Have you had your Thyroid checked recently?

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ms_west

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Weird question for a spinney to ask but I have to share that this may just be the reason you have nerve, muscle and joint pain. It might not just be due to your back.

My surgeon ordered a slew of tests looking for other reasons for my nerve pain and my thyroid came back showing I have Hypothyroidism/underactive thyroid.

The most common symptoms are fatigue, inability to sleep, greater appetite, nervousness, shakiness, feeling hot when other people are cold, and trouble exercising because of weak muscles, achy joints, shortness of breath, nerve tingling, muscle cramps, and a racing, skipping heart.

My nerve pain and muscle cramps have been horrendous and thankfully we may have found out part of the reason. To think we thought it was all due to my back. Now we have to figure out what is back and what is due to the thyroid.

It just goes to show we need to look from time to time for other reasons for nerve/muscle pain.

So I pose you this question, when is the last time you had your thyroid checked?
 
Hey Pepper ~

Interesting topic. How many of those symptoms would you say you had...I gather it was many more than the nerve and muscle pain???

I think you have finally found a wonderful doctor who is working overtime to get to the root of your issues. These guys are so few and far between....I had one once, but he moved away and I'm still mourning the loss.

I will ask for a thyroid panel next time I see my internist. Thanks for the tip.

xx M:wave:M
 
Hi Diet!! I haven't talked to you in a long time. I have had hypothyroidism since 2002 or at least that was when it was finally diagnosed. Doug my partner has hyperthyroidism and our cat, Buffy has just been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.. Naturally they would get the kind that makes you lose weight while I get the kind that makes you gain-lol . Yes everyone should get the thyroid checked and often it effects every system in your body and once you are diagnosed it is important to get rechecked to make sure you are getting the right amount of medicine. when I started on synthroid I started at 50 mcg and now am up 112mcg so it changes and you have to stay on top of it. You might also notice very dry skin and more hair loss than normal-and those of us who still have perioRAB may notice a difference with that as well. Hypothyroidism really slows your body down a lot and can cause constipation-which is usually my first sign that I need a change of dosage in my meRAB. Pepper I hope after a few weeks on thyroid meRAB your cramping gets better-it may take awhile but hopefully you will get some relief. Take Care, Dee
 
Hi Pepper,

I have had my thyroid checked many times; it was only my TSH that was checked, though. I've had people tell me that there should be other thyroid tests other than just TSH that should be checked, though. Strange thing is, I have had just about every symptom of Hypothyroidism and it runs in my family. My aunt & sister have it, my grandma had it and I don't know what anyone in more past generations had, though. But I guess those TSH tests always come back okay, since my doc never said anything about it to me. I was also checked for mineral & vitamin deficiencies as well. The last time I had all those tests was several months ago.

I hope once you start taking thyroid meRAB, that you start feeling alot better! You never know, maybe it is causing alot of your symptoms. It's good to let everyone know about that possibility. I hope you feel better
 
Well I've been hypothyroid for about 2 years now. I take levoxyl daily and my thyroid test results are now in the normal range. The only symptoms that I can associate with my hypo was brittle nails, hair on my head seemed coarse/dry, and I had fatigue. The hypothyroid happened to be found during an annual physical. Now if it would only help my muscle spasms post-foraminotomy. But I know I can associate those with the posterior foraminotomy (never really had them pre or post ACDF).
 
Thank you Baybreeze. I am trying to get those additional tests run but they told me there was no need until I have been on my new medication for 6 weeks. I love my HMO!! ;)
 
Marlo, This is the interesting part -- I have had no other symptoms of thyroid. My surgeon was looking for another reason for the severe leg pains/cramps. He felt something else was going on in addition to my back and just said, lets check for anything and everything. And BAM...the results show thyroid.

Apparently, it can be silent and people don't realize they have it. The question of the hour is how much is due to my back and how much is due to the thyroid? And how long have I had this? My last thyroid was done in 2005.

I had to post this, please have your thyroid check. I know this happened to another spinney on the board last year so it is not that uncommon.
 
Interesting thread, my primary checked my thyroid last month and it was fine due to being extremely fatigued, heat sensitivity etc. They are now looking at MS.
My sisters thyroid is slow, I think that's the term, and has been having many of the symptoms you all have discussed.

Last winter however something he discovered was that I lacked Vitamin D, my level was 2, "normal" is 15. Once I started taking high doses of D and A (within safe limits) I actually had a decrease in some of my back pain not associated to my herniations. Lack of D can actually cause many of the very same symptoms that thyroid disorders do as well as MS so it's important to differentiate or rule out the actual problem.


More food for thought!
 
