No thyroid, fibromyalgia, arthritic gout

[KRichter]

Hello, I am 35 years old and 2 years ago my thyroid was removed due to goiters and Hashimoto's autoimmune thyroiditis. Just prior to that I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Currrently I am taking 225mcg's of synthroid. But ever since my thyroid was removed, I have experienced weight gain, extreme muscle pain and headaches. I still also experience very dry skin and fatigue. What I have experienced since the thyroid was removed is for a few months my TSH levels will be right where they need to be then they will be too low.....then the doctor will up the dosage level and then it will be too much and change it again to a lower dose then the levels will be ok again and then a few months later the levels will be too high again and then the med is lowered again and  will be where they need to be again, it always seems to flucuate. The longest I have gone since the removal with accurate levels is 6 months. I take my medication faithfully every morning. I do not miss doses. I am not on any other medication at all. What could be causing this flucuation? Should I be having the doctors run tests beyond the normal TSH levels?  I do not even really care what my diagnosis is, I am just tired of being in pain all of the time and tired of being tired! Any advice that you can give will be helpful.
Thank you so much

Keri R.

[Mark Lupo, M.D.]

Make sure you are not getting a generic or having brands changed when you refill your thyroid medication.  

Also, consider taking the synthroid at bedtime, assuming this is at least 2-3 hours after dinner.  This has been shown to a stable alternative and may result in decreased dose requirements.

[SVETA]

Who gave you a fibromyalgia diagnosis! What doctor! I am asking because i have very similar symtoms, but reumo i went to--- said that i have sever leg pain because of low TSH levels (0.03). What kind of test should i take to make sure the doctor is right and i do not have fibromyalgia. This pain is driving me crazy. They changed my Syntroid dosage 3 times already and no releave  for pain. Thank you very much. I will be waiting for your answer. Hope you'll feel better soon.

[cosmicsoul]

I thought a thyroid needs to be removed if the goiter if really really big or if the nodules are cancerous. Was this your case? I never heard of removing a thyroid due to Hashimotos.
You should always check your TSH, and TPO antibodies. But once or twice a year you should also check T4, T3, Free T3, Free T4 too along with TPO and TSH.
What was your last TSH test? Was it higher than 2? If so you need moore medicine. Because you do not have a thyroid that produces any hormones and you rely on the dose you take daily it will be a while until the doctors can figure out the right dosage for you. It fluctuates because the antibodies and the medicine you take are at war in your body and so things will be in change mode for a while. If you have correct test results and you have bothersome symptoms you should think about switching to Armour Thyroid (I did and it saved my life) or you should add Cytomel to your Synthroid regimen. Also, with your fibromalagia other treatments are good such as yoga, meditation, reflexology, accupuncture, balanced diet, exercise, good rest and sleep etc. I wish you good luck and even better health!