Re: pins and needles and dull pain in arm..anyone have??

[Guest guest]

All day today I have had pins and needles and dull pain (not bad) in my elbow. The poins and needles travel from elbow to wrist. Also for past months just holding a magazine up makes them throb a little.. I'm terrified it's another autoimmune disease..has anyone else experienced this? Also when I sit down my knees ache getting up and a couple of days ago my hip bone actually popped ( I'm just 37..thanks for any input..Kim

[Guest guest]

Kim, have you ever heard of Fibromyalgia? Those symptoms sound very much like what my friend, Shirley, has described to me in the past. She has that disease but doesn't suffer from the symptoms anymore. She was able to say that she is 100% pain-free some time ago.

Donna

http://trak.to/lifewww.reliv.comTake control of your health!

Re: pins and needles and dull pain in arm..anyone have??

All day today I have had pins and needles and dull pain (not bad) in my elbow. The poins and needles travel from elbow to wrist. Also for past months just holding a magazine up makes them throb a little.. I'm terrified it's another autoimmune disease..has anyone else experienced this? Also when I sit down my knees ache getting up and a couple of days ago my hip bone actually popped ( I'm just 37..thanks for any input..Kim

[Guest guest]

These symptoms could be a number of things. My first thought was Carpal

Tunnel, which may be more common in people with hyperthyroidism.

If it continues, you should probably see your doctor about it.

-

Re: pins and needles and dull pain in

arm..anyone have??

Kim, have you ever heard of Fibromyalgia? Those symptoms sound very much

like what my friend, Shirley, has described to me in the past. She has

that disease but doesn't suffer from the symptoms anymore. She was able to

say that she is 100% pain-free some time ago.

Donna

http://trak.to/life

www.reliv.com

Take control of your health!

Re: pins and needles and dull pain in

arm..anyone have??

All day today I have had pins and needles and dull pain (not bad) in my

elbow. The poins and needles travel from elbow to wrist. Also for past

months just holding a magazine up makes them throb a little.. I'm terrified

it's another autoimmune disease..has anyone else experienced this? Also

when

I sit down my knees ache getting up and a couple of days ago my hip bone

actually popped ( I'm just 37..thanks for any input..Kim

[Guest guest]

Hi Arlene,

Cutting back on the ATD's should have made you hyper, not sleepy and

depressed (signs of hypothyroidism). Bear in mind that the effects of ATD's

take some time to show up, and so do the effects of reducing the dose.

The proper use of ATD's includes starting out on a moderately high dose.

Initially, there's a supply of thyroid hormone in your gland that must be

used up, so you don't notice the maximum effects of this dose for about 6

weeks. Before that you feel better as your thyroid hormone levels are

reduced. But at about 6-8 weeks you feel all the effects and generally become

hypothyroid. AT this time, your dose should be reduced.

If you only are tested for TSH, you could still seem hyper or normal. TSH is

a pituitary hormone that changes in response to changes in your blood thyroid

hormone levels. It takes TSH a minimum of 6 weeks to change in response to

changes in your thyroid hormone levels. For some people it can take more than

a year for TSH to budge.

Monitoring patients by TSH alone, or relying on this test is a common

problem. The results can falsely imply that the patient is still hyperthyroid

and doing well when they're actually hypothyroid. You should have blood tests

for thyroid hormones T4 and T3 every 4 weeks to see if the dose of ATD is

right.

I hope your naturopath is more enthusiastic about monitoring and managing

your thyroid levels. Keep well, Elaine

[Guest guest]

Kim,

I have Graves and currently in remission. However, when I was on meds and went hypo I had lots of problems with my joints - wrists, knees, hip, etc. One morning I had to roll out of bed because I hurt everywhere - I went straight for aspirin. Anyway, I found out being too hypo or too hyper can make your joints hurt. I was more affected when I was hypo. My ears would suddenly burn red and itch and I'd have huge red itchy patches on my chest and arms. Also my back was a concern - I went to an ortho doc and he couldn't find anything wrong and of course the ENDO didn't say anything.

When was your last blood test? When you're achy like this be gentle to your body - avoid heavy exercise or weight lifting. I worked out in the gym and damaged my shoulder and knees so use caution! Once again, check your thyroid levels you may find you're not in the range that works best for you. Also keep records of each test result. Take care, mona

Re: pins and needles and dull pain in arm..anyone have??

All day today I have had pins and needles and dull pain (not bad) in my elbow. The poins and needles travel from elbow to wrist. Also for past months just holding a magazine up makes them throb a little.. I'm terrified it's another autoimmune disease..has anyone else experienced this? Also when I sit down my knees ache getting up and a couple of days ago my hip bone actually popped ( I'm just 37..thanks for any input..Kim

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

I was interested in this message because I was only diagnosed with Graves' around three months ago and have now had two blood tests, but the doctor now doesn't want me to come back for 6 more months. I am on PTU and seemed to respond to this well, but when I tried to cut back, I got sleepy and depressed and went back up to 6 pills a day again.

Question: How frequently should I have my blood tested? I think 6 months is too long and wonder if I am doing OK now. Should I just wait and see how I feel and if things are out of sort, ask the doctor for another test? I am scheduled to go to a naturopath this week, hopefully for some alternatives to PTU.

Thanks for any help,

Arlene in CA

Re: pins and needles and dull pain in arm..anyone have??

Kim,

I have Graves and currently in remission. However, when I was on meds and went hypo I had lots of problems with my joints - wrists, knees, hip, etc. One morning I had to roll out of bed because I hurt everywhere - I went straight for aspirin. Anyway, I found out being too hypo or too hyper can make your joints hurt. I was more affected when I was hypo. My ears would suddenly burn red and itch and I'd have huge red itchy patches on my chest and arms. Also my back was a concern - I went to an ortho doc and he couldn't find anything wrong and of course the ENDO didn't say anything.

