Joint problems???

[deb25426]

Hi everyone, i have been wondering, as I know with hypothyroidism you get aches and pains, do they ever go away???? Mine go away ontermittntly but seem to always come back!!! Also joint problems, I been diagnosed with a hyper mobile sacroiliac joint.. After years with disc problems now this. Could it be associated with being hypo??? I've been on my optimal dose for several years now. Ad after 11yrs been discharged today from endo!!!! Just wondered about all this!!!

[babycatcher7572]

Hi Deb

My joint pains have been there constantly but the pains in my muscles come and go in their severity. I believe joint pain is a common and persistant symptom of hypoT. I have just been discharged from Rhuematology and physiotherapy as xrays and bloods clear, the consultant said he see's a lot of thyroid patients with joint pain with clear bloods and xrays and is due to soft tissue irritation only. Have you had any recent blood results?

Karen

[deb25426 in reply to babycatcher7572]

Yes I have had all bloods done, the one to detect wether I have poly myalgia, clear! Vit d slightly low, been advised to eat fortified breakfast cereal! All calcium rheumatoid bloods clear too. I one to endo today and he said that as my thyroid results are wonderful it's not that causing it!

[babycatcher7572 in reply to deb25426]

mmmmm....did you get a copy of them?...i am a sceptic of GP'S and endo's with their normal ranges from experience. How low was your result? you may need more vitamin D than a bowl of cheerios lol. Low vit d can give you sore joints. See if yiou can get hold of the results and post them up to get some opinions. Are you on levo?

[deb25426 in reply to babycatcher7572]

Yeah I'm quite happy with my dose as my results are always the upper end of the range, the endo I used to see was good and listened to me when I told home where I wanted to be. I'm on 125mcg t4 and 10mcg of t3. I have got myself some vitamin d from holland and barratt. Hopefully they may help, also thinking of taking glusomine and condrotin!

[Heloise in reply to deb25426]

thyroid.about.com/cs/expert...

Perhaps you can find something in Dr. Lowe's writings here. I'm glad you know all your ranges, i.e. TSH, T3 and T4 since they all appear to count. I have found that being underdosed can cause permanent changes in the muscle tissue which becomes quite fibrous. I think I have the article saved if I can find it. I also am inclined to think that all hypos are automatically deficient in vitamin D especially living in the northern hemisphere.

You seem to be on a good program.

[Hidden]

Hi, lots of folks say joint and muscle pains ease with the correct dose of Thyroid meds.

Meanwhile you can help yourself with sorting out vitamin D e.g. my wrist/elbow pain and muscle spazms gone after D3 supplementation (I take 2000+iu drops daily - I would prefer Sunshine!)- just my experience but others too.

Also get checked for irons, ferratin ,folate, B12, as these can be low in HypoT sufferers too.

I too have extra problems (extra neck ribs) which I thought was the cause of my numb arms etc. but neck pain mostly gone at the mo (Vit D).

Is there a link between Hypermobility and connective tissue disorders? - I don't know and can't say - we're not doctors here, just fellow Thyroid sufferers. (daughter-in-law is 'double jointed' and really feels the cold in her joints)

Best wishes, Jane

[deb25426 in reply to Hidden]

I have muscle spasms too. I am thinking the Vit D may help so here goes tomorrow!!! Maybe one day I'll stop moaning!!!! Thank you for your reply tho, it always helps to know not alone!!!!!

[laura281]

I have wide spread tendonitis both elbows, both ankles and Achilles and now both hips I've had cortisone injections but nothings worked even an op on my right elbow hasn't cured my tennis and folders elbow I'm at a loss with it. It's getting me down and no one seems to be able to help or pay enough interest to listen :((

[deb25426 in reply to laura281]

Oh dear Laura sorry you in so much pain, I have good days which i savour! and bad days when I get so fed up. But... I just try to keep in my mind(which some days is really hard to do when the pains been bad) that there are people in worse situations... Sometimes though its hard... I just wanna pick my grandchildren up, play with them without suffering like I used to!

[shaws Administrator]

I used to have widespread muscle/joint pain from the 4th month on levothyroxine.. Couldn't bend knees, raise arms etc, body wouldn't bend so I couldn't get into a car etc.etc.

I don't anymore they all disappeared with adequate thyroid hormone. This is an extract from Dr Lowe who dealt with thyroid hormone deficiency, fibroymyalgia and another website Thyroidscience:-

However, I personally don't believe that measuring the free T4, free T3, or any other circulating hormone level, is the most effective clinical approach. My belief is based partly on the the studies of Escobar-Morreale and colleagues in Spain.[1][2] Their study results make one thing clear: Circulating free T3 and T4 levels don't allow us to accurately predict the T3 concentration in the cells of most tissues. The evidence suggests that there is simply too much variability between different tissues in the same patient. Moreover, there's too much variability between the tissues of different patients. Even more difficult is accurately predicting the physiological and clinical effects of different circulating free T3 and T4 levels. Again, there's simply too much variability to allow accurate predictions.

Barnes was right when, long ago, he wrote that circulating levels of hormones don't measure what's most important—how the patient's tissues are responding to a dosage of thyroid hormone. Our regimen involves multiple measures of how tissues are responding to a particular dosage, repeated at short intervals in a highly systematic way. Our model of assessment is taken from behavior modification, in which I was trained in the early 1970s. We know from hundreds of trial runs that we can precisely control the metabolic status of most patients only by using these multiple measures of tissue response. We adjust each patient's dosage until these measures tell use we've achieved normal tissue metabolic status—regardless of what the patient's circulating hormone levels are. I concede that you can do some fairly good tweaking by using free T3 and T4 levels. But still, if the patient's tissue responses aren't carefully assessed, the clinician isn't focusing on what's most important—the patient's physiological and clinical responses to treatment.

and another

For the moment, let's accept this qualification for the sake of illustration and rephrase your question: Is there a thyroid gland problem that could result in a normal T4 level and a low T3 level? Theoretically, the thyroid gland may dysfunction in such a way that it secretes normal amounts of T4 but less-than-normal amounts of T3. This could result in a normal circulating T4 level and a low T3 level. T3 is the most metabolically active thyroid hormone, but a low circulating T3 level may not result in slowed metabolism and related symptoms. The reason is that most T3 inside cells, where the hormone drives metabolism, is derived from the conversion of T4 to T3. As long as enough T4 reaches the cells and the cells convert enough T4 to T3, metabolism may be normal despite the low circulating T3 level.

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