stiff little fingers

[Pearlteapot]

Hi

Are stiff finger joints a hypo symptom or should I now be worrying about Rheumatoid Arthritis?

There are many hypo symptoms that I didn't suffer until I started this medication journey - which I'm hoping will resolve as I optimise. I'm hoping stiff finger joints is one of them?

Looking at old posts the answer seems to be 'maybe'. It could be hypo and might resolve with dose optimisation. It might be RA and I should test. Which I can't do for a few weeks because of holidays but I guess that's okay and gives the levo some time to ride to the rescue.

[BiscuitBaby]

Hi Pearl teapotI also feel I suffered more symptoms after I was diagnosed. I feel I got much worse before I started getting better. Stiff hands and feet also tingling are something I also experience. In fact it never really ceases to amaze me how many things are caused by underactive thyroid. I honestly don't think I would believe it if I hadn't lived it! I know people say to be careful not to blame everything on thyroid but I find that hard when I had nothing wrong at all before this! I do hope it's not RA. You have enough to deal with.

[humanbean]

It could be low vitamin D.

[Pearlteapot in reply to humanbean]

Thank you humanbean. At the end of June my Vit D was 106nmol and I’ve continued supplementing. Going to test next week before i start traveling to make sure I’m not too high.

[Anthea55]

Could be food intolerances. Most doctors know very little about that. It doesn't come into their training, so they diagnose it as something else and then you get onto the medication roundabout.

When my joints were getting stiff I went for testing for food intolerances. Top of my personal list were wheat and oats - I'd been having porridge regularly that winter! Takes 2 or 3 months to clear your body out and for you to feel the benefit. I then realised that I hadn't had indigestion for ages - bonus - I'd had indigestion since a child, but when I was young nobody knew much about food intolerances.

My hands started seizing up again recently - I decided it was caused by Armour which I'd been trying. Gave up the Armour and my hands settled down again.

Have you tried going gluten free? That's often advised on here.

[Pearlteapot in reply to Anthea55]

Thank you for the thoughts. I’ve been gluten and dairy free since diagnosis in March so it’s not one of those two. I never had reactions to food or stiff hands before diagnosis.

[Pearlteapot]

I see in a similar post DippyDame mentions iron overload which I should have remembered as my mum has haemachromotosis and for years was misdiagnosed with rheumatism. My own iron levels were very high before levothyroxine then suddenly very low serum iron but also with low TIBC and okay ferritin and I was going to retest next week anyway to see what’s going on now.

[Regenallotment Ambassador]

I have very stiff fingers and tingles too. Had them before Levo, they do improve with a dose increase. PMS makes everything hurt more for a week. Vit D am 6 weeks in to loading dose so no idea. Ferritin been having liver meals once a week for a few weeks too. Stopped B complex for 7 days as blood test yesterday. Ate some GF cake with cream cheese icing, which gave me a sugar rush and terrible wind, could be that and been overdoing it at the allotment too. So many variables /possibilities but yes I hear you, I hope yours eases up soon 🦋💚🦋

[KCFryer]

Hi! I experienced many symptoms including joint pain. I woke up and could barely hold my baby. My GP ruled out RA. It was when I found ou that many people reported suspected adverse reactions to levothyroxine medicines, including symptoms after switching levothyroxine brands, to the Yellow Card scheme. I realised Boots was giving me 3 different brands to compound my 137 mcg dose. Since I followed the recommendation to stick to one brand, all my symptoms got much better. I'll attach the link here below. Hope it helps you!gov.uk/drug-safety-update/l...

[Pearlteapot]

Thanks. The link you included taught me a new word - Arthralgia. I then found that there is a link between hypothryoidism and athralgia (surprise!!) which resolves with medication. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Weird that this starts while other symptoms get better but I'm getting used to everything being weird. Better wait and see if it resolves.