I had the painful toe before diagnosis of underactive thyroid.I now have sharp pains in thumbs
I have only spoke to doctor on phone after diagnosis as it was a month wait for face to face.He ignored my comments and increased dose to 75mg.Any advice appreciated
do you have any actual blood test results from when diagnosed? Or from recent blood test?
You are legally entitled to printed copies of your blood test results and ranges.
UK GP practices are supposed to offer online access for blood test results. Ring and ask if this is available and apply to do so if possible, if it is you may need "enhanced access" to see blood results.
In reality many GP surgeries do not have blood test results online yet
Alternatively ring receptionist and request printed copies of results. Allow couple of days and then go and pick up.
Important to see exactly what has been tested and equally important what hasn't been tested yet
Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose increase in Levothyroxine
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also extremely important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if Thyroid antibodies are raised
Low vitamin D can cause joint and bone pain.
Ask GP to test vitamins and thyroid antibodies at next test if not been tested yet
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
Last Levothyroxine dose should be 24 hours prior to test, (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or all vitamins
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 special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random
If antibodies are high this is Hashimoto's, (also known by medics here in UK more commonly as autoimmune thyroid disease).
About 90% of all hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto's.
Low vitamins are especially common with Hashimoto's. Food intolerances are very common too, especially gluten.
So it's important to get TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once .
Link about thyroid blood tests
thyroiduk.org/tuk/testing/t...
Link about antibodies and Hashimoto's
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...
List of hypothyroid symptoms
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...
Always take Levo on empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after.
Many take Levothyroxine early morning, on waking, but it may be more convenient and possibly more effective taken at bedtime.
verywell.com/should-i-take-...
Other medication at least 2 hours away, some like HRT, iron, calcium, vitamin D or magnesium at least four hours away from Levothyroxine
Many people find Levothyroxine brands are not interchangeable.
Once you find a brand that suits you, best to make sure to only get that one at each prescription. Watch out for brand change when dose is increased or at repeat prescription.
Many patients do NOT get on well with Teva brand of Levothyroxine. Though it is the only one for lactose intolerant patients. Teva is the only brand that makes 75mcg tablet
I have sharp pain in both big toes and both thumbs, and in my case it is arthritis, wholly independent of being hypothyroid - my mother had to have both knees replaced and my father was about to have both hips replaced when he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, so I'm presuming in my case it's a familial thing. Has anyone mentioned the possibility of arthritis to you at all?
Hi, I've also had sore big toes for the past few months, sometimes just a touch can be quite painful, they are usually cold to the touch and turn blue/purple easily. I have Reynauds too so that's probably got something to do with it.
I visited a chiropodist recently too. I used to do a lot of running, not so much recently, and thought it would be useful to have my feet checked out. The chiropodist can check blood flow etc, mine was fine thankfully. But I seem to have some nerve damage in my feet and problem with high arches that collapse when I sit down which can put pressure on the toes and cause them to be painful. I've got some orthopaedic insoles to see if they might help. She also mentioned that it could be due to an autoimmune condition and to ask doctor for referral.
I hope you can get some help with this and feet & hands start to feel better soon.
Thank you.I have just had an x-ray on my foot but 3 weeks for results.No history of arthritis in immediate family.
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