After covid last year the relatively mild osteoarthritis in my lower spine became quite inflamed and I began experiencing much more pain in my lower back and what feels like my hip although I know my hips are fine from an mri. I have tried pretty much every supplement out there. I even invested in an arc4health device which certainly helped with energy levels but not the pain. Naproxen works but do not want to get stuck on those. Enter cbd ( a very good one with NO thc) and I do think it is reducing the pain. Now I read it can interfere with levo as same pathways used to metabolise it.
Does anyone have any first hand experience with taking it or up to date relevant information? I am loathe to stop using it when nothing else seems to work. The only thing i will add is my medication was reduced last year. I gradually went from 150 mcg to 125 mcg then to 100 mcg but now on 115 mcg daily. I always go on how i feel and what i thought were menopause symptoms - heat at night and thumping heart, all stopped when my levo was reduced and i feel much better in that respect. I did wonder if the reduction could have had an impact on my arthritis. Could a reduction cause such inflammation in lower back seen on mri?
Bloods last month - tsh-3.561 0.55-4.78
Free thyroxine 16.64 10.4-19.4
when on 150 mcg my tsh ( last aug) was 0.01 and free thyroxine was 21.26. I deff felt over medicated. I did have a better more complete thyroid test but cant findcresults. It seems my t3 always stays mid range what ever dose I am on. Perhaps i need to go up to 125 mcg. Even my doctor suggested it but i dont want those hot nights or thumping heart again! Feel good in all other respects, ie energy, mood etc
Realise this is an extremely long, detailed question (s) and very grateful to anyone who has time or inclination to wade through.
thank you
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janiebell
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For someone on thyroid hormone replacement your TSH is far too high. To feel well most people need a TSH of 1 or just under.
What was the FT3 result with range please?
When hypo we get low stomach acid which means we cannot absorb vitamins well from our food, regardless of a great diet. For thyroid hormone to work well we need OPTIMAL levels of vitamins. Have you recently or could you ask your GP to test levels of ferritin, folate, B12 & D3?
Have you ever had positive thyroid antibodies? If so a gluten free diet helps many, a small proportion of those people also need to remove dairy from their diet to improve symptoms.
hi Jaydee, my b12 and v D all in good range and my active b12 way above range. My ferritin a bit low at 60 so have upped my iron with optiferin c which always works for me. I am gluten free and mostly dairy free too. I have Hashi and my antibodies go down if i stick to gluten free.
Need to get thyroid panel done again as cant find t3 results.
I will direct you back to this reply to a post of yours 6 years ago. You were then on 150mcgs and told you were a poor converter. healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
There are no supplements invented that will patch over the need for T3. You can email this address to get sent a list of Endocrinologists that may prescribe. info@thyroiduk.org
Thanks so much for your replies- the thing is Jaydee, I don't feel unwell! In fact thyroid wise i feel good. I did ask ( cant believe its 6 years ago!) if anyone with my t3 levels does well and is ok but no-one answered. My endo at the time said t3 level was ok and i didnt need supplementation. I worry about trying t3 as the thinking on here years ago was proceed with extreme caution with t3 as you can make yourself much worse and most people don't need supplementation. Shouldn’t we always base our supplementation on how we feel?
You're a very lucky person to not feel unwell at that TSH level. probably noone amswered your question about low T3 as generally they are out there getting on with their lives unaware of the issue.
You can only really make yourself worse with T3 if you add too much too quickly or if you don't need it. So long as its added slowly in small amounts many people benefit. I think the statistics are that 10-20% of people need added T3.
You say you feel OK but you have pain. That may well be improved with better thyroid replacement.
I'm pleased to hear that. It's worth choosing which Endo you get referred to carefully as some are anti T3. Do make a separate post asking for feedback on the one you choose. Replies will have to be via private message as we arent allowed to mention specific names on the group.
Now I read it can interfere with levo as same pathways used to metabolise it.
It should be OK if you take it at least two hours away from levo. I took CBD oil for several years and found it wonderful stuff. But, I don't take levo, I'm T3 only, so I can't really comment on that. But, I would say that if you feel well, and it reduces your pain, why worry?
Did you find taking t3 meant you didnt need to take the cbd anymore? Or not connected? It has been suggested that my mid range t3 could be the cause of inflammatory pain connected to osteoarthritis.
Not connected. I needed both, but for financial reasons, I had to give up the CBD.
A T3 level that is lower than you need it could well be the cause of your pain. T3 is the active thyroid hormone and is needed in the correct quantities by every single cell in your body. Not having enough will cause all sorts of symptoms, including pain. But, of course, there are many reasons for pain.
post menopause i became overmedicated on my 'usual' 150 , with symptoms that resolved on 125, then about 3 yrs later fT4 went way over range( no symptoms of overmedicatio, felt ok) and so i did 112.5, but fT4 still way over, so then did 100 but that was definitely too little ( constipated zombie !).. so went back to 112.5 ,despite high fT4 levels,
The fT4 went back down all by itself about 6 months later .. dunno what was going on with that, but just mentioning it so you know that thyroid hormone levels can sometimes wander around and do odd stuff while dose changes post menopuase are at play ...
I tried 125 again for 6 mths last yr and did feel better than 112.5mcg , until Nov when i didn't feel good anymore so currently trying life back at 112.5mcg .
What were your results / symptoms on 125mcg that led to dose reduction to 100 ?
based on what happened to mine , It is possible that those results/ symptoms might not be the same if you went back to 125 now
TSH over 3 is not common in healthy/ unmedicated people, 1 ish is much more usual for them .. so unless you feel 'perfect'/ great with that TSH level, i would be considering going back up to 125 for a few months to see if it has any impact on this pain level .
i really wouldn't worry about CBD ( or THC) re. thyroid hormones , even if it does change them .... if it works for pain then so be it ...it's a damn sight better for your stomach than Naproxen/ NSAID'S are ,, ( and NSAIDS can affect thyroid hormones too).
thank you very much for your detailed answer. You have made me feel a lot better. I am going to get a thyroid panel done and then up to 125 mcg and see if pain reduces. I was so relieved to just feel calmer and not have the thumping heart and horrid over heating that i reduced too quickly i think. Even with reduction in dose my t3 stayed mid range.
After meno Hrt shot my t4 over range ( not by much) and has interfered with it ever since. I have always felt the same however apart from the heat and heart thumping which stopped quite quickly when I reduced levo. (I’d had terrible hot flushes which oestrogen sorted out and was different to the heat at night from levo). One day, i expect we will be able to take daily hormone readings and adjust accordingly!
yes daily hormone readings would be much more interesting.. apparently that sort of technology is still in the ' not possible ' pile .because the technicalities of measuring such tiny amounts are hard ... maybe one day .. after all i didn't believe mobile phones were going to be in my future in 1976.
p.s if/ when you do increase .. probably best to pretty much ignore how you feel for the first 4/5 weeks .. allow your body plenty of time to adjust before deciding how it feels . when lowering dose i've usually felt bit all over the place for the first 5 weeks . increasing had been less of a problem for me , i usually just get a mild headache on and off for a few days / week then it goes.
I think it should be fine! Much better than other forms of pain relief and if it works for you then great! Should help with a good night’s sleep too. Mine does 😊
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