Hypothyroid Symptoms

[tluthy]

I am a male, 38 yrs old, who has been recently diagnosed with hypothroidism.   I have some questions regarding symptoms:

1.   I have generalized muscle twitches and movement all over my body.  They (the muscle movements) can also have  cramp or spasm characteristics. I also have prickling or crawling sensations on my calves, more on the left than the right.

Are these common in hypothyroidism?  Or should I also have a neurologist examine me?

2.   I have extreme muscle burning and fatigue after exercise.  Is this common in hypothyroidism?

3.  Should I ask my GP to investigate the cause of the hypothyroidism?

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

The muscle fatigue is common.  The cramping and twitching is possible but not as common.  My recommendation is to correct the hypothyroidism -- I presume it was reasonably severe (ie TSH>10) and to document the presence of thyroid antibodies to confirm the cause as Hashimotos (autoimmune attack on thyroid causing hypothyroidism).

If muscle symptoms persist or worsen while trying to fix thyroid - then have a neuro eval

[Jen612]

Hello - I am not a doctor and I am relatively new to hypothyroidism but muscle soreness and burning was/is my main symptom and I do believe that is a normal symptom of your thyroid being off.  I think itching and skin sensations are one too but I think I've only read about that once - I did experience that as well.  Seeing a neurologist is your call - if it would give you peice of mind it could help.

[Cattie]

I'm hypothyroid and I get cramps in my left leg, particularly at night.  They are extremely painful and I have to make a conscious effort to try and relax my leg to make them go away.  Don't know if there's a connection though.

[tluthy]

Generally I can also say that there is a certain amount of nausea and tremor also.  These events are somewhat anxiety provoking as my sister is a MS patient and I have no idea if the muscle effects are thyroid related or neuro muscular.   I also have gained about 12 lbs in the last 4 weeks on a 2000 calorie a day diet.

[Jen612]

My mother is also suffers from MS so that is actually what my fear was before I found out that I was hypothyroid.  I know it is on your mind, but even with a first degree relative with the disease, I have read that you only have a slightly higher risk than the general population of having MS.  Both my mom and her sister are also hypothyroid, but her sister does not have MS.  I hope that eases your mind a bit.

[tluthy]

How long should wait to make the decision to seek a neuro eval?   I've just started taking Synthroid, and my TSH was only 6.

[Cattie]

Incidentally, as a temporary fix, a nurse told me that drinking tonic water helps with the cramps because of the quinine, don't know if that's true, but it seems to help.

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

Give it 4-6 weeks before rechecking TSH (goal is around 1) - the TSH was not as high as I would have thought -- were t4/t3 tested as well (to get another look at the severity)?  

Hard to give an exact time frame on further evaluation - but from a hypothyroid standpoint, it may take 1-2 months presuming that you are already on the right dose.

[jkrl]

I had almost all of your symptoms at one time or another and do still get twitching but mild. Also, some muscle aches. I had one entire side of my body with tingling (right) and some numbness along with cold in all extremities. No MS. It took awhile but it is manageable now. Exercising is really good and also helped me.

[ALUV]

A related discussion, swollen ankle and feet was started.