I like many others have normal results on all my tests. My mother and grandmother both had normal results but had goiters and take synthroid for this for years. My mother swears this in one of my problems , if not alot of them. I had fusion L5 S1 in January, have advanced OA,DDD, fibro, and depression. I am thinking of making an appt w/ an endo. None of my drs think it is necessary due to normal tests but any help at this point would be great. Im still in alot of pain and have an epidural next week. I have listened to all these drs for years about the thyroid. I listened to them for years before telling me to lose weight only to find out that after I did I still had all the pain if not more.
Shannon
 
Pepper, the symptoms you listed in your initial post, with the exception of fatigue, are symptoms of hyperactive, not hypoactive thyroid. With hypothyroid, the symptoms tend to be a sluggishness, feeling cold all the time, brittle hair and nails, depression, mental slowness and constipation. I don't know about aching and pain issues but if these are associated with hyperthyroid and you are hypothyroid then they may not be the cause of your pain (I hate to be the bearer of bad news here, but I believe that the more information you have the better). Then again, maybe your doctor actually feels you have too much thyroid hormone being produced. I am a long-time hypothroid person and take Synthroid. I hope that you are able to get to the bottom of this. You have my empathy with regard to your struggle. Lisa.
 
Hi I have had Horrible bilateral leg pain from the knees down for 6 years. Many MRI's all say canal stenosis of L4 and L5 of my spine. Jan. 2010 diagnosed at 46 with Hypothryoidism, been on pain med for leg pain now the synthroid is giving me a TON of weird symptoms but saw your post and now wondering if this leg pain is due to my thyroid! Some radiologists said it was the spine and some said it was not at all.... that is why I am wondering? ANYONE that can help or has had this SEVERE debilitating both legs PAIN from the knees down and found out or it went away when diagnosed with HYPOthyroidism? Between the leg pain, medication and NOW the CRAZY symptoms I KNOW I am now getting since on synthroid I feel like there is absolultey no light at the end of this tunnel. I am a single Mom of a teenage Son, my Son NEERAB me, Doctors which I am in between now seem like they are blowing me off with the scariest symptom since on synthroid which is constipation and then became to a point of the only way I can move bowels at all is with magnesium citrate every two weeks since it is harsh and laxatives every other night! I NEED someone to talk too that UNDERSTANRAB unlike the Doc tors I' ve been too! I will travel anywhere if someone knows of a Doctor that finally got their life back to NORMAL! Thank you anyone for HELP...
 
You would do better posting this on the thyroid board or start a new post here. You are responding to a thread that is over 2 years old. I don't see these folks on the boarRAB anymore...keep an eye on the date above the name on the upper left side. It will tellyou if the thread is current or not.
 
Have any of you looked into type 2 hypothyroidism? There really
is considerable evidence about the inadequacy of TSH as a useful
test. Many endos also test T4, which is the molecule with 4 iodines.
And prescribe synthroid or a generic like levoxyl which I am taking.
Synthroid is synthetic T4. But the most active thyroid hormone is
T3 (has 3 iodine atoms) and is made in the body by an enzyme
causing removal of one iodine atom from T4. So T4 is sort of a
stockpile from which the body converts what it neeRAB to T3. Now
rather recently it has been learned that there is a T2 and a T1 form.
All of which are active and result from furthur stripping iodine atoms.
Problem is, even if you have sufficient T4 (synthroid or a generic)
there may be a problem in the conversion to the other necessary
forms.

Dr. Mark Starr, a very knowledgable pain specialist has written a
remarkable book on type 2 hypothyroidism which I found completely
fascinating and well documented wherein he describes this form of
hypothyroidism as epidemic, and is associated with chronic pain.
Reading your posts on this thread inspired me to offer this for
your consideration and possibly help.
 
Yep, I was finally diagnosed this past Jan. Hypo/Hashimoto's disease. I believe a lot of my pins n needles, muscle/joint pain was related to these thyroid diseases. From my ultrasound, my thyroid is totally "eaten" up from the autoimmune disease< Hashimoto's. I wonder which came first??? Endo says I've had autoimmune for probably most my life! Yrs ago had a high ANA test, dismissed by dr's, tsh is NOT the only test to have. Thyroid anitibodies need to be checked, in my case too late. Right now I'm facing a possible worse scenerio: adrenal cancer. Lab's ran showed female hormone panel very high "estrogen" levels, I'm postmenopausal, hysterectomy 25yrs ago. The only organs that produce estrogen are the ovaries and adrenals. So, my horrid fatigue/malaise, abdominal aches and bloating might be not just the thyroid issues but worse? I've had lurabar discectomy and cervical fusion several yrs ago. This body is not a happy camper. So many illnesses mimic so many things, its mind boggling. But only YOU know your body and when something is not normal for you ask and insist on testings! that's what I did, finally and hope its not too late.
 
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