# My hands hurt so bad



## Huggenkiss27 (Oct 15, 2012)

I have posted a couple of times on the boards and I just wanted to ask about my newest symptom. My joints hurt so bad. I work at a computer and I just want to sit here and cry today because my fingers hurt so bad. I didn't sleep well last night because my hands, wrists, feet, knees, everything hurt. I also have very very painful headaches. This has been going on for a couple of months but it's getting to the point that I can't ignore it and that ibuprofeun isn't helping any more. I did "fire" my endo and went to a new internal medicine doctor yesterday. He changed me from 50mcg of synthroid to 60mg of Armour which I started this morning. He also told me that he thinks I could be having some rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune type response but wants to get my hashi's under control and see if that doesn't help with the joint pain. He wants me to come back in 2 weeks to follow up and see how the Armour is working and how I'm feeling. He said it's very important to figure "me" out before things are too out of control. I just don't know what to do so I can function normally for now. I take 800mg of ibuprofuen 3, 4, 5 times a day and I take hot baths at least twice a day (when I wake up and before I go to bed and mid day on the weekends). In addition for the last 4 weeks I have been taking 50,000 IU of vitamin D once a week. Also I have been gluten free since June.

As a reminder my last labs-September 21
TSH 1.9 (.450-4.5)
Vit D 20.9 (30-100)
T3 86 (71-180)
T4 1.33 (0.82-1.77)
TPO Ab 39 (0-34)


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Huggenkiss27 said:


> I have posted a couple of times on the boards and I just wanted to ask about my newest symptom. My joints hurt so bad. I work at a computer and I just want to sit here and cry today because my fingers hurt so bad. I didn't sleep well last night because my hands, wrists, feet, knees, everything hurt. I also have very very painful headaches. This has been going on for a couple of months but it's getting to the point that I can't ignore it and that ibuprofeun isn't helping any more. I did "fire" my endo and went to a new internal medicine doctor yesterday. He changed me from 50mcg of synthroid to 60mg of Armour which I started this morning. He also told me that he thinks I could be having some rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune type response but wants to get my hashi's under control and see if that doesn't help with the joint pain. He wants me to come back in 2 weeks to follow up and see how the Armour is working and how I'm feeling. He said it's very important to figure "me" out before things are too out of control. I just don't know what to do so I can function normally for now. I take 800mg of ibuprofuen 3, 4, 5 times a day and I take hot baths at least twice a day (when I wake up and before I go to bed and mid day on the weekends). In addition for the last 4 weeks I have been taking 50,000 IU of vitamin D once a week. Also I have been gluten free since June.
> 
> As a reminder my last labs-September 21
> TSH 1.9 (.450-4.5)
> ...


You are very fortunate to have found this doc. You will see improvement on Armour I am sure because your T3 is tanked. I sure would like to see what your FREE T3 looks like.

I suspect that in 72 hours, the T3 in Armour will kick in and you will notice it.

If you can; get yourself off that Ibuprofen. This would be a very good thing to do.

Also, good for you on the gluten-free! Do you use artificial sweeteners? If so, quit them. They cause fibro-like pain. Also MSG and other sodiums. The only good sodium is Sodium Chloride which is table salt; I prefer sea salt.

You don't want to add anything right now so you can see how Armour works.

Good luck and I would like to hear from you in 72 hours from your first dose! LOL!!


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## mouthy83 (Jul 18, 2012)

I had similar symptoms to u... and i work at a desk all day. My hands would hurt so bad some days that i could even open and close them without crying!! I would get joint pain in a different joint every few days and they would swell. I only went to the drs when i noticed my neck was swollen. The next day i was diagnosed with hashimotos. I was soon settled on levothyroxine and all my thyroid symptoms disappeard BUT my joint pain was getting worse. After a few months of levo my doc referred me to a rheumy... i was soon diagnosed with palindromic arthritis.
Hang in there, if there is another issue going on they will find it.

I find taking cod liver oil capsules help alot with swelling which reduces some pain. Also glucosamine joint cream.


