| Re: Carpal Tunnel, Tendonitis and Hypothyroid
I've said this before and will say it again. EVERYONE who has been diagnosed with or suspects carpal tunnel syndrome or cubital tunnel syndrome (ulnar nerve entrapment) should INSIST on at least the TSH test for thyroid. It's a very simple blood test that many doctors don't think of doing when one goes to the doctor for nerve problems.
I have cubital tunnel syndrome and had to sleep with a half cast on my arm until I was diagnosed and treated for hypothyroidism. 4 years down the road, I still have cubital tunnel syndrome but the symptoms are almost completely gone. My CTS has actually almost gone away. Of course the nerves that were badly damaged will probably never completely heal. But I don't have pain anymore and the numbness and tingling have been reduced by at least 80%.
I too was diagnosed with many things before my hypothyroidism diagnosis. I was told I had sleep apnea, high cholesterol, restless leg syndrome, heart palpitations, depression and cubital tunnel syndrome among other things. I gained a TON of weight. My doctor treated me as though I didn't care about my weight or my health. I don't have that doctor anymore.
It took 3 years of me going to the doctor at least once a month before I got a diagnosis. There was also one 3 day hospital stay and an ER visit. In fact, the doctor who diagnosed me was one who treated me in the ER when I had an emotional meltdown. She thought of thyroid when she asked what other diseases or conditions I had. The one condition she said that sparked her thought of possible thyroid disease was cubital tunnel syndrome. She told me that cubital tunnel/carpal tunnel often go together with hypothyroidism.
So any of you who have CTS, please insist on a TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test. It's a simple blood test. No fasting. Thyroid disease can be easily treated with a hormone pill once a day. A 30 day supply of my perscription at full price is $8. At WalMart, it's $4. It's a small price to pay for the life it's given back to me.
LaDawn, hang in there. Try to be patient. It can take a while before you start noticing a difference in how you feel. It usually takes 6-8 weeks before the medicine gets fully into your system.
Good luck!
Love, Barb
__________________
Live, Love, Laugh.
Last edited by LuvMyLilDoggie; 10-07-2007 at 11:20 AM.
| 
I am feeling a bit upset as of yesterday. I have had a history of Fibromyalgia diagnosed in 1999 and then the Carpal Tunnel and Tendonitis was DX in 2001. Following that was many other problems such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Sleep Apnea, Restless Leg Syndrome. I feet like a walking disaster. Just in August I had to have the left lobe of my thyroid removed due to two small nodules, one calcified. No cancer thank goodness. I got no where with my family MD who did blood test three weeks post op. My TSH was 4.599 but to him it was just high normal. All he said was I will retest you in six weeks!!!! The problem was I felt awful...weak, muscle aches and joint pain (this is common with Fibromyalia so he did not feel it was anything but that.) I also found I felt more fatigued and lathargic than usual. So much so I stayed in bed or on the couch the past two weeks. Thank goodness I got into a Endocronologist finally. Someone canceled so my long 4 week wait was cut to two weeks and I seen one this past Friday. He DX me hypothyroid. He also stated that I had a muscle wasting disease that is similiar to Polymyosititis. A myopathy that can be very dibilitating and can be seen in a test he did. I spent a good hour with him and he stated that I should feel better in a week or so. I go back in 27 days and he will test again to see how well I am doing and also listen to my symptoms. Thank God for him. I felt lik I was dying. I have questions for him when I go back...like...could I have been hypothyroid all along even though my TSH was in a high normal range and could the Fibromyalgia Dx been wrong and all along it was a hormonal imbalance??? The research I have done said that if Hypothyroid goes untreated you can develop...Fibromyalgia, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Tendonitis among others. I have in the past month had terrible carpal tunnel symptoms in my right hand which I had surgery on a year ago. Also the tendonitis in my elbow has been extremely painful. I even have had tingling in my right hand that worries me a little since I had pretty good results from the surgery until this thyroidectomy in August. Has anyone out there had anything like this happen to them. I am a little peeved that the doctors I have had over the last seven years may have misdiagnosed me and have had tunnel vision in regards to the hypothyroid. What I mean is they only looked at the TSH results and made up their minds that there was nothing to worry about. COuld it be possible that all along that all my illnesses have been secondary to a poorly functioning thyroid. The Endo did tell me that general MD's tend to miss the diagnosis because they are not looking at the big picture. I think this muscle thing may have been the reason they diagnosed FIbro and really should have done further tests on me instead of just guessing....which is what I think they have done over the past seven years of this nightmare. I had to quit working due to all the problems I have had. Sorry this is so long but my nightmare has been a long seven years of this stuff. I wonder if I will have to have something done with my elbow. I had nerve conduction test last week on my elbow but have not been back for the results. I hope that the thyroid meds will turn that around,. I have had six surgeries since 1998!!! I am over it! Any comments are welbcom. 
