Re: OT - hypothyroidism and foot pain

[Guest guest]

My limping and joint pain came from apparently being dehydrated. My

undiagnosed Hashimotos had me aging at a rapid pace. The skin on my face and

body was hanging and out of tone. No matter how much water I drank I remained

dehydrated. My joints became so `dry' that I tore the cartilage in my knee

just by squatting down.

--- <truepatriot@...> wrote:

> In another thread, Skipper wrote:

>

> " It is not

> unusual to be hypothyroid for a long time without being diagnosed. I

> didn't

> have Hashi's, but did take a long time to be diagnosed starting with

> the

> first doctor visit for hypo symptoms. Eventually, I got more and more

> fatigued, developed terrible foot pain so bad I limped when I walked

> for 4

> years, and had all kinds of things going wrong. "

>

> and later in the same post:

>

> " I

> couldn't even walk decently for 4 years because they couldn't

> diagnose a

> simple thyroid condition. "

>

> I didn't realize this connection, but am experiencing it. After only

> minutes on the treadmill, my ankles feel swollen (thought don't look

> it) and the bottoms of my feet sometimes experience the random

> shooting pain (both these are more noticeable in my left foot).

> Could you tell me more about this issue and how hypothyroid causes it?

>

>

> Thanks,

> -

> www.zenpawn.com/vegblog

>

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

>From: " " <truepatriot@...>

>I didn't realize this connection, but am experiencing it. After only

>minutes on the treadmill, my ankles feel swollen (thought don't look

>it) and the bottoms of my feet sometimes experience the random

>shooting pain (both these are more noticeable in my left foot).

>Could you tell me more about this issue and how hypothyroid causes it?

My thyroid doc is also a neurologist. He said " there's no neurological

syndrome that hypothyroidism cannot mimick. "

I was diagnosed with " plantar fasciitis " (severe heel pain that hurts when

walking, after sitting for long periods of time, and especially when getting

out of bed in the morning) which " miraculosly " went away a couple months

after I started taking 3 grains of Armour. I believe it was caused by

neuropathy. Blood flow to muscles / nerves is impaired in hypothyroidism

and this causes a multitude of problems.

Hypothyroidism is well known as a cause of swelling feet.

I had random shooting pains in my feet until after I started the iodine.

They were a lot easier to take than the plantar fasciitis was, so I wasn't

that bothered by them. But, they've gone away recently. This can also be

caused by low B5 or pantothetic acid, but taking those did not improve the

situation. Iodine seems to have.

Skipper

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[Guest guest]

Obviously not to my idiot GPs & various specialists, who threw diuetic

prescriptions (Lasix) at me & sent me for expensive testing for

congestive heart failure, lympodema, CAT scans, ultrasounds & other

stuff.

Do some simple blood tests for thyroid function? Of course not.

IDIOTS! Did I say that already? Oops

Oh, they did find an ovarian cyst. Did they bother to schedule any

follow-up with me to make sure it was just a functional cyst that went

away & not something more serious? No. IDIOTS! Darn, there I go

repeating my self again.

>

> Hypothyroidism is well known as a cause of swelling feet.

>

[Guest guest]

>

> If these people were IDIOTS they would not have made it

> past medical school.

> Give their intelligence more credit than that. However,

> medicine is a BUSINESS, the goal of which is to make money.

It seems to me that basics are often overlooked, and bright medical

students dumbed down in order to stay in the system in which they

are now so heavily self-invested. But to be willing to

not-look closely at basics and fundmentals such as diagnosis

and optimal treatment of hypothyroid seems to me an

insanity. There will always be plenty of other cases actually

requiring the expensive and complex interventions, so I find

the money argument a stretch. Doctors don't make any more money

when a thyroid patient is undiagnosed, underdiagnosed, or

undertreated. I see it as a problem of the WILL and a

predisposition of MIND, which is an insaity of sorts.

Overlooking basics and fundamentals is what drives people to

alternative/complementary medicine, searching for

viable answers and resolution they didn't get in conventional

medicine.

Carol

willis_protocols

my article archive in Files, blog, Links, not a discussion group.

[Guest guest]

Hi - no. I have it on my agenda to follow-thru at my next gyno

appointment.

I was a little more of a sheep back then with my doctors. He

portrayed it up as a side note of no concern that would fade away

with my next cycle. I went hmmmm.... and didn't press the issue,

assuming that his professional assesment was correct.

I don't do that any more.

I find cysts especially troublesome after my friend, who was feeling

perfectly healthy <professional nutritionist, active sports person>,

went for a regular gyno check-up prior to getting married <they

wanted to start a family right away>, and found a cyst. They

scheduled her for a biopsy & found ovarian cancer. She had a full

hysterectomy, chemo, the whole works.

