For the last year I have had persistent upper quadrant pain and flank pain. I have had X-Ray's, CT scans and MRI scan and nothing shows up. I am beginning to think maybe it has something to do with me having hypothyroidism?
The pain is everyday...it can vary from an achy feeling to a real tight clamping feeling where the pain is getting to much to cope with.
I have tried all the usual pain relief, nothing helps. On the worse days it actually stops me from moving because it's too painful 😞
Any ideas 💡 🤔?
Thanks for your help.
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Cherri161220
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What are your most recent thyroid and vitamin results
Do you have autoimmune thyroid disease
Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose change or brand change in levothyroxine
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested.
Very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially with autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s or Ord’s thyroiditis)
Low iron/ferritin can cause tight chest
Liver can be tender/swollen if under medicated for thyroid
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 and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
On day before blood test, split T3 into 3 smaller doses, at roughly equal 8 hour intervals, taking last 1/3rd of daily dose approx 8-12 hours before test
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins
If TPO or TG thyroid antibodies are high this is usually due to Hashimoto’s (commonly known in UK as autoimmune thyroid disease). Ord’s is autoimmune without goitre.
About 90% of all primary hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto’s. Low vitamin levels are particularly common with Hashimoto’s. Gluten intolerance is often a hidden issue too
That is a very low dose. Everyone is different , but most people need more like 100-150mcg. You should get hold of your actual results (and ranges) and post them here ,, then we'll be able to see whether the 'apparently at the right level' is true .... or not. very often GP's seem to think that TSH 'anywhere in range' is good enough ... it's not.
You need to ask Gp's reception for a print out of your latest:
I suffer with really bad coldness as well, I find it hard to cope in the winter months. I'm going ask for mu results, they started me on 50mg then decided to add the lowest dose to this 12.5 my so now taking 62.5.Should and of my symptoms improve?
Also recently had blood test and the nurse said hypothyroidism is not a big deal get on with it!
When i first came here about 2 yrs ago there were about 106,000 members . Today there are 121,174.
So that's another 15,000 people who actually live with it who DO think it's a big deal.
And all of us are very used to being told by people (who don't have it) , that it's not a big deal.
If they gradually found THEIR ability to function well in life and work going down the pan .. they'd soon know how big a deal it is.
And how very unprofessional it is for people who have received very little education on thyroid hormones (and their effects in nearly every cell in the body) to tell people with a poorly understood and poorly treated condition, to 'just get on with it'
Hopefully 62.5mcg will improve things a little .. how long have you been on that dose ? give it a few weeks to see how you feel ... but get hold pf results too .. and don't get fobbed off .. as long as a GP has already seen them , you are entitled to have them in law ,they are your results
I have been on this dose around a year. I said to my doctor that I'd like to loose weight (I'm not over weight just at higher end of optimal weight) I like to loose 1 stone, but this is difficult with hypothyroidism I've been trying all year no success. The doctor said they would monitor things for me, nothing has happened though.It's really difficult for people to understand who don't suffer with it 😕
to be honest i don't know what that pain could be, i've not experienced that. maybe it will ring a bell for some others who reply.
so if you've been on 62,5mcg for about year you should be about due for another annual thyroid blood test . did they include thyroid bloods in you last one with the unsympathetic nurse ?
I found that unless optimally dosed with thyroid hormones I was unable to lose weight. Using the 5:2 diet I managed to lose all the weight I needed however it is not advised to diet when under medicated for hypothyroidism as this is putting the body under too much strain.
The flank pain may be unrelated but unless you have optimised your thyroid hormones it would be difficult to tell. Once medicated correctly you could try Myofascial Release treatment if the pain persists. As all parts of our bodies, and that includes the brain, are linked as one entity a pain in one part can be the result of an injury in another. As a therapist I have found that emotional trauma can cause physical disfunction, as there is no separation this would make sense. Treating the physical can release the emotional and allow healing.
Even if we frequently don’t start on full replacement dose, most people need to increase levothyroxine dose slowly upwards in 25mcg steps (retesting 6-8 weeks after each increase) until eventually on, or near full replacement dose
Consider starting levothyroxine at a dosage of 1.6 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day (rounded to the nearest 25 micrograms) for adults under 65 with primary hypothyroidism and no history of cardiovascular disease.
Traditionally we have tended to start patients on a low dose of levothyroxine and titrate it up over a period of months. RCT evidence suggests that for the majority of patients this is not necessary and may waste resources.
For patients aged >60y or with ischaemic heart disease, start levothyroxine at 25–50μg daily and titrate up every 3 to 6 weeks as tolerated.
For ALL other patients start at full replacement dose. For most this will equate to 1.6 μg/kg/day (approximately 100μg for a 60kg woman and 125μg for a 75kg man).
If you are starting treatment for subclinical hypothyroidism, this article advises starting at a dose close to the full treatment dose on the basis that it is difficult to assess symptom response unless a therapeutic dose has been trialled.
I have pain like this too. I have hashimotos and questionable fatty liver . Tests are not very consistent. I wonder what this pain is too but I’ve had no luck finding anything out
It's strange I'm being to think maybe is muscle related...the doctor wants to now prescribed low level anti depression medicine so my brain forgets I'm in pain... I said it's not good enough 😕
Yes I’ve had like 5 drs want to prescribe me the same. I’ve literally been told it’s so many different things that make no sense at all. It’s all very frustrating.
I feel like it is connected somehow to hypothyroidism but I shouldn't have to study medicine to find the answer! I am thinking that it I need to seek private health options just so it can be looked into more. The pain itself is like a clamping pain that varies in intensity and it also feels like my right flank area is bruised, however my skin looks normal.
Sometimes the pain is so intense that I have trouble moving.
Mine is always dull like 4-5 pain scale, can hurt my shoulder and my lower right hip. Sometimes it feels like something is swollen and sometimes it’s feels like a stitch. I’ve had some drs suggest thyroid levels but mine have been fine since I’ve been in 125 levo.
I have the same- it feels like my muscle on my back above my right hip is twisted it goes up to my scapula, I’ve just had a cortisone injection 2days ago in my right hip bursa as a rheumatologist diagnosed trochanter bursitis , so will see if that helps , currently seeing a physio aswell , I’ve had this for months , all bloods are ok and just had my annual review at my surgery and nothing showed, I’ve had inflammation tests and all came back clear 🤷🏼♀️
I have something similar going on but it’s in my left side at waist level. It’s like an intense throbbing stitch, going into my back and front lower quadrant. I’m wondering if it’s intestine discomfort? Odd and uncomfortable 🤷♀️
My doctor said to me today, we don't always have any answer...so I'm left with it now...unless I take low level anti depressants to block my brain telling me I'm in pain.
Other of people on here seem to have similar symptoms... if only we knew what was causing this...😒
I have Hashimoto’s and also get pain in this region. My liver enzymes are raised but I’ve had three scans that show all is normal. I’ve also had a different type of scan (can’t remember the name of it) which measures elasticity/flexibility of the liver and that is also normal
I recently had flu and didn’t touch coffee for two weeks and the pain disappeared. I didn’t associate the pain with coffee though until re-introducing it. The very next morning I woke with the usual ache in that region
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