Low Thyroid & Mouth Ulcers

[sallyjayne]

I could really use some advice.  a little over 2 years ago, at my annual physical, my doctor said I have an under active thyroid, but that I was close to normal, so perhaps we should just keep an eye on it, and reevaluate it after some time.  Shortly after I started having terrible sore throats with accompanying ear pain.  I would be given ear drops, and various scripts for the sore throat, but nothing ever helped.  After about 6 months, the sore throats stopped.  But i started getting mouth ulcers.  Their frequency just kept increasing.  This year at my annual physical, my doctor recommend I try a low dose of synthyroid in order to help fight the fatigue, anxiety, moodiness & depression that also seemed to be getting worse.  I've been on synthroid for about 5 months now.  The mouth sores are so bad that some days I cannot eat, or speak.  I'm 5'7" and I now weigh under 100 lbs.  I've been back to my doctor twice since starting the synthroid to explain to her how devastating these mouth sores are.  She gave me a script for Valtrex and said if that doesn't work go see a nutritionist.  I don't feel like I'm getting heart burn, but perhaps GERD is a possibility?  3 years ago I had to have my gallbladder removed after a long battle of being misdiagnosed.   I know I need another doctor, mine hasn't even looked in my mouth and all I talk about when I see her is how much pain I am in from my mouth.  I fear another general doctor may just lead to more misdiagnoses, and I should see a specialist but I'm not sure where to go - an endo?  a GI doc? ear, nose & throat specialist?
All advice is deeply appreciated.  thank you.

[Hebahm]

Similar to you I have suffered from mouth ulcers since I was little and would get a couple of outbreaks a year. 18 months ago I ad my thyroid removed as it had been detected in 2003 to be playing up. However 2months before I had my thyroid removed they detected 4nodules (binnine Tumas) on my thyroid gland. They made the decision to remove it straight away. Ever since I had it removed and I ave been getting the most chronic cases of mouth ulcers anybody could ever imagine. They have made me bed ridden, cause me ear aches and sore throats from my swollen glands reacting to the inflammation in my mouth. I have tried everything under the sun including taking 1x l-lysis tablet and 1x zinc tablet on a daily basis. Nothing has helped me and my doctors have run out of answers for me. I still igh his battle daily.

[kdstutts]

Have you ever seen a rheumatologist and discussed all of the symptoms (all put together in one hat)?  I have Behcet's disease.  I was fatigued, kept mouth full of ulcers, could not eat with them, all started with a severe Strep infection to bring about the flare.  Found out later I had had it for years; just the bacteria  brought on a sudden and severe flare.  Almost lost my vision...I then developed Hashimoto's (autoimmune disease of thyroid, hypo); am on levothyroxine (generic for Synthroid), on Plaquenil and Imuran for the Behcet's, 14 prescription medications; one big autoimmune brings on more smaller, unintense diseases.  I also have Sjogren's and have plugs in my tear ducts because my eyes are so dry.  I have just taken my 2nd 50,000 of Vitamin D3 today, once a week; but have developing a couple of little blisters in my mouth; and hoping that this will not become a major factor.
I am no doctor by any means, but I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis which I do have, fibromyalgia, everything but what I really had.  When my eyesight started going, docs finally sit up and took notice that there was really something wrong.  
Sometimes we have to remind the docs that we have symptoms of a particular disease, do homework, check the criteria test; many of these autoimmune syndromes do not have any definite tests to prove so they go by major and minor criteria.  I had all the major and some minor.  I did not, thank God, have any genital lesions as I did in my mouth but it is very common to do so.  I did have the erythema nodosa on my legs; had had for years and years only for one dr to tell me they looked like mosquito bites (HAH>>>>Dr of what??).  
Just a few suggestions you might think about.  There are many support sites for any of these syndromes.  
Hope this helps a little.

