Could a problem with my thyroid or parathyroid be causing my symptoms?

[Calathan]

I've had a lot of different symptoms for about 10 or 11 months now, and was wondering if a problem with my thyroid or parathyroid could be causing them.  The symptoms include upper abdominal pain and sometimes chest pain, eyes that feel dry and are very sensitive to light, joint pain (particularly in my fingers and neck), and a feeling like my spine doesn't support me well.

During the time when I've been having symptoms, there have been several times where I have had pain in the front of my neck.  It would also feel like the front of my neck pressed into my throat a little when I was lying down, not so much that I would choke, but such that it felt uncomfortable lying flat on my back.  Each time the pain lasted for a few weeks, then improved.  Some of the times the pain seemed to start in the back of my neck and work its way around to the front over a couple days (at which point it would remain for a few weeks), but other times I just got pain in the front of my neck without first having pain in the back.  Would a problem with the thyroid or parathyroid possibly cause pain like that (or any of my other symptoms), or is that unlikely?

I've gotten a lot of blood tests, and about 9 months ago, I had a normal TSH level.  Does that rule out any thyroid problems as a possible cause of my symptoms?  I also had blood tests for serum calcium and alkaline phosphatase, which I understand are things that might be checked related to parathyroid problems.  Both tests were normal, so would that make parathyroid problems unlikely, or would I need a PTH test to rule out parathyroid problems?  I was diagnosed with a vitamin D deficiency (during blood tests about 2 or 3 months later), but everything else I have been tested for was normal.

Thank you for any help you can give me.

[remar]

Hopefully someone here can answer that question for you. You might want to ask your Dr or call the lab where your having your tests done.
So your having stomach problems? Me too. I live on Prilesec. I've also read that stomach problems can be a symptom of parathyroid problems, so can high calcium levels.
I'm not an expert on  this by any means. I mentioned before that I'm just starting my own journey with all of this too. My next step is to get the parathyroid tests so I'm curious like you if antacids can interfere with the tests. Take care. Remar

[Calathan]

I was reading online, and read that taking cimetidine can interfere with a PTH test.  I am currently taking cimetidine because I was having acid reflux and was getting side effects from omeprazole (I think I may have become lactose intolerant, and the lactose in the omeprazole pills might have been causing the problem).  Anyway, if I wanted the PTH test, would anyone know how long I would need to wait after stopping taking cimetidine?   Could cimetidine also interfere with any of the thyroid hormone tests?

[gimel]

In view of your symptoms, I think I would do as remar suggested and get tested for FT3 and FT4, TSH again, and thyroid antibodies, just to be sure if thyroid is a contributor.  I would also get a copy of prior lab test results and check the actual result on vitamin D.  Beyond that, you are getting way over my head with Parathyroid questions, so maybe other members can pick up on that and also the possible need for other testing such as ultrasound.  

[Calathan]

Thanks for the replies!

My TSH was 1.102 uIU/mL, with the reference range listed as 0.450-4.500.  I also want to mention that none of the blood tests other than the TSH test were given to me with a specific intent of looking for thyroid problems.  The Calcium and Alkaline Phosphatase tests were given to me as part of a Complete Metabolic Panel.  I hadn't yet reported the pain in the front of my neck to my doctor, because it was mild at the time (much milder than my other symptoms).  Later after it had gone away once and then returned worse than before, I reported it to my doctor.  He felt my neck and said he didn't feel any tumor or anything, and said that since I had previously had the normal TSH test, he didn't think there was a problem with my thyroid.

Anyway, the serum calcium was 9.5 mg/dL with a reference range of 8.5-10.6, and the Alkaline Phosphatase was 63 IU/L with a reference range of 25-150.  I never got a copy of the results for the blood tests that included the vitamin D test, but I think they were all tests for vitamin levels and stuff like that.  If any of the other tests that would be part of a complete metabolic panel would be relevant to thyroid problems, I could post the results of those as well.  I also got lots of other tests including antinuclear antibodies, rheumatoid arthritis factor, sedimentation rate, creatine kinase, C-reactive protein, and a test for Lyme disease, all of which were normal.

Also, if I should look in to getting more tests for thyroid problems, should I probably ask my primary care doctor about those, or is there a specialist I should see?  My current primary care doctor isn't the one I was seeing when I got the blood tests, by the way, though I had copies of the results of the tests sent to him.  When I called him today, he basically blew me off and said that he didn't know of anything else I should be tested for, so I am kind of hesitant to ask him for any sort of tests right now.

[gimel]

You wouldn't believe how many times people are told they are "normal", when they really are not, especially when it comes to thyroid issues.  What was your actual TSH  result and the reference range used by our doctor?  The reason I ask is that the old range was .5-5.0, but the AACE recommended it be revised  to .3-3.0.  This occurred some years ago, but still has not been adopted by most labs and doctors.  In addition, some doctors have their own interpretation of what a "normal" range should be.

On top of that, TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by many variables, including what time of day the sample is taken, and it does not correlate very well at all with hypo symptoms.  The best tests are for the actual thyroid hormones,  free T3 and free T4 (not to be confused with total T3 and total T4).  Free T3 is the most active thyroid hormone and it correlates best with hypo symptoms.  If you haven't been tested for FT3 and FT4, then I suggest that you do that, as well as for thyroid antibodies.  Always get a copy of your test results and reference ranges and also please post them here for member comment.  

Not saying thyroid is the cause for all your  symptoms, just that you need to  be adequately tested to find out and then go from there.  

[remar]

I'm sorry your feeling bad. I'm just starting the thyroid journey myself.Can you post your results so other members can see them and give you advise? Maybe you should start with getting the Free T3, Free T4, antibodies, TSH again, and yes, the PTH test. I'm a little surprised they did'nt do the PTH test when the did your calcium and phosphatase test. From what I've learned from the wonderful members here is it's not uncommon to have low vitamin D with thyroid problems. I know other more experienced members here can give you more answers. I hope you find out what's going on. Take care. Remar