Stomach pain and thyroid

[ouchie2011]

I have hypothyroidism.  My tsh was 11+ and my doctor put me on 25mcg of levothyroxine.  I've been on it for exactly 1 month and now i've developed abdominal pain that started out in the right lower quadrant and is now in the left lower quadrant x 3-4 days now.  I'm very bloated.  I'm still having bm's but they are small and hard and dark - but not black.  I also haven't had a period in 3 months.  I'm not pregnant.  That's how I found out about my low thyroid, but the pains feel very much like the pre-menstrual cramps and indigestion, but it last longer and is less predictable than the menstrual cramps.  I take 2 ibuprofen and tons of Tums and a shot of pepto at least once a day.  the pain comes and goes at no particular time, but is always worse after eating.
Could this be from my medicine, or is this expected?  Is it worth going in for testing?

[Barb135]

Not sure I understand: "gosh it makes you feel old fast...stupid thyroid!"

Neither being hypo (or other thyroid issues), nor being constipated, have anything to do with being old.  If either did, I'd have been old at the age of 10, because it seems that I've been constipated most of my life, except for those times when I was hyper.  

As soon as you get the Free T3 and Free T4 results, please post them, along with the reference ranges from your lab report.  As I said before, these ranges vary from lab to lab, so must come from your own report.

[ouchie2011]

Thanks for the post...i took some Milk of mag today so hopefully that will help.  yes, I had the t3 and t4 as well.  my thyroid was definately hypo i don't have the results handy though.
so 2 more weeks...thanks for the post again.  glad to know other people have the same problem....gosh it makes you feel old fast...stupid thyroid!

[Barb135]

Sounds like you are constipated, even though you are having small bowel movements.  Constipation is a common symptom of hypothyroidism.  You might try a stool softener; or maybe some enzymes or extra fiber to get things moving again.  I take a daily enzyme and fiber gummies at bed time.  

It takes at least 4-6 weeks for the thyroid med to reach full effect, and it's very possible that 25 mcg will not be enough, so your current dose may not alleviate the constipation.  If it gets worse, or doesn't start to ease, you should talk to your doctor.

Did you have any other tests besides TSH?  Like Free T3 and Free T4?  Those are the most important, so if you didn't have them, you should insist on them when you next have blood work.  Diagnosing and dosing, based solely on TSH is a recipe for disaster.  

If you had Free T3 and Free T4 tested, please post their results, along with the reference ranges.  These ranges are very important and vary from lab to lab, so must come from your own report.