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## Huggenkiss27 (Oct 15, 2012)

Thank you for the responses. I do not use any artificial sweeteners or eat anything processed for that matter. So much easier to eat whole, cooked at home foods with the celiac. We get fruits and veggies from a local organic co-op and buy raw meat, eggs, and almond milk at the store so I really can't point to my diet because at this point it's very clean. I try to not take the ibuprofeun like that EVERY day. It seems to come in waves with 3-4 bad days then a few where I forget that I need it.

I sure hope I feel better in 72 hours. The doctor said the same thing (he said I'd feel like I was on crack but please do not do crack if I don't feel better, lol! I guess he had a patient do that!!!). I am so glad he thinks there will be enough change to follow up in two weeks. My endo wanted to wait 5 months to see me!


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## CA-Lynn (Apr 29, 2010)

I don't understand using ibuprofen. Why not an Rx NSAID which will work a lot better? [That is, unless you have a history of ulcers.]

One thing I've learned over the years with RA: if you don't complain, you don't get the drugs. They will give you the lowest amount of pain killers unless you howl like a banshee. And rightfully so.


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## bigfoot (May 13, 2011)

This was also a symptom I was dealing with recently, so I wanted to chip in my $.02 FWIW. Sure sounds like your new doc is on the right path. I've noticed that when my Free T3 is low my joints are stiff, don't have as much range of motion, make 'popping' noises, and there is significant tenderness/low level pain (especially hands).

Once the T3 (and to a lesser extend, T4) was increased and got closer to the sweet spot, the joint issues more-or-less magically disappeared. In fact, at one point I could drop and do 20 push ups with hardly any effort/pain, versus barely being able to crank out one before.

Other things can impact joint issues besides thyroid and RA; you may wish to get hormones like estrogen & testosterone checked, too. All of these things play together (and sometimes not so nicely!).


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## Andros (Aug 26, 2009)

Huggenkiss27 said:


> Thank you for the responses. I do not use any artificial sweeteners or eat anything processed for that matter. So much easier to eat whole, cooked at home foods with the celiac. We get fruits and veggies from a local organic co-op and buy raw meat, eggs, and almond milk at the store so I really can't point to my diet because at this point it's very clean. I try to not take the ibuprofeun like that EVERY day. It seems to come in waves with 3-4 bad days then a few where I forget that I need it.
> 
> I sure hope I feel better in 72 hours. The doctor said the same thing (he said I'd feel like I was on crack but please do not do crack if I don't feel better, lol! I guess he had a patient do that!!!). I am so glad he thinks there will be enough change to follow up in two weeks. My endo wanted to wait 5 months to see me!


I am very impressed w/your diet. So, you are gluten(wheat)-free as well?

If that is the case, there is not much else to rule out so let's hope and pray that Armour does the trick. I do believe it will.


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## sjmjuly (Mar 23, 2012)

My feet were like your hands. They hurt so bad I could barely walk. You should start to feel better when the T3 kicks in. I took about 72 hours for me I started feeling some relief.


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## jmill (Mar 23, 2010)

Your low vitamin D can, in itself, cause joint pain. Mine is low every time I get it checked and I am put on mega doses of vitamin D to get it back up. It keeps sliding back down. For me, it turned out to be an absorption problem related to years of glutens ruining my intestines. I've been gluten free for quite a while now and I think it's getting better. At least my gut is feeling a lot better. I recently started on emulsified vitamin D which is absorbed much better by people with absorption problems and micellized vitamin A for the same reason. Ask your doctor about trying these forms of the vitamins you are taking.


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## Huggenkiss27 (Oct 15, 2012)

Andros- I am gluten free  going on 5 months now! Our whole house is gluten free including to dog and cat food due to my incredible sensitivity and us not wanting to take an chances. (Not that I eat dog and cat food but they end up licking everything and who knows if it would end up contaminating me some how).

It's been over 72 hours since my first dose of Armour and my headaches are better but the joint pain is still pretty extreme. I may just have a good bit of inflammation that needs to clear up. Another annoying and not new symptom is my upper leg feels cold to me but not to the touch. I have a numb on occasion area on my other leg. It wasn't happening often enough for me to notice but the last couple weeks it is starting to happen more frequently. Is going on the list of things to ask about at me next doctor appointment.


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