1200 previous posts here on this Forum - discussing iodine - in the above link. Maybe a starting place or a confusing place

[Caroline888 in reply to Marz]

Thank you for the links. I know what you mean about it being confusing when you read all the conflicting advice but I will certainly be looking into the previous posts and hoping for some clarity.

Thanks again.

Best wishes

Caroline

[diogenes Remembering]

If you have got Hashimoto's thyroiditis, this phenomenon is likely to be Raynaud's syndrome which can be linked to thyroid problems. Have a look at sites for alleviating the effects.

[Caroline888 in reply to diogenes]

Wow, that is really interesting! My mother and my son both suffered/suffer from Raynaud's. It never occurred to me! Especially as it's a relatively new thing for me and has coincided with my thyroid issue. It's so easy to blame everything on being hypo isn't it?

I will do as you suggest and look into ways of making it less troublesome. Also it seems I may have an expert in the family!!

Thank you so much for your help.

Best wishes

Caroline

[Clarrisa]

I had numbness in a hand too at night. I had a conduction test done & was told it was carpel tunnel. This made sense to me because I was using the hand to draw blood nonstop at work & coworkers had developed the same thing. I was fitted for a "wrist support" to wear at night & shown some simple exercises I could do on the counter at work during the day. If you work a lot with your affected hand you may also want to rule this out.

[Hellonwheels in reply to Clarrisa]

I second carpal tunnel, esp if there are no other symptoms of Raynaud's

[Caroline888 in reply to Hellonwheels]

Thank you for the second opinion. I think it could well be either carpal tunnel or Raynaud's. I've looked into Raynaud's briefly just now and don't seem to have many of the symptoms but a diagnostic quiz seemed to indicate it as being a possibility. Carpal tunnel is also a distinct possibility as my numbness only affects one hand and I think Raynaud's would probably affect both.

Still confused but I'm really glad of everyone's help and support. So relieved no-one so far as said it's a serious side effect of levo. Now that would be a real worry!

Thanks again.

Best wishes

Caroline

[Caroline888 in reply to Clarrisa]

Thank you Clarrisa. That is certainly a thought. I do use my left hand a lot - for holding up my tablet! And my phone too!! I have wondered if this is bad as I have become fairly addicted to them both since I retired. Messaging, Facebook and Thyroid UK of course! I think I've seen somewhere that hypothyroidism makes us more vulnerable to carpel tunnel too so I will definitely be looking into this. I

Hope the wrist support and exercises have worked magic for you.

Thank you so much for taking the trouble to reply.

Best wishes

Caroline

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Carpel Tunnel is a classic hypothyroid symptom, suggests you may still be inadequately treated

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

verywell.com/carpal-tunnel-...

[Caroline888 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you so much, SlowDragon, for your comment and for the links. What on earth would we do if we had to rely on gps for help and advice. I woke up a bit worried this morning and everyone has rushed to help with advice, suggestions and support. I am so grateful. Thank you all so much.

Best wishes

Caroline

[Framboise]

I used to wake in the night with the outer two fingers of both hands numb, also if I rested on an elbow to make a phone call. In my case it was cubital tunnel syndrome where the ulnar nerve is compressed in the elbow. It stopped happening when I started on thyroid hormones, but comes back if I lower my dose too much, so I know it's connected to how my thyroid is functioning but no doctor has ever agreed that it is!

[Caroline888 in reply to Framboise]

Thank you Framboise for telling me your experience. I find the numbness quite unnerving but am reassured by all the suggestions and support i have received today. I think I am still undermedicated but not due yet for another blood test. With luck the numbness will go away when I'm optimally treated. In the meantime, I have plenty of research to do into carpel tunne, cubital tunnel and Raynaud's! Thank you so much for your suggestion.

Hope you are doing well.

Best wishes

Caroline

[Greybeard]

If your multi vitamins contain biotin it can interfere with thyroid test results. Usual advice is to not suppliment for 5 days before blood test.