Ok. I'm at the mayo clinic waiting and waiting,
Bruce - I'll try to address this with you today.
Everyone's symptoms vary. That is the hardest part for some 'newbies' to understand.
And different meds will have different symptom relief for different people. Many 'newbies' ask very specific symptom questions that are impossible to answer because we are all that different.
Joint pain - for some it goes away in one month, for others it takes years. Why? It depends how much damage has been done and how many injuries (even minor ones) you had in the past. But this is only after they find what med and at what level worked for them.
Going from synthetic to natural or vice versa is never symptom free. The 'smoothness' of transition is most likely related to the amount of med one takes. Do not be surprized if you feel like he// the first 2 weeks, its very possible. Just being honest. Is the switch easy? Definitely not.
My ears never had 'ringing' but did have a beat timed with my pulse. I got that when hypo on Nature Throid last spring. After switching to Erfa in May, It took two months to lessen. Only happens slightly at night now if my head is turned. Years ago I never had that on synthroid, but was on way less med too. But for me synthroid= a lot of body pain, gerd, carple tunnel ect, no matter what the level of med. We are all different.