Muscle aches and pains

katkatdd

Yea I totally feel your pain. I have horrid pains in my arms and legs also as well as other areas. The arm pain can be real intense for me as well.

I am on meds due to RAI treatment. But I am no where near "normal" levels yet and I am having a horrible time trying to adjust.

And I also have total body shaking at night while I am trying to sleep as well. That scares me when it happens. Ugg...

lemondrop26

Oh Pinky .... I am 34 and the aches in my thighs have been awful this last year. From aug till Jan I had burning in my leg (which maybe was a nerve issue and nothing to do with my thyroid) who knows. 4 doctors didn't know. in January it disapeared and soon after the aches came. I found soaking in a hot tub has helped alot. I am still in the process of being tested so I am not being treated yet. But the aches were awful. The soaking has really helped. Haven't felt them in weeks.

Red Maple

I am definately hypo and don't think I have any problem swinging back and forth between hypo and hyper. I also have experienced some really bad arm/shoulder pain. For the most part, getting my meds more stable has been helpful but I still get awful shoulder pain sometimes. I have found that heat (I use a heating pad) followed by an ice pack, and continue repeating that process for as long as time allows has helped with the pain. I also practice yoga and the gentle stretches keeps my arm flexible and moving. Sometimes when the pain is really bad, I have used tylenol arthritis formula, and it has also helped a lot for me.

Good luck, the aches and pains of thyroid disorders are really miseralbe.

cougars

Hi pinky3,

I too have been diagnosed with Hashis (from an FNB), but I do no have antibodies. My labs are normal, generally being on the hyper end. Recently, I have had some occasional pain in my one leg--from the knee down. It feels sort of arthritic. It lasts a couple days then goes away. My endo just told me at my last visit that often hashi people at the onset complain about pains that are almost arthritic like. He told me I should really take an ibuprofen or something when this acts up to help with inflamation and pain. I am on no thyroid meds as my labs are within the range. My endo told me I would feel much worse if he put me on meds now. I saw from a previous post of yours you cannot take beta blockers because of your asthma. I have a friend who is a GP and last fall, when my symptoms started (tremor, muscle twitching, insomnia etc), he suggested Valerian pills. They are natural and you can get them at the health food store. Also, he suggested magnesium/calcium vitamins (helps calm muscles), l-triptophane for sleep (sp?--the hormone in turkey that makes you want to sleep), which I can't seem to find here in France. I saw some "relax" teas at the health food store, which I bought and used. I stopped coffee and caffeine for a period. I haven't taken the valerian pill for a while, but I noticed an improvement when I did. Also, you could look into homeopathic supplements/remedies for muscle aches/pains and body tremors etc.


I also have nodules--one showed up warm on an uptake scan. My endo believes, like yours, that the most likely scenario is I too am in the early stages of hashis and the antibodies haven't shown up yet. One other annoying symptom I have is muscle twitching, though that seems to be better lately (or I am just learning to live with it and ignore them).

Hope this helps to know you are not alone....

cheers,

cougars

pinky3

Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences. It really does help to know I'm not alone.

Cougars, I will look for the Valerian and try that. I've been taking Ativan right before bed each night to help me sleep, but I'm worried about becoming dependent on it. Everything else I've tried (even Lunesta) does not keep me asleep all night. My endo wants me to take half an Ativan during the day to help with the neurological symptoms, but I haven't done that yet. I need more energy, not less. Although I did completely cut out caffeine and chocolate which has helped alot in that area. But, the aches and pains...ugh. Funny how our symptoms are so similar. I just started getting the muscle twitches in the last couple weeks and they really are freaky.

cougars

Hi pinky3,

I went over some of your posts. Yes, our symptoms do sound similar. It is interesting how your TSH went up at one point. I haven't seen that yet on one of my labs. I have that warm nodule too, which the endo feels might be releasing hormone at times.

For me, the worst symptom (so far) has definitely been the muscle twitching and tremor--like a current running though my body. The twitches do feel so strange--but, like I said, I feel I don't notice them as much now, or maybe they have improved some. The one endo I saw said he suggests people take the magnesium or magnesium/calcium vitamin right before bed, as the twitching is generally more noticable at night, so I started doing that some months ago.

My "main" endo (I have been to 2) said I will feel much better when I can take hormones as things will even out---I don't know if that is true from everyone's posts around here, but it does seem a lot of people feel better when they get to the right replacement level. But, like you, my labs are still "normal", so I can't take anything. And, not to discourage you, but the endos I saw both said this can go on for weeks to years until you finally go hypo and can take meds--assuming what we have is hashis and I still wonder since I don't have antibodies, but apparently a FNB can tell for sure if you have hashis. Why is your endo so sure you have hashis?

