T4 Treated People with Muscle Pain - Creatine M... - Thyroid UK

Thyroid UK

137,821 members161,642 posts

T4 Treated People with Muscle Pain - Creatine Monohydrate as a helpful supplement.

wsenior profile image
24 Replies

This article is interesting. It is discussing muscle pain associated with T4 treatment and how the use of Creatine Monohydrate can help to alleviate the pains. I've been taking it for a couple of weeks and haven't noticed a difference yet. I think this article could be on to something for me in that it theorizes that long-term T4 replacement therapy can exhaust our muscle glycogen stores. I could buy into that. It might be a glucose-insulin-energy-ATP issue...not sure.

academic.oup.com/painmedici...

thanks

Written by
wsenior profile image
wsenior
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
24 Replies

Hmm, very interesting. My aches went away a few weeks after I started NDT, and then again later a similar time after upping my NDT. I assumed it was the addition of T3 but didn't know the mechanism.

wsenior profile image
wsenior in reply to

My pains also started after adding T3. I was looking for a solution for the fatigue and other symptoms that T4 didn't seem to help with. I'm trying a high dose of T4-alone right now to see if it helps. I was on T3-alone for the last 6-months but didn't help my muscle problems.

in reply to wsenior

My pain was relieved by NDT, and I assumed it was the addition of T3 that did the trick. Doc thinks I'm a poor converter and need exogenous T3 in some form.

Marz profile image
Marz

medium.com/@TildeCafe/whats...

Posted this on your earlier thread ...

Paula101 profile image
Paula101 in reply to Marz

Thanks for posting this Marz. I found it particularly interesting, as I still have muscle pain even after being on NDT 5 months.

Marz profile image
Marz in reply to Paula101

I think I am a B12 geek ! Seem to have pain relief when I have my jab !

I was only put on Levo T4 after I had my thyroid removed in Oct 2015. The pains started immediately and progressed for 6/7 months. I knew my body well I was a runner up until I was 65 years old.

I now self medicate with NDT and the pains have gone.

This article is brilliant explaining why the pains occur and maybe how to treat them.

I sometimes over trained and experienced the pain of lactic acid. I never thought that the

pains I had taking Levo were the same.

Thank you for such an interesting read.

wsenior profile image
wsenior in reply to

Hey Bunny, you're welcome for the article. I appreciate you telling me a little of your story. I'm happy that you found a solution to your pain. I would like to try NDT as well if my current experiments don't work. I'm currently taking 200 mcg of T4 only. I think I need to lower my T4 soon and add some T3......or maybe I will try the NDT.

StillEverHopeful profile image
StillEverHopeful

I changed manufacture of levo a few weeks ago and my muscle pains have gone. (I convert ok) Have achy shoulders but that’s been forever & more posture related.

wsenior profile image
wsenior in reply to StillEverHopeful

Hey Hopeful,

I'm happy that your pains have gone. Mine have been increasing for almost 3-years now. I just ignored it as an aging symptom for the first 1.5 years....but i'm seeking a cure in earnest now. Thinking about trying NDT soon. I'm not sure if I convert well or not.

Hmm. "The anti-inflammatory prednisolone induced an aggressive behavior and hostile manner of the patient diagnosed as steroid “roid” rage. To avoid the corticosteroid side effects, its use was suspended." But it's anabolic steroids that 'roid rage, not corticosteroids, 'as any fule no'. I'd diagnose "useless doctor rage".

wsenior profile image
wsenior in reply to Angel_of_the_North

The patient was also taking a steroid named prednisolone, it wasn't a symptom of the Creatine Monohydrate. Creatine is not a hormone and will not cause those issues.

Angel_of_the_North profile image
Angel_of_the_North in reply to wsenior

As I just said, "It's anabolic steroids that cause 'roid rage, not corticosteroids". Prednisolone is a cortiscosteroid, so I think that throws the whole sentence (and may be other conclusions) into doubt - it makes no sense. Perhaps the patient was just very annoyed with the doctors. If cortiscosteroids caused 'roid rage, the country would be full of rampaging asthmatics. I didn't mention creatine, and as an ex-competitive body builder, I know about creatine and the side effects it has (and doesn't have), and about 'roid rage. Oh, yes.

in reply to Angel_of_the_North

Perhaps there's a mechanism for corticosteroids to also cause that? "Nervousness" is listed as a possible side effect for prednisolone and it isn't much of a stretch to go from nervous to other mood symptoms. I don't know much about any of this, but I'm always very wary of meds that have psych effects.

