Hi 😁

[Shell10]

I was diagnosed with an under active thyroid in January 2019 so I haven't been taking tablets for long but i do feel slighty worse than before . I am taking Levo tevo, I was on 100mg then a second blood test was told to go down to 75mg I have very achy shoulder and back muscles I also have tinnitus?? Well I have very loud ringing in my ears all the time , it seems to be an ache all over my neck area. Tired, very emotional . They are the ones that affect my day to day . I have to go back in 3 months so need to see if gets any better and then I want to try other avenues if poss!

[Ruther]

Hi Shell10 It takes time for the thyroxine to work or to find the right level. Its also not just about your level of T4 (which is inactive and needs to be converted into T3 to get into your cells so look at diet as well and stress levels in your life. They play such a part... I'm not sure about aches and pains as I tend to get more malaise but I'm sure good diet will help open your thyroxine pathways (liver and adrenal) to deliver the thyroxine to where it needs to go. There is mixed advice about diet so you just have to keep looking on the internet (and it's complicated!) but high quality protein seems to be key and avoiding brassicas amongst other thyroid suppressing foods - gluten in wheat and rye and barley being a biggie and soy also suppresses your thyroid function. Oestrogen is also thyroid suppressing so if you are oestrogen dominant that will have a negative effect. Apparently eating a raw carrot a day can help eliminate excess oestrogen in your stomach. Do some research and try stuff out - I feel like it's my vocation now! But hey health is everything as they say....

[MaisieGray in reply to Ruther]

As I understand it, the fibre of raw carrot is said to prevent the reabsorption of estrogen from the intestine, rather than the stomach. Regarding brassicas, they are an excellent nutritional source and it isn't correct to say that we need to avoid them; but if we had to avoid them we would surely have to also avoid other "thyroid-suppressing food" such as those of the Rosaceae family of fruits, including apricots, cherries, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries, and strawberries ..... In particular, brassica vegetables are particularly high in Vit C, Folate (Vit B9), and Vitamin K1 (not Vit K2 from beef and dairy, but valuable anyway); and contain potentially anti-cancer phytochemicals, glucosinolates. There is a lot of inaccurate and outdated things said about so-called goitrogens, based on erroneous 50 yr old bad science, and if the situation with these food stuffs was as dire as needing to avoid them all, people like me who haven't eaten meat for 50 yrs, and particularly vegans, would be falling ill with thyroid dysfunction in far greater numbers than those less dependent on fruit and vegetables, but in fact a 2013 US study found that a vegan diet had a protective impact, and compared with an omnivorous diet, tended to be associated with lower, not higher, risk of hypothyroid disease.

Edited to add that rather than being excluded from our diet, for example, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and turnips in fact help increase detoxification in the liver, which is beneficial for individuals with autoimmune thyroid disease and impaired liver detox pathways.

[Shell10 in reply to Ruther]

Thank you x yes it will take time to work it out and also I think it may be my vocation as well lol x

[MaisieGray]

Shell10 Were you started immediately on the 100 mcg in January, or did you start at a lower dose which was then increased to 100mcg, before then being reduced? Generally, although not always, you'd expect to start at 50 mcg unless you were over 50 yrs or have cardiac problems, in which case, 25 mcg would be prescribed; and I'm guessing that your GP doesn't know what he's doing. What led to him deciding to reduce your Levo so early in your thyroid journey to treatment optimisation; but in any case, he should be retesting and adjusting accordingly, 6 weekly - 3 months at this point, is far too long a wait. However, without having sight of your blood test results and their reference ranges, it's only so much guesswork, to say what might be going on; although it might be a good guess to think your symptoms are due to it being early days in your recovery, and as yet, not optimally medicated. So if you post your thyroid results & respective ranges (you can ask for a printout free of charge from the receptionist, if you haven't already done so) folks can advise more accurately. Also if they were tested, post any results you have for Vit D, Vit B12, folate, and ferritin.

[Shell10 in reply to MaisieGray]

Hi thanks MaisieGray for responding I was put straight on 100mg obviously going with the doctor as he knows best????!!! But I will go and get a read out . I know it's earlier days but so want to be back to normal!!

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Shell10]

You might find the link below of some use in getting the units right. It does help when talking to medics...

dropbox.com/s/q00vyt5703f4u...