When was your last blood test? When you're achy like this be gentle to your body - avoid heavy exercise or weight lifting. I worked out in the gym and damaged my shoulder and knees so use caution! Once again, check your thyroid levels you may find you're not in the range that works best for you. Also keep records of each test result. Take care, mona

Re: pins and needles and dull pain in arm..anyone have??

All day today I have had pins and needles and dull pain (not bad) in my elbow. The poins and needles travel from elbow to wrist. Also for past months just holding a magazine up makes them throb a little.. I'm terrified it's another autoimmune disease..has anyone else experienced this? Also when I sit down my knees ache getting up and a couple of days ago my hip bone actually popped ( I'm just 37..thanks for any input..Kim

[Guest guest]

Hi Elaine,

Thanks for this excellent advice. Being in an HMO, I have only seen a

general practitioner for my Graves'. She hasn't even sent me to an endo.,

which I am somewhat concerned about. Last time I was there (had to beg to

get in and this was only my second time to the office), I didn't even have

time with her to ask about seeing a specialist, so you can see my concerns.

When I told her about some of my continuing symptoms, she just prescribed

different kinds of medications for the symptoms. I will be more " on top " of

things now, thanks to your response. I have not seen allopaths at all for

19 years, so this has been all new for me, along with how to manuever in the

HMO system.

Thanks again,

Arlene

Re: pins and needles and dull pain in arm..anyone

have??

>Hi Arlene,

>Cutting back on the ATD's should have made you hyper, not sleepy and

>depressed (signs of hypothyroidism). Bear in mind that the effects of ATD's

>take some time to show up, and so do the effects of reducing the dose.

>

>The proper use of ATD's includes starting out on a moderately high dose.

>Initially, there's a supply of thyroid hormone in your gland that must be

>used up, so you don't notice the maximum effects of this dose for about 6

>weeks. Before that you feel better as your thyroid hormone levels are

>reduced. But at about 6-8 weeks you feel all the effects and generally

become

>hypothyroid. AT this time, your dose should be reduced.

>

>If you only are tested for TSH, you could still seem hyper or normal. TSH

is

>a pituitary hormone that changes in response to changes in your blood

thyroid

>hormone levels. It takes TSH a minimum of 6 weeks to change in response to

>changes in your thyroid hormone levels. For some people it can take more

than

>a year for TSH to budge.

>Monitoring patients by TSH alone, or relying on this test is a common

>problem. The results can falsely imply that the patient is still

hyperthyroid

>and doing well when they're actually hypothyroid. You should have blood

tests

>for thyroid hormones T4 and T3 every 4 weeks to see if the dose of ATD is

>right.

>

>I hope your naturopath is more enthusiastic about monitoring and managing

>your thyroid levels. Keep well, Elaine

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Arlene,

I'm also in CA. 6 months is too long, especially for a newly diagnosed patient. Ask the doc for more frequent blood tests or if your medical plan permits, start looking for another ENDO. You should reduce your meds very slowly especially since you're on 6 pill/day. I was weaned to down to 1/4 PTU/day before finally discontinuing meds. You don't want to shock your system with sudden cutbacks. Give your body time to react to each dose reduction.

I know it's difficult, but try to be patient with your body. I was diagnosed in 1996 and just now in remission. Also read 's website and Elaine 's website for more info. Take care, Mona

Re: pins and needles and dull pain in arm..anyone have??

All day today I have had pins and needles and dull pain (not bad) in my elbow. The poins and needles travel from elbow to wrist. Also for past months just holding a magazine up makes them throb a little.. I'm terrified it's another autoimmune disease..has anyone else experienced this? Also when I sit down my knees ache getting up and a couple of days ago my hip bone actually popped ( I'm just 37..thanks for any input..Kim

[Guest guest]

,

In block and replace therapy, thyroid hormone is given when you become

hypothyroid. While this method has some advantages, the current opinion is

that it doesn't work any better than just using ATD's. Furthermore, you end

up having to use a higher dose of the ATD's to compensate for the thyroid

hormone. Any time you use a higher dose of any drug, your risk of developing

side effects increases.

Listen to Ant Joan. She's used ATD's quite successfully.

When your maximum effects of the dose kick in and you feel hypothyroid (4-6

weeks after starting treatment) your doctor should be measuring your thyoid

levels and reducing your dose of ATD's....or adding thyroxine if you decide

to try block and replace.

There are more side effects associated with PTU than methimazole (Tapazole),

and Tap is thought to have a protective effect on your eyes. But people use

both drugs successfully. Much has to do with your doctor's experience with

these drugs. PTU came out years before Tap so some doctors are more familiar

with its use.

[Guest guest]

Elaine wrote:

> The proper use of ATD's includes starting out on a moderately high dose.

> Initially, there's a supply of thyroid hormone in your gland that must be

> used up, so you don't notice the maximum effects of this dose for about 6

> weeks. Before that you feel better as your thyroid hormone levels are

> reduced. But at about 6-8 weeks you feel all the effects and generally

become

> hypothyroid. AT this time, your dose should be reduced.

***so when does the 'replace' part of block and replace come into play? I'm

away again on Saturday for a week, and by my reckoning, I should be

'blocked', as it were, in the middle of that week. Does that mean I'll

become sluggish?? Should I get to the doctor tomorrow and get some

thyroxine to take with me just in case?? I'll be hours away from home and

don't fancy trying to drive if I get that sluggish - mind you, I don't know

what I'm talking about here - as far as I'm aware I've never been hypo -

only hyper.

Thanks for your information.

PS Pins and needles - as mentioned in subject line - I've had faint pins and

needles in my finger and thumb tips - for ages and ages - over a year. Is

this a common symptom of hyperT?