Hang in there,

cougars

pinky3

Oh yes, Cougars. The current running through my body is a good way to describe it. It's something that no one understands unless they have experienced it, and it is the most horrible symptom. I actually would rather have the aches and pains than have that. I have found that eliminating caffeine makes a big difference.

When I asked my endo why he thinks Hashi's, I didn't really get a good answer other than symptoms and that it is the most common explanation for my symptoms. I really, really like him as a person...such a nice man. But, I feel like I should get a 3rd opinion (the 2nd endo was the one who would not redo my thyroid tests when I was feeling bad and didn't feel the goiter that the first one felt). I am concerned that he has never suggested a scan or ultrasound, because not all nodules can be felt, right? He seems to be sure there are no nodules simply by touch.

cougars

Hi,

From what I've read, just because you have nodules doesn't mean you have hashis and you can have hashis with no nodules. I've also read that a good endo can feel the type of thyroid you have and can determine a lot from that---I think that was in the book "Thyroid for Dummies". Both of my endos really felt my thyroid. The GP I went to for something else, was the one who discovered I had a thyroid problem and told me to do an ultrasound, even before blood tests. But, I do have palpable nodules.

So, maybe your endo thinks your thyroid "feels" like a hashis thyroid. When I asked my endo why I don't have antibodies, he said they may appear, but the one thing they can be sure of from the biopsy is I definitely have thyroiditis and in the early stages of hashis you can have "hashis thyroiditis". I guess (and the experts on the board here should please correct me) at least in my case, it seems it isn't that important to know if it is just thyroiditis or hashis thyroiditis. I believe I've read thyroiditis can pass and hashis thyroiditis is the beginning of an autoimmune disease that will most likely require treatment. I think time will tell and unfortunately, they just can't do much until we swing one way or another. Both endos emphasized to me that if they gave me meds I would feel more hyper and much worse. So, for the moment at least (and I go back for another ultrasound and blood work in the fall), I've tried to relax and not worry too much for a couple months and take the betas when I need them, or valerian or chamomille tea (another great thing before bed). In my case, I feel like I have improved overall from a few months ago. I think in one of your posts you mentioned having a flu-like feeling at the beginning, right? I was thinking back to last spring/summer and I remember I had a sore throat that dragged on for a couple months off and on and then in the fall I found out I have a thyroid problem----I have no idea if there is a connection there for me--and I guess will never know....

As for seeing another endo---I saw 2 of them and also thought I would go and see another etc. But, from what I've read on the board here and in the thyroid books, I really don't see what another endo would do for me right now. Your labs are slightly different than mine in that the TSH did swing up, so maybe if that stayed and the Frees were low, another endo might start to treat you---but, if you swing back to a low TSH and your Free Ts go up, then, if you were on meds, you would (again from what I've gathered) feel really crappy.

Well, just my 2 cents....

cougars

pinky3

Thanks, Cougars, for all that information. That was all very good to know.

It makes sense why I can't take meds for either. My TSH alone went from 1.74 to .4 in less than 2 weeks (although I wonder if the higher number was even higher and the lower was lower at some point). My free T3 was below average with the TSH 1.74, but it wasn't tested when it was .4.

Hopefully, soon they will know what to do with us

fibro_fighter

hi there
i have had especially arm and leg pain and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia almost four years ago. how does one know if maybe they missed something?
just seems that so many of fms symptoms are very similar to this thyroid problem.

im just thinking if one does have an unknown thyroid problem would i ever feel normal at times, as i often do also have normal feeling health.Now have been in a very bad fibro flare and started thinking about 2 things i dont even know i have ever been checked for in all this time: my blood suger level and thyroid prob.

As of late been having major anxiety, abit of muscle pain, but more muscle weakness and a general really weird feeling sometimes like im almost about to fly outa my body, as weird as that sounds.Im sure anxiety can do its fair share.Also sometimes a feeling of major air hunger.

i have been also given some relxants and usually these help pritty quick with the panic attacks.I sometimes feel like i have bursts of energy and weakness at the same time within, also weird sensation.Again maybe these are all just fibro symptoms.

I dont ever have anythings like constipation, swelling of the face, maybe puffy under eyes from not sleeping enough as my sleeping is crap.

Anyhow thanks for any advice.