Synthroid and joint pain

I was put on synthroid a year ago, due to a tsh level of 87. I pretty much felt better right away after taking it. First I took 50mcg and then it was upped to 100mcg. Everything went well until I had my latest tsh test. The level was going up again (tsh 5.4) so the doctor decided to put me on 125mcg. After about a week I began feeling like crap. Slugglishness, tiredness, muscle pain, joint pain, and it became progressively worse. I have an appointment coming up thank god. In the mean time I read 3 books on thyroid and it was mentioned that most people don't benefit from just taking T4 (ie. synthroid), despite the fact that the pharmac. and some docs say that body breaks t4 down into t3.
Some people's body cannot successfully break it down enough, some are cellular resistant to thyroid hormones, and those people absolutely need t3 in order to not develop Hypometablolism. The cell need the T3 to function. But unfortunately one can be hypo and still have good TSH levels, because this particular test only tests if there is enough T4 in the body.
Unfortunately, it's so hard to explain that to mainstream doctors.
One doctor I read about said it right: Don't just treat the test results but also the bodily symptoms, for everybody is different anyways. Just like our finger prints are unique, so is our hormonal metabolism.
I'm going to try to talk to my doc about this, but if he doesn't listen I will look for another doc until I found one that will. Good luck to all in this hormone jungle.

I've been on synthroid now for about a year. My dosage is VERY little (0.075). My doctor keeps running blood tests every 3 months and assures me I am within the "lower-end" of the norm, but I still feel tired, sleep deprived, wake up with night-sweats and I keep gaining weight...

I am only 24 and have just been told that I need to take this medication for the rest of my life, it\s pretty depressing. I keep asking if there are other ways to lose weight and feel more energized. He tells me that I need to keep taking this medication and has put me on a "sleep hygeine" routine where I go to bed and wake up at the same time every day.

Does this "disease" mean I will always be overweight and tired for the rest of my life? I would like to know if someone else with more experience with this medication can give any sort of advice? Feeling a little hopeless about it and not really interested in complaining to my doctor anymore.

Thanks:)

Wow! So glad and sad to find other sufferers. I wish our doctors would listen to us and take us seriously! Why are they stuck on forcing Synthroid on us? At this point, I think I'd rather not take any Synthroid. I stumbled upon this site while looking for something I might take to counteract the effects of Synthroid. I had to halve my 112 mg pills because of the side effects: frequents headaches, bloating, weight gain, irritability and anxiety, dry mucus membranes (eyes, nose, throat, etc.), allergies, muscle fatigue, achy joints. Of course, my doctor is slowly upping the dosage again, because my TSH is chronically high, but I feel like sh*t, physically and mentally. I used to feel so much more normal and like myself before I was diagnosed and "forced" to take Synthroid.

I have been on Synthroid for 12 weeks now. I have been experience extreme leg pain and knee pain on one side. Now my ankles ache in the morning and my elbow is starting to hurt. My doctor thinks there is no relationship of the synthroid and my joint pain.

I've been on Synthroid for 8 months after gaining 10 pounds in two months. The symptoms started to appear when my Mom was very ill. Doctor said it was caused by stress and started me on 25 mcg of Synthroid. My reading at that time was 5.56. I had blood work done every 4 weeks,and the numbers are going down (1.8 last reading), but so is the quantity of my hair, which I see all over my white tile. My weight hasn't budged even though I am dieting. My doctor upped me to 100 mcgs. My blood work is not good - low white count, low lymphocytes, borderline anemic. Mom died, and I didn't get any better. I feel sick all the time and it's difficult for my husband to understand how bad I feel. I've tried to get my doctor to prescrive Armour, but he doesn't even return my phone calls. When I see him in the office, he keeps telling me it takes time. I hate living this way and want to stop the pills completely.

I have been on Synth since june of last year and have steadily gained weight to the tune of 22 lb! Most of my symptoms ( Fatigue, joint pain, dizziness, foggy thinking) have gone away, but the heavy ever lasting periods are still here, as is my extremely terrible acne and the numbness in my hands.Also have daily headaches that never subside. I just went off the synthroid all together yesterday and am hoping that I start to lose this weight. I have been diagnosed with asthma and am now on Advair, so I am hoping that it will make me feel better, maybe all of my symptoms were related to lack of oxygen! Cross your fingers that all of the bad symptoms don't return, I will post back when I notice a difference, either way.