[clover14]

Hi TamraW! Thanks so much for you input as well.  I actually am unsure of the exact diagnosis of my type of hypo.  i do know that my levels were checked last June and they were fine and then when i just had them tested again (after 8 months of nonstop ulcers), my TSH was 27. However, the ENT did a CBC and it showed that all my other levels, including Vitamin B and zinc, was fine.   i also went for an ultrasound on my thyroid which showed that it basically died...it was bulky, enlarged, and showed an increase in blood supply going to my thyroid.  my mom just informed me that she was diagnosed with Hashimoto's when she was in her early 30's but that she didn't take the medication for too long and her levels are always normal now but she does now suffer from rheumatoid and has extremely exhausting days and just the other day her Vitamin D levels were tested and came back extremely deficient.  i know that hashi's is hereditary so i think that my mom should've stayed on her meds and that possibly, it is what i now have.  i will be setting up an appointment with a good endo to track my progress/symptoms.  For now, i have been put on 100 mcg of synthroid/day.

thanks again for your help!

[TamraW]

Clover, do you have Hashimoto's or just hypothyroidism? Believe it or not, there is a big difference. Hashi causes the thyroid to eventually go hypo, but Hashis also suffer from auto-immune issues - like the ulcers.

A friend of mine has hypothyroidism because of radiation from breast cancer a few years ago. She says it's no biggie for her. She takes a thyroid pill and she's fine. She doesn't suffer from the auto-immune swelling, leg rashes, etc...

If you are a Hashi, make sure you  are getting your Vitamin D and B12 supplements. Just don't take vitamins within four hours of your thyroid pills.

I get the ulcers when my T3 levels are high. I also get the scalp ulcers when my T3 is high. My docs thought it was Shingles last year, and I went through the gamut of possible disease before I finally got my Hashi diagnosis.

Take care...
:) Tamra

[clover14]

thanks so much for your input on the TSH level increase in correlation to your mouth ulcers.  This actually makes HUGE sense to me now.  every time i would get an outbreak of ulcers, my entire life, i would get extremely fatigued and it was never figured out why, but the sores would go away by themselves after a week or two.  now, i was just diagnosed with hypothyroidism (my TSH levels were waaaay high when they were tested this time).  This outbreak of ulcers lasted 8 months straight!  i think that i may have had a thyroid issue my whole life but my levels were always close to normal so no concern was made.  i have now been put on synthroid and am soooooooo excited to start feeling better.  i hope my ulcers go away also!  we'll see......

thanks again!

[Smilerdeb]

I have mouth ulcers when my TSH is too high and my FT3 also a little too high from the thyroxin.
I found if I cut back on the thyroxin by 12.5mcg for one day (1/4 of a 50mcg tablet), then within days the ulcers go.
I have had labs done non stop over these ulcers and each time it has shown the TSH to be over 3.0 and the FT3 a little too high.

Everyone is different though.
I havent pin-pointed it to the TSH or the FT3 but the decrease for one day seems to work for me.
I also had this problem when I was on Methimazole (prior to RAI) and it was so debilitiating that I would cry with the pain.

I hope you find a solution.

[clover14]

Hi there!  I just wanted to follow you all up and let you know that FINALLY after all this time, and months and months of severe reoccurring mouth ulcers and extreme fatigue and weight gain, i got all my tests back and i have hyopthyroidism!   My ultrasound showed an increase in blood flow to my thyroid and my thyroid was very enlarged.  the bloodwork showed very high levels, meaning hypo!  Since my ENT was the one to figure it all out, she didn't want to prescribe meds yet since it's not her specialty.  So, i will be going to an endo next week to hopefully, finally, start feeling better!  Thank you to everyone for sharing all your stories and helping me get to the bottom of this and to help me from going crazy!

[magpieannie]

The doctor (ENT) is probably right! Those are all symptoms!!!! Keep us posted please.