I'm not saying that it does cause roid rage!!! Just saying maybe we don't know enough to dismiss it. Especially since something caused that side effect in this patient.

Angel_of_the_North profile image
Angel_of_the_North in reply to

I somehow doubt it. If they meant anxiety, they should have said so. Having taken corticosteroids for chest infections and other substances that give you 'roid range and I can tell you there is no similarity. You're more likely to feel wired and tired, with a bad gut, on corticosteroids than suddenly wake up to realise that you've trashed the entire kitchen because one plate didn't come perfectly clean on the first wipe.

wsenior profile image
wsenior in reply to Angel_of_the_North

Hey Angel, sorry I misread your comment. Yeah, it didn't make sense to me either.

Maybe they meant to say Pregnenolone or some other drug.

Gcart profile image
Gcart

I seem to ache in upper body so much in the mornings , then it settles and is mostly ok after that. Seems it’s associated with this T4 treatment . I take T3 also but still have that problem. Makes life very difficult , but it does seem to be the reason ?!

If I catch it in time I can sort of walk it off, as if that forces it into the right place. That is how I have come to view it. What a pain it all is .

wsenior profile image
wsenior in reply to Gcart

Hey Gcart did you mean lower body? I too would wake up like an 110 year old man who has no flexibility. Yeah, is frustrating that I have not found relief yet. Perhaps taking NDT could help?.....some here are recommending that I try it.

Kalicocat profile image
Kalicocat

I recently switched to 75mcg levo and 12mcg slow release T3 and my pain is almost gone. I was on 100mcg levo and I had widespread tendon, muscle and joint pain and was exhausted and brain dead with very low T3. It was the slow release T3 taken twice a day that has made me feel so much better. I tried 50mcg levo and 30mg NDT but that gave me panic attacks every morning after my meds and I crashed every afternoon, just didn't work for me.

wsenior profile image
wsenior in reply to Kalicocat

Hey Kalicocat, thanks for sharing. I can relate to the pain, the stiff and sore muscles. I also seem to easily get tendonitis and muscle strains as well. It's like my muscles and tendons are starving for something....or being blocked from receiving what they need. I don't think the T3 I was taking was slow release....but that makes sense that it would work better than the basic Cytomel - Liothyronine. I want to run and jump without pain and injury.

Kalicocat profile image
Kalicocat in reply to wsenior

Exactly! I injure myself everytime I exercise when my thyroid is out of whack, and I believe it's the low T3 that does it. Right now though, I'm having trouble sleeping likely from my afternoon T3 dose. There's always something, huh?

wsenior profile image
wsenior in reply to Kalicocat

yeah, when I took T3 in the evening I would get heart palpitations and anxiety. Weird how I could take the same dose in the morning and not get that effect. I think it's because of the circadian rhythm the T3 has in the body......healthy people have peak T3 levels in the early morning and then taper off until the next early morning spike.

Heloise profile image
Heloise

Hi senior, were you creatine levels normal?

I hadn't read articles like that but had been looking for an answer to my muscle issues which I felt came on by being on T4 only for years. I'm no longer on T4 but the muscle discomfort remained. Reading about creatine made me think it might be something that would help. I took the creatine for several days and was in agony. It took a week to recover. Perhaps the dose was too high but I have to say it did have an effect on my muscles.

wsenior profile image
wsenior

My Creatine Kinase Level were 138.00 U/L [ reference range of 7.00-190.00 U/L ]

Yeah, I have been taking Creatine Monohydrate for about 3 weeks and don't notice any difference. Fatigue, Pain, Stiffness, Exaggerated Soreness......all still present.

You may also like...

Thyroid and muscle pain please help

this 6 months ago. Can anyone help me with lactic acid build up. My whole body is in pain, doing...

Creatine and leg pain

weeks. I have leg and hip pain with muscle weakness. Doc says I should have creatine checked. It's...

Creatine Supplements

Hey! Can anyone answer a question for me? When I was first diagnosed with Hypothyroidism one of...

Upper back muscle pain

Hi I have ongoing muscle pain in my upper back, and between my shoulder blades. It is not caused by

Tender knots in muscle. Any tricks how to treat it?

Foam roll could be better. Anyone tried that? I don't take pain killers, instead I use pain...