Sore feet.

[Mill85]

Im hypo my body aches . I feel like I'm 90 after getting up from sitting down. So stiff. I a0m quite active otherwise. My feet have become really painful. The whole foot. Does anyone else experience this?

[Buckley123]

My feet hurt so much and my ankles feel like they could snap tendons hurt all around joint and radiate into muscles I can’t explain it very well but it hurts x

[Mill85 in reply to Buckley123]

Sounds just like mine x

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Looking at previous posts 4 months ago you were on only 25mcg Levothyroxine

Standard starter dose is 50mcg Levothyroxine (unless over 60 years old)

Being under medicated can cause low FT3 and/or low vitamin D. Both can cause sore feet, and plantar fasciitis

Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose of Levothyroxine is changed

Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water . 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).

Dose of Levothyroxine should be increased in 25mcg steps upwards until TSH is under 2 and FT4 is in top third of range and FT3 at least half way in range

Can you add your most recent blood test results

Essential to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 too

All four vitamins need to be regularly tested and frequently need supplementing to maintain optimal levels

NHS guidelines on Levothyroxine including that most patients eventually need somewhere between 100mcg and 200mcg Levothyroxine.

nhs.uk/medicines/levothyrox...

Also what foods to avoid (eg recommended to avoid calcium rich foods at least four hours from taking Levo)

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

[Mill85 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you. I didnt go back. The nurse practitioner made me feel so stupid . She said my symptoms of constipation, chronic fatigue stiffness all over my body and I told her I could barely hold a conversation without forgetting what I was talking about.... didnt match thyroid conditions . More likely menopause. I am going through perimenopause or am I? I'm 52. All blood work for menopause are inconclusive. 18 months ago I had a massive bleed for 35 days before medication stopped it.. my iron dropped to 98 despite taking double dose of iron for 2 weeks. Ferritin dropped to 6. I was fitted with mirena which helped but not with all the other symptoms above plus anxiety , difficulty making decisions etc. I got a text to attend a review for my long term condition 6 months later.. I didnt know I had one. I'm guessing the blood test diagnosed thyroid but it was the system that picked it up.

Going back to the nurse. She told me on that review the tsh was 8.7 and the adv nurse practitioner put me on levo being cautious to see if it helped.

25mg got my tsh down to 2.5 but still these symptoms are slowing me down I'm losing my confidence.

I'm seriously thinking of trying one of the medichecks now. My feet and joint pain / stiffness are getting me down .

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Mill85]

A nurse is not a qualified Thyroid specialist ...or even a doctor

Strongly suggest you get retested by GP or privately

A tiny dose of Levothyroxine turns down your own thyroid production, as shown by your reduced TSH. But it's not enough to replace your own thyroid hormones . That's why standard starter dose is 50mcg and dose is increased steadily over coming months

Levothyroxine doesn't "top up" your own thyroid hormones. It replaces it and turns your own thyroid production down

If, for example, you need equivalent of 125mcg daily .....you get a diagnosis of being hypothyroid when your own thyroid production has dropped down to about 75mcg......causing TSH to rise. Initially adding 25mcg Levothyroxine makes you feel slightly better. But that 25mcg will affect TSH, so your own production drops further and you end up more hypothyroid than before you started

[Hidden in reply to Mill85]

I beg to differ with your "nurse practitioner" but chronic fatigue was the main problem I had in the months following my partial thyroidectomy. If you have ever seen footage of athletes finishing the marathon from years ago and their legs are wobbling all over the place out of control, well that was me after walking a hundred yards! I know what fatigue is and I know my medical condition at that time and can assure you 1 million times that lack of thyroid hormones DOES cause fatigue.

[humanbean]

Here are two lists of symptoms of hypothyroidism :

The short list :

thyroiduk.org/tuk/about_the...

The long list :

hypothyroidmom.com/300-hypo...

The reason there are so many symptoms associated with hypothyroidism is because every single cell in the body needs thyroid hormone to function properly. So when the amount of thyroid hormone is too low absolutely any body system or type of cell can be affected, although some symptoms are commoner than others.

...

Sore feet are a very common symptom. It was one of mine for a few years. I would sit up in bed, put my feet on the bedroom floor, and the tiniest bit of pressure on the base of my feet, particularly the heels, was excruciating. When I got up and walked, particularly going downstairs, I found it horribly painful bending my ankles. If I kept on walking around for a while the pain would diminish, and my ankles would start to bend almost normally, over a period of about an hour or two, then I was okay. Next time I sat (with pressure off my feet) or lay down for any length of time the pains I got in the morning would start to appear again when I got up and walked.

