Dull pain in hands and feet when TSH is higher

[zoe114]

I will be getting new lab numbers next week.  When the doctor put me on 120 mg Armor , it was too much for me. I started out at 30 mg, then went up to 60 for 5 days- at which point my heart was beating fast, I was not sleeping well, had too much anxiety. So, I went back down to 30 mg.  

So, at 30 mg and below on Armor my hands and feet have this dull pain. I am sure I need a little more meds but I will stay here till I get new labs done.

Question:  Does anyone know what might be causing this? T4, T3 ?      

[zoe114]

Thank you for you input, But I do hope you learn more about the thyroid connection to gluten, your not the only one that does not fully understand it.
The connection seems to be that gluten looks like Gliden which is the antibody to the thyroid. I have lived it, so know it really does exist. Most doctors do not understand this, the research is still very young.  There are other sites I go to where everyone is trying to get off of different foods to heal the thyroid- for those of us still lucky enough to catch it early and hopefully prevent more issues.    Now, which came first? Most likely for me, it was the gluten issues causing the inflammation. Malnutrition being second.
I hope this will help someone that has issues like I have had figure it out.  

[Barb135]

This is a discussion that's taken place many times on this forum... I wish you all the very best.

[zoe114]

Thanks for the heads up on which test I need, I am ordering them myself as my doctor is of little help. They are done at the same labs, just I pay out of pocket.

I know for a fact that Gluten hurt my Thyroid, it seems that Oats or other grains might too. Not positive I am celiac, but one doctor said I have it and that thyroid issues can go hand and hand with that.  Get rid of the Gluten and the thyroid heals.   I do think adding all these the other nutrition is of great help too. Thank you !!

The labs you asked for :

TgAb               <1             Range < or =1      
Free T 4           1.3           Range 0.08-1.8 ng/dl
Free T 3            3.1           "   "    2.3-4.2  pg/ml

[Barb135]

The thyroid is not able to regenerate itself, so once damage is done, it's repairable.  

The only relationship between celiac and Hashimoto's is that they are both autoimmune conditions and once a person has one autoimmune there's a greater  likelihood of getting another...

Studies have shown that selenium can aid in the conversion of FT4 to FT3.  

I'm glad you're doing well; however, you should be prepared to go back on thyroid med at some point; perhaps when you do, a T4 med would be better for you than the Armour was.  
Best of luck.

[Barb135]

You haven't listed the reference ranges for any of the labs, so we don't really know where your results fall within the ranges.  

Just so you know, for future reference, T3 Uptake is an obsolete way of calculating Free T4 and Total T4 is also an obsolete test, because it's, both bound and unbound hormone.  We only need to know the amount of Free (unbound) T4.   The same is true for Total T3.  You might save some money if you asked your doctor to only order Free T4 and Free T3 in the future.

Your vitamin B-12 was quite low in the range, so I'm glad to hear that you're supplementing that.  Most of us have to be at/near the top of the range in order to feel well.  The range my lab uses is 200-1100 and I have to keep my levels right at the top.  The best B-12 supplement is one containing methylcobalamin because that's body ready, whereas cyanocobalamin must be converted to the methyl and not all of us can do that adequately.  Typcially, sublingual or liquid supplements work best.  

If you are symptom free, that's what counts, however, we'd be able to see your progress much better if we could see the lab ranges for the Free T4, Free T3, TPOab and cortisol.  It appears that your TPOab might have been negative to begin with, which means you may not have Hashimoto's and your hypothyroidism could have been transient. Did you ever have Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TgAb) tested?

[zoe114]

OOps, the t4 total last year should read 7.2

[zoe114]

Hi All,

When I took the Armor I felt so terrible ! When I got my lab numbers, I noticed that my TSH went up even higher ! 3.55... for me that is when I feel bad.

My T 3 uptake has gone up with no medication !!  I went grain free and added Brizel nuts ( 2-3 a day) and B12. My Peroxidase antibodies went from 8 last year to 1, T 3 went up.

I will post :

                 Last year         with Armour                    no grains,+selenium, b12
T3 uptake      29                   32                                  34
T4 total      1.2                      6.9                                6.4
Free t4       2.1                      2.2                                2.2
tsh            3.12                    3.55                               2.33
t4 free       1.18                    1.1                                 1.30
free t3       2.8                      3.6                                3.1
tpo            8                        ---                                   1
total t3     94                        ---                                  97
b 12        482                          ---                                  ---
cortisol total---                  18.6                                ---

                

[Barb135]

In my original post, I noted that you should not adjust your dosage without new blood work.

Armour contains, both T4 and T3, and the T3 is much more powerful than the T4.  Aside from that, T4 takes 4-6 weeks to build in your system, so what you feel this afternoon is not what you took this morning.  T3 is fast acting; it gets in your system quickly, peaks and is gone within a few hours. The small amount of T3 in your 30 mg dose probably only lasts a few hours;  depending on what time you take it, it's probably pretty much out of your system by noon or early afternoon, which is why we take T3 meds twice/day.

Perhaps you're right and another med might work better for you. It's something to think about.

[Barb135]

You didn't answer my question and may have missed my point... When you took the 60 mg/day, did you split the dose into more than one?  

If not, perhaps you could have tolerated the 60 mg, if you has split the dose into 2 doses, taking half first thing in the morning and the other half around noon.  

T3 in the Armour is fast acting, so it gets into your system quickly, peaks within a few hours and is then neutralized, so there's none left.  Taking the med in more than one dose, keeps your Free T3 stable over the course of the day, rather than giving you a large jolt all at one time, which is what was causing your adverse symptoms, then leaving you with nothing for the rest of the day.

Joint pain is a well known symptom of hypothyroidism.  I reduced my own medication a few weeks ago and am having some pain in my hips, as well.

[zoe114]

Barb,  The doctor gave me 120 mg pill, I had split it into 4 pills, so it is about 30 mg. I do think I need more, but till I get the new labs I will not touch it.  Took my blood pressure a bit ago 99/ 79, which is too low for me- I feel like I am  carrying a jug of water on me - I hate this feeling, it kind of scares me.  Anyways, I will post more after I get the new labs.
I do appreciate your input.    

[zoe114]

Oh, also. I feel fine when the T4 get converted in the late day, so maybe another type of med would be better for me ?? I will keep trying with this for now.

[Barb135]

You said when you got to 60 you had rapid heart rate and didn't sleep well, so you went back to 30 mg; please explain when/how you got to 120 mg Armour...

30 mg is a very small dosage, so most likely you need, both T4 and T3, however, without blood work to see what your actual levels are, we can't be of much help.

It's not unusual for symptoms to worsen or for new ones to appear when changing med or dosage, and 5 days isn't long enough to let your body become accustomed to a new dosage.  The 60 mg might have been good for you...

Did you take the 60 mg all at once in the morning or did you spit it into 2 doses - 30 mg in the morning and 30 around noon?  Most of us taking a med with T3 find that it works best if we split the dosage into 2 doses through the day.  

[zoe114]

The doctor thought the 120 was going to work. My body is very sensitive to medications, so i figured  I would start at a lower dose. The 120, I had to cut down.

I will post the new numbers here when I get them.

Thanks      

[zoe114]

I found this, I hope others can open it if they need to know this. Looks like I will be having fun.... ((sigh)).

http://www.mayoclinic.org/hypothyroidism/expert-answers/faq-20057789