I love that you all have the courage to post here. We must self diagnose, most dr's don't care, we are but numbers to them

Thanks to all

joint pain, inflammation

hello everyone
i am a full time college student and I believe that i have some side effects from synthroid. As i was reading everyones blog i notice that some people feel the same way that i do. At times i feel that i'm normal but if something upsetting happens i get really tired, depress, and I have a never time concentrating at school and home. My body hurts all the time. especially my joints and i feel that i don't want to do anything. I have about a year left until i graduate and its the going to be hard. I cry sometimes for no reason. help! i'm going to talk to my doctor but if any body else feels the same way please reply.

I stopped taking Synthroid after 4 days due to extreme joint pain (9-10 on a scale of 1-10), confusion and emotional roller coaster that's very unusual for me. Like most others, my doctor and a specialist were of no help. I looked online and found that joint pain can be a symptom of hypersensitivity to inactive ingredients.

I discovered that Levoxyl doesn't have the side effects for me that Synthroid does -- in fact, so far I feel great! I suspect I had a hypersensitivity reaction to an inactive ingredient because those ingredients vary greatly from brand to brand. In fact, I wonder if folks who get better with Armor are simply getting better by getting off Synthroid? Maybe others who may be having trouble with Levoxyl could have better luck with a different brand?

It's such a small thing to try, just changing brands, before going through extremes of changing doctors, taking handfuls of other medicines, or suffering through unreasonable side effects. Has anyone else had that experience that switching brands cleared up their side effect problems?

I wouldn't give anyone ant medical advice if I thought it did not work for me. For anyone who has the side affects that follow from taking thyroid meds:itching all over, muscle weakness, heart palpitations, extreme fatigue, joint pain especially in the lower back, clicking in the knee joints when walking, feeling like you are staring(in a trance), mood swings, etc... Please talk with your doctor about APO-NABUMETONE. It is for inflammation/pain. Since two months I was prescribed it , I have no symptoms. If I stop it the symptoms come back in two to three days. I am aggressively pursuing answers to why these symptoms happen, and I have tried every thyroid drug, just recently natural Thyroid. They all produce the same symptoms. My question is whether or not any endocronologists read these forums and if so do they think that our symptoms are just in our head as my doctors do. Thank you everyone for posting because now I don't feel so alone, I am not the only one.

i've been on synthroid for 9 years. started at some low dose and gradually went up to112 mg. get extreme itching all day everyday if i don't take allegra for that.not a rash just itching. that doesn't bother me as much as the fatique. every joint in my body aches all the time. sure there are better days but fo rthe most part it's bad. tried physical therapy and chiripratic care but no avail. they ended my sessions. my legs get sooo weak and my feet burn lower back really aches. sometimes muscle cramps. i'm very negative towards my loving family and it hurts me to do so. can't seem to keep upbeat. soo tired all the time.
is it the syntroid? i used to be very energenic and a doer. now i have spurts of activity in the morning , but then i just can't get motivated. help me any suggestions?

I have been taking Synthroid since Jan. 2006, am on 100mcg per day and all test results have been 'normal', I have been told to take this medication in the morning an hour before eating anything, if I do this...I have headache all day, I can't eat after an hour because I am so sick at my stomach there's no way. I feel hungry, but feel like if I eat it's coming right back up. Am having serious joint pain in hips, knees, elbows and wrists, my neck hurts really bad as well. I wake up to arms asleep anymore and just feel like I haven't slept in months...am very weak and very tired all of the time.

I have found that if I take my pill at night this gets a little better, but holy cow, don't tell your Dr. your taking it before bed...no, take it of a day. (don't know why this is a major thing?)

Anymore I feel like I am walking around with flu symptoms constantly, and the Synthroid hasn't done anything weight wise with me, because I was so HYPERthyroid before the RAI, I was very thin and looked like a bag of bones, have been waiting and excited about putting on weight...at one point I stopped taking the Synthroid and let myself go HYPO just so I could gain weight, it worked and I got up to about 130 pounds, was very HYPO so they told me critical that I get back on meds...I lost it again because it makes me so sick I can't eat.

NO-ONE can tell me the Synthroid is not the cause of this problem, if I stop taking it I feel WONDERFUL, but my test reults are bad. After a while of course my feet become numb and I end up having some bad hypo symptoms, have tried breaking pills in half....oh Lord no, need it all...

Have been told they are thinking about raising my dosage again anyway, I can't do this, I will break down in the office if they try to raise it. Right now my TSH is fine but my T4 is 'a tad bit' off. I am already an emotional wreck, if they raise my dosage I am going to try and go a different route with this, am on my 3rd Dr. at this point anyway...

RE: the new, generic levothyroxine drug, manufactured by SANDOZ: Theis generic drug was only approved in the summer of 2004. Has any tried it like me, and suddenly had terrible muscle/ joint pain and weakness? Does anyone know who to contact about this?