Hypo- induced tight, stiff, painful legs – any ... - Thyroid UK

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Hypo- induced tight, stiff, painful legs – any suggestions?

Koola profile image
8 Replies

My legs feel as if I’d walked 25 miles yesterday with no previous training whatsoever (whereas I didn’t leave the house...) Like acid in the muscles. Have had this for a long while off and on but more mild and it's very much stronger since yesterday. .Walking feels like a challenge now. Maybe it’s the change to warmer weather... Would Magnesium help? If so, which sort? Have to order some as I ran out a couple of weeks ago.

I was taking Magnesium citrate, for its laxative & relaxing properties, but I don’t need the laxative anymore and I’m exhausted all the time, so would prefer a boosting kind like Magnesium malate, or Magnesium chloride?

Or something else altogether? (I take Vit D, B 12 complex, C and Iron.)

I have been on Levo only for 8 days on 88/94 mcg. Before, I was taking 69/75 T4 and 12 mcg T3. Maybe Levo dose is too low?

Thank you very much in advance for suggestions!

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Koola
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humanbean profile image
humanbean

I was taking Magnesium citrate, for its laxative & relaxing properties, but I don’t need the laxative anymore and I’m exhausted all the time, so would prefer a boosting kind like Magnesium malate, or Magnesium chloride?

For info on the various magnesium supplements available and what they are helpful for :

drjockers.com/best-magnesiu...

naturalnews.com/046401_magn...

As for your legs, I can only tell you an anecdote - stiff tight legs is a symptom for me if my vitamin D is too low for me. I try to keep my own levels around 100 nmol/L or a little bit over.

My husband also had the same problem and had to swing himself on and off the train he took to work by swinging around the pole in the centre of the two doors because he couldn't bend his knees enough to get on and off the normal way. When he started taking fish oil (which contained a small amount of vitamin D) plus an additional vitamin D supplement his knees loosened up enough so he could move normally.

I have been on Levo only for 8 days on 88/94 mcg. Before, I was taking 69/75 T4 and 12 mcg T3. Maybe Levo dose is too low?

Depending on who you read/listen to, T3 is either 3 or 4 times as potent as T4. So your 12mcg of T3 is equivalent to 36mcg - 48mcg T4. You've had an increase in T4 of 15/19mcg which is not nearly enough to make up for the reduction in T4.

Why was your dose changed and why was the T3 taken off you?

Koola profile image
Koola in reply tohumanbean

did you mean not nearly enough to make up for the reduction in T3 ? sorry, I get it now (brain fog intense. I would need to take more T4 to make up for no more T3, right?

(I also read that T3 is 5 times more potent than T4. ...?)

Koola profile image
Koola in reply tohumanbean

I self medicate. I tried the Combo, since May 2021, and only got worse. I wasn't feeling good on 88/94 monotherapy but much much better than now. Decided to give it a try again. could be I should be doing just the opposite and going on T3 only? No idea, just confused and desperate by now.

☹️

humanbean profile image
humanbean in reply toKoola

I'm getting confused now.

You were on Levo and T3. Then you decided to stop taking T3 and replace it with more Levo. I'm saying that your latest dose of Levo should be higher than it is to replace all of the T3 you stopped taking.

Koola profile image
Koola in reply tohumanbean

Yes, you got it. How much should I be taking? 94 + 48 = 142? Or 88 + 44 = 136 Seems like a lot to me... but you might be right. If so, do it in one go or go up progressively?

humanbean profile image
humanbean in reply toKoola

Before you switched to Levo only you were taking :

69/75 T4 and 12 mcg T3.

By replacing the 12 mcg T3 with 3 or 4 times the amount of Levo you might (eventually) do well on a dose of somewhere between :

69mcg Levo + 36mcg Levo = 105mcg Levo

75mcg Levo + 48mcg Levo = 123mcg Levo

On the basis that erring on the side of caution is always a good idea I would have suggested that when stopping T3 your new dose of Levo should have been around 100mcg Levo to start with. It still might not be enough though. You might want to go from your old dose to your new dose in one or two stages, but I would expect you would feel quite grim before you got to 100mcg.

But since you have already increased to a dose of 88mcg / 94mcg (I don't know how long for) you might be okay just going straight to 100mcg per day. But expect to feel awful for a while. Giving up T3 and frequent changes of dose will make most people feel dreadful.

Koola profile image
Koola in reply tohumanbean

Thank you very much, humanbean. What you write makes a lot of sense. I’ve been off T3 and on 88/94 mcg for ten days only.

I’ll take more Levo. I was told that I was a good converter. And often that I should raise Levo dose before and after I started taking T3. Unfortunately, my previous trial with 100 T4 and 6.50 T3 in winter made me worse (though labs were best ever!?). I was never advised to go on T3 only, though some seem to thrive that way. Problem became that T3 used to give me energy and feel better but then seemed to not help at all.

I’ll raise levo and see how it goes. Feeling dreadful already anyway! (though by now I realize that it can always get worse...) But if I keep feeling that bad I will eventually look for another solution.

Thanks again for your sorely need help, humanbean :)

Koola profile image
Koola

unfortunately, after an initial easier time with T3, I started getting more symptoms and foremost more brain fog and exhaustion.

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