Numb fingertips, numb spots on feet, and never pain feet

[Am66]

I quit smoking last July. My blood test were fine last September. Then in January I slowly started to feel exhausted, unable to loose “smoking weight”, hands and feet were very painful. Visit to Dr. and blood test showed 34.5 TSH and low T4. I was also very low in iron (have already went through menopause). Prescribed levothyroxin .1 mg and iron daily. Blood test show everything is within range now. Hands feel better but all 10 of my fingertips are completely numb and my feet still have numb spots and nerve pain. All of my symptoms started at the same time. Does anybody have any ideas or suggestions. I am in law enforcement and hand and feet numbness are impacting my job daily. Thanks.

[Clarrisa]

I am still learning about labs myself so can’t be of help there, but wondered if you drive a lot &/or do heavy lifting(?). I find repetitive driving distances aggravates my feet bringing on numbness, pain. If I stay away from driving distances it subsides & becomes manageable. I am experiencing some numbness again now, but again I’m sure it is aggravated to some extent by activity such as sitting with poor posture.

Medication adjustments help no question, but I find how I use my body makes a big difference too.

[Am66 in reply to Clarrisa]

Thank u for replying Clarissa. I do not drive very much and am in good physical condition. The numbness in hands and pain and numbness in feet started the same time my thyroid and iron were affected. Everything was fine in September then 4 months later thyroid, iron and pain and numbness. I am thinking it all has to be connected.

[Gcart]

May it be B 12. Not sure how best to advise. But mine was 'fine' but lowish in range I had numb feet and hands with pins and needles. B12 has put this right. It took some time though,

[TSH110]

You should get hold of your results and post them here with ranges because being optimally treated is not the same as being in range. If you are not optimally medicated symptoms will persist. I have had numbness in my back between shoulder blades and a lot of plantar fasciitis, pins and needles and cramps in hands and feet. I suspect your problems might be hypo symptoms but could be due to mineral or vitamin deficiencies which are common in people with hypothyrodism as digestion can be abnormal. I know vit B deficiency can cause pins and needles and numbness. You should ask your doctor for a full vitamin and mineral blood panel especially as it is impacting on your job and post here for comments. I am not well up on vits and minerals but people like SeasideSusie are a wealth of knowledge in this area.

I hope you find a solution quickly to a really unpleasant problem

☘️🍀☘️

[AuntieMandy]

Hiya,

Don’t know anything about your results etc but what I do know is that my brother was in a very similar situation to you.

His job was walking loads in the prison service so wore heavy steel capped boots all day everyday.

He was a very heavy smoker.

He had number fingers and a patch on his foot too.

It turned out to be something called Burgers disease which is a thickening of the blood caused by smoking. The blood wasn’t reaching his extremities.

He was also diagnosed with diabetes which he has now managed to put into remission himself!

You might not have the same but your post resonated with me and knowledge is power! I feel always better to know and do your own research then it’s another thing Ruled out.

Good luck. X

[pffft2017]

Ask your GP to test your circulation. My thyroid packed up 15 years ago and I developed the same symptoms as Raynaud's and peripheral arterial disease about 6 years ago. I had a doppler test which the GP stated showed normal blood flow ergo it's related to the thyroid problem. The only thing that helps for me is very vigorous exercise and it's not often I have the energy. You can buy special gloves for Raynaud's but I don't know how effective they are.

[silverfox7]

Sadly too many doctors are happy if things are in range but it's where in the range that is important. So please post any recent readings who have and the ranges. Ranges are important as they differ from lab to lab so without them we would just be guessing. So let's see if the basics are right first and then look at what else may be happening.

[Hidden]

Post your most recent blood it sounds like youhavea reasonable GP as a lot would have avoided putting you levo unless TSH higher.Also GP should have tested for B12, folate, ferritin and vitamin D. Normally you should be started on low dose of levo which shouldbegradually increased every 6 weeks or so until you feel better.It could be B12 deficiencywhich can cause all kinds of numbness. The blood test for B12 is notoriously un reliable and this has led to the NHS choices site recommending that it be given based of neurological symptoms.

[greygoose]

I think it's very likely to be low B12, so best to get that tested as soon as possible.

[Angel_of_the_North]

Have you had B12 tested (numbness can be a symptom of neurological damage) and HbAC1 for diabetes?