[clover14]

I have suffered from mouth ulcers on occasion ever since I was little.  Although i would usually only get an outbreak of them a couple of times a year, they have gotten significantly worse over the past year.  I am now going on 4 1/2 months straight of nonstop mouth ulcers...sometimes 10-12 at a time and are extremely painful.  I have been tested for celiac disease (which was negative) as well as herpes (also negative).  It wasn't until my last visit to an ENT that an issue with my thyroid was detected.  The doctor truly believes the ulcers are autoimmune related and sent me for tons of bloodwork.  But since she could feel my thryoid enlarged just by a physical examination, she is concerned that hypothyroidism is causing all this pain (i have also been suffering from fatigue, depression, sensitivity to cold, constipation, and weight gain).  So, i am due to have an ultrasound of my thyroid next week.  i really hope that this is what it is and that i will start to feel better soon.  Thank goodness for this ENT doc!!!  Has anyone had anything similar?

[stella5349]

On a thyroid end that is strongly a PH imbalance abnd a possible zinc deficiency. Your body's immunity and digestive track is slowing/ breaking down. You need to find a doctor who understands how to speed the digestive system ( Most GI's ) will not look at PH levels and Free T3 metobolism.

Metobolism is just not about weight loss - it is a form of help for our bodies for digestion too. Just because you are losing weight does not mean your metobolism is working right.

Insulin and pancreas will become off if you are not balancing correcting within the digestive system.

You can try speeding up your digestion on your own with pure forms of acidophillus.- You can try to PH balance naturally too.

That may help - but goal for many with hypothyroid is to get the Free T3 hormones working optimally to relieve this side effect of the disease.  

[shanta1982]

I am on venafaxine 150mg due to depration  in last two years. I have started menopose recently. some time I feel very low in mood, hope less twoards life.
now I have got bed mouth ulcers and sevear throte pain not tonsils just middle of my throte.so much pain that it harts when I sowallow any thing.
I am worried for this weird pain. At night it gets worse,and cough as well.
do you think long time antidepration medication is harmfull?
I am not happy with myself.

[TamraW]

Why do you weigh under 100 pounds? Is it that your mouth sores prevent you from eating? Is it that you are on too much Synthroid? What dosage are you taking? What are your current TSH, FT3, FT4 levels?

Find out what's making you hypo. Is it Hashimoto's? TGab and TPOab blood tests plus thyroid ultrasound will determine Hashi. Find a good endo, one who specializes in thyroid, not diabetes. Here's a link I used to find my new endocrinologist:

http://www.thyroid-info.com/topdrs/

Many of us here have Hashimoto's hypothyroidism, which is an auto-immune condition. Hashi is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the US. Many times auto-immunities accompany each other.

Some auto-immunities that cause mouth ulcers:
Lupus
Celiac Disease
Sjogren's Syndrome (common among Hashi's)

I have some Sjogren's symptoms, especially the gritty eyes. My mouth ulcers are gone now. They were bad before when my D vitamins were low and before my Synthroid. I did have some bad mouth thrush that no medicines could cure until I used Jernigan's Yeast Ease. It was gone within a few hours, and I had tried EVERYTHING my docs gave me to no avail.

See link to Jernigan's:  http://abc.eznettools.net/jernigannutraceuticals/yeast-easeShort.html

I also had the terrible GERD before diagnosis and proper treatment. I still get it from time to time. Hashis get skin problems, too, rashes, shingles, herpes-like sores. I am taking two Zantac daily and Zyrtec/Flonase to combat the rashes.

Take care...
:) Tamra

[Katfalls]

I have suffered with mouth ulcers, too. I started taking l-lycene once a day and it really helps. Also a b complex for cracked lips. Kathy

[dpleiman]

First i think i would probably see an endo for the thyroid issue and make sure you are on the right dosage of synthroid and that you are on top of that issue..

As far as the mouth ulcers i'm not quite sure, maybe a nutritionist would be good, i know sometimes those things can be caused from certain things you eat and drink including over the counter vitamins.. My husband gets HORRIBLE mouth ulcers from over the counter vitamins and when he eats a lot of tomato based food.

I'm not sure mouth ulcers are related to hypothyroidism but it could be and maybe someone here has experienced it along with hypothyroidism, it's not something i've experienced myself or heard of so far, however, If you have hashimotos that is causeing your hypothyroid which is an autoimmune disease, there can be some coorelation between autoimmune disease and mouth ulcers... Might be worth checking into with the endo...

Wishing you well....