Hello, thanks for all the help from posters so far, I need to pick your brains again!
The husband has been on levothyroxine since July and is now on 150. It has helped with some symptoms and things like his cholesterol have dropped however, since he started it (starting dose 100) he has really achy joints especially in his knees and feet, if he stops moving then everything seizes up - this has only been since he has been on the levothyroxine, also his sleep is poor. Could this be a side effect of levo? Or could it be something else, how would I find out? From his test results it appears that it is hashimotos although the GP hasn't mentioned anything
Any help much appreciated
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Conkerlover
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Morning test and 24 hour gap. The 150 was introduced about 1 month ago and another blood test due in a week or so but via GP so limited test - the results above are from medichecks
It got put up to 150 after this test but it seems the more medication he has the worse it gets? The achiness didn't start until he started levo and every time the dose has increased then the aches ramp up more if that makes sense
Yep makes sense, the T4 is replacing his own thyroid production and it’s not optimal yet so he’s feeling the symptoms. Until it’s optimal there is a good chance he will feel worse than before.
Needs to keep going for another increase at 7-8 weeks. Worst weeks for me of an increase were always 3-5. Hang on in there.
Vitamin D nearer 100 would be better, take 3-4000iu through the winter, D3 with K2 and if you can make him add some magnesium either to the bath or as a supplement (biglycinate is well tolerated) I buy mine on Amazon, I avoid citrate as it upsets my tummy.
Magnesium best taken afternoon or bedtime…..at least 4 hours away from Levo
Which brand of levothyroxine is he taking
Does he always get same brand
Retest 6-8 weeks after dose increase
Recommended that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
Levo in the morning, he is still struggling with when to take it and not have tea so has it as soon as he wakes up then waits 30 mins before having a cup of tea
I'll check the brand - I think it's always the same one - apparently it just says 'levothyroxine sodium' - is that right?
Mmm ... i see what you mean , but i'd not worry too much about the achyness at the moment if he's only been on 150mcg for a few wks .
the thing is, he was extremely hypo at diagnosis and those latest result show he is still pretty bad ... changing thyroid hormone levels within the body is more like changing direction in a supertanker ... everything takes such a long time to do what its doing and stabilise and we can't speed it up much , other than get dose increases when needed and then wait 6 weeks or more to see the effect .
"try that dose for a couple of months ,and THEN see how you feel, and another blood test" is the answer to most thyroid questions, and i can imagine you are both sick of hearing that. Unfortunately it's true .
but in my experience , things like achy knees/ ankles should gradually improve once he's on the right dose.
but yes , it's also worth keeping an eye on/ record of which brands of levothyroxine he is being given... some people find they notice problems with one brand but not another.
A ( hopefully) Helpful Quote from another members GP ,on what to expect when starting treatment for hypothyroidism.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The way my new GP described it was ..."You know how your body is continually breaking down and rebuilding itself? Well, the thyroid controls the rebuilding, so if it isn't working you carry on breaking down but don't rebuild properly. Your body now has a lot of catching up to do, which will take a minimum of 12 months, probably a lot longer...." or words to that effect. He also said it would be a saw tooth recovery (get better, go backwards a bit, get better, go backwards a bit) and he's been right so far."
Many patients do NOT get on well with Teva brand of Levothyroxine.
Teva is lactose free, but contains mannitol as a filler instead of lactose, which seems to be possible cause of problems. Mannitol seems to upset many people, it changes gut biome
If a patient reports persistent symptoms when switching between different levothyroxine tablet formulations, consider consistently prescribing a specific product known to be well tolerated by the patient.
Physicians should: 1) alert patients that preparations may be switched at the pharmacy; 2) encourage patients to ask to remain on the same preparation at every pharmacy refill; and 3) make sure patients understand the need to have their TSH retested and the potential for dosing readjusted every time their LT4 preparation is switched (18).
Just a quick reply to say that achy joints, including achy ankles and uncomfortable achiness when putting my feet down on the floor when waking up - was a symptom of undiagnosed hypo for me that went away when titrating Levo up to optimal over the past year or so.
Even now on bad days it can return.
I will also say that lots of things happen when you start taking Levo as your body adjusts. We read here frequently of people thinking there is a side effect when they start Levo when it can also just be the lingering hypo that you are taking Levo for.
I haven’t read the whole post above, just sharing my experience with this symptom.
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