The condition is often diagnosed by doctors as "plantar fasciitis" :

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant...

The condition is usually treated as if it has nothing to do with the thyroid at all, and almost everyone who consults a doctor for the problem (I never did), is told they need to lose weight and exercise. I found my own cure. I tested and optimised as many of the basic minerals and vitamins as I could, and treated my thyroid myself and in the process I improved my T3 a little bit. (It was low in range before treatment.)

[Mill85 in reply to humanbean]

Thank you, I should print this list and give it to my nurse practitioner. You're so right about the ankles. I feel the stiffness go up the back of my calves too. I'm an active 52 year old and was used to going to the gym and doing 6 classes of zumba a week. Over the last 2 years chronic fatigue etc has slowed me down. Despite being active in my job everytime I sit down for more than 20 mins my body is stiff and hurts , its embarrassing, I take so long standing and moving . Hobbling on my feet. Like you it wears off as I get moving but that 30 to 60 seconds whilst I get up is awful. X

[humanbean in reply to Mill85]

It is definitely worth getting your vitamin D level checked. Low levels make people stiff - and anyone with a thyroid condition can be low or non-optimal in many vitamins and minerals.

Obviously getting your doctor to test as many nutrients as possible is worth doing, but if he/she is not helpful then it is possible to get private tests done without involving a doctor at all.

If you need help on how to get private tests done, just ask.

[silverfox7]

I am diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and I’m told it’s quite common but worse with thyroid issues and also suggests low in T3. I take NDT and my thyroid health is good so I did a bit more digging and found taking turmeric is good for the pain. I take three capsules a day, think 2-4 was recommended and saw results almost immediately. I used to dread every morning getting out of bed but it never enters my mind now. I know still not cured as I forgot to take my ‘cure’ for a couple of days and I could feel it but nowhere asbad as before. I am thinking now of dropping dose down to 2 a day to see if that keeps it under control as well. I wastold it would be painful for at leat a year but anyone with a thyroid issue could add on another 6 months so that lead to my searches. So happy with how its going at the moment.

[Rosebud1955 in reply to silverfox7]

I too have severe plantar fasciitis and heel spur. It started in the right foot, especially the heel. I had steroid injection and got relief within 24 hours. Two weeks later, the left foot and heel started. Xrays and ultra sound confirmed the same. Now i’m suffering 24/7, unable to take my daily walks, if I walk for more than 15 minutes, the following 24 hours is a nightmare. Why can’t doctors connect the dots? Are they really that stupid? I asked my endocrinologist if there was a link between hypothyroidism and plantar fasciitis, his quick response was “absolutely not”. How can we trust them with our lives? Surely they did not learn much about thyroid disease in med school, but they can educate themselves in order to help their suffering patients. I have only joined this forum a year ago and I have learned so much in just one year. I also make it my duty to read all I can about the disease. It’s so encouraging to know that we’re not alone in our thyroid struggles and that so many people care. This forum is GOD SENT to so many.

Let’s all continue to support and embrace each other on this long journey to good health.

[silverfox7 in reply to Rosebud1955]

Tried the turmeric. Give it a few days to work its magic. I posted my issues on here and was given an excercise regime completely opposite to the NHS one, instead of stretching my Achilles using the stairs I wasto point my toes down as far as they would go, one suggestion was kneeling and then let the buttocks down so they rest on your feet but I didn’t feel confident doing that so at anytime in the day I just stretched my toes down as far asi could. After afewminutestge pain went away so when ever I got the chance I did acould of stretches so it was quick and easy to do. I then confessed to my GP but she said there are no hard and fast rules for many things and she couldn’t see a problem with what I was doing. I very rarely do it now, and I can walk pretty well as well.

[Rosebud1955 in reply to silverfox7]

Thanks for the suggestion, I also found that when I flexed my toes downwards I got a little relief. I will now do it more often. I was told to flex my toes upwards, but when I do it, I feel more pain. I have been taking turmeric capsules for the past two years- 2 capsules per day. I take them to help relieve inflammation caused by Lyme disease. Thanks for the advice.

[Mill85 in reply to silverfox7]

Thanks, I'm going to try this

[Babette]

Another one with sore feet here. Mine started after a night out with lots of dancing 18 months ago. The next day, I couldn't put my right foot down. A podiatrist gave me silicone wedge insoles (after the previous sets of hard insoles made the problem worse) and they helped. My right foot is now fine but the left one is painful now. I also have inflammed tendons in my fingers so suspect it's just one of the delights of being hypo.