In a way, her marriage & desire to have kids saved her life. Bless

her fiance - he immediately rushed the wedding so they could be

married before she went in for her hysterectomy. They had a small,

quickly planned ceremony with just family.

But no, cysts aren't something to be so casually disregarded.

>

> > Obviously not to my idiot GPs & various specialists,

> > who threw diuetic prescriptions (Lasix) at me & sent me for

expensive testing for congestive heart failure, lympodema, CAT scans,

> > ultrasounds & other stuff.

> >

> > Do some simple blood tests for thyroid function? Of

> > course not. IDIOTS! Did I say that already? Oops

> >

> > Oh, they did find an ovarian cyst. Did they bother

> > to schedule any follow-up with me to make sure it was just a

> > functional cyst that went away & not something more serious? No.

IDIOTS! Darn,there I go repeating my self again.

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

>

> >From: " cbwillis9 " <cbwillis9@...>

>

> > Doctors don't make any more money

> >when a thyroid patient is undiagnosed, underdiagnosed, or

> >undertreated.

>

> So, the fact that I was wasting $300 a month on my wife's asthma

>medicine

I don't think money is the motivation for sloppy dx and tx of

hypothyroid. There's plenty of money to be made elsewhere in

a medical practice. And a satisfied patient is one's best

referral source, a win-win situation.

Rather it's lack of will to pay attention to patients and

the thyroid patient community, to look at the full range of

options, what works, what doesn't, for whom, and why.

Drs have been very slow to take

the internet thyroid patient community case studies

as free (no cost) market-research, grist for the mill,

possible sources of new ideas and refinement of existing

methods. Any extremism or lack of normal cautions shown

on grassroots patient groups gives more excuse for

ignoring the entire set of patients as a whole.

Still on the part of many doctors

it's an act of will, or unwillingness to sort out the wheat from

the chaff from the large base of patient experiences, as per

normal rationality and goodwill. If you get the sense that

there's something that should be there but isn't, you're

probably right.

Carol

willis_protocols

my article archive in Files, blog, Links, not a discussion group.

[Guest guest]

but it's not NEW ideas...it's knowledge that has already been

known ...and got lost when the diagnosis of hypothyroidism begain to be

done by TSH and not symptoms. I've read the old

abstracts/articles...and got really really mad. It's all there...all

the symptoms...everything from acne to postpartum depression, etc.

There is no excuse for doctors not recognizing obvious hypothyroidism

symptoms. Doctors are supposed to know a condition's symptoms. And

when your life has been damaged/forever altered and changed by doctors'

failure to properly diagnose...and when you've spent thousands and

thousands over the years for unnecessary treatment (just needed thyroid

hormone), it does tend to make you a bit extremist. Had I listened to

the doctors, I'd even be missing body parts now. It's criminal. It's

negligent. It's inexcusable.

cindi

-- In iodine , " cbwillis9 " <cbwillis9@...> wrote:

>

> Drs have been very slow to take

> the internet thyroid patient community case studies

> as free (no cost) market-research, grist for the mill,

> possible sources of new ideas and refinement of existing

> methods. Any extremism or lack of normal cautions shown

> on grassroots patient groups gives more excuse for

> ignoring the entire set of patients as a whole.

[Guest guest]

I have to agree with you, Skipper, on this: undiagnosed hypothyroid

conditions have floated our economy for some time. I'm not much of a

conspiracy theorist but I have always wondered why when the

pharmaceutical industry is always searching for new ways to sell the

old drugs (like reducing the recommended cholesterol levels so Lipitor

sales benefit), they have never taken up that cause for thyroid meds.

If they had, we'd all be offered plenty of Synthroid. But even for

their pet drug, Synthroid, the industry keeps a pretty tight control on

who " needs " it. At first that seemed to me to be against their

interests - they won't make as much money if not as many of us use it.

But at second glance, it actually is a very lucrative decision for them

as they can then treat heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes and

everything else you listed. I've heard " freedom isn't free. " Neither is

capitalism it seems.

Sharon

> Not curing chronic conditions like hypothyroidism adequately is an

extremely

> lucrative activity for the medical profession, one that will drive us

to

> socialized medicine because it's costing us boat loads of money in

insurance

> premiums and wasted health.

[Guest guest]

>

> but it's not NEW ideas...it's knowledge that has already been

> known ...and got lost when the diagnosis of hypothyroidism

> begain to be done by TSH and not symptoms.

The old and yet existing TSH ranges are more of a problem.

How many people were told, and are still being told today,

they were normal with a TSH between 2.0-5.5?

As an inexpensive starting point,

revise the TSH range down to 2.0,

identify the people whose TSH is over 2.0,

and do a trial of thyroid med,

starting low so the person can acclimatize.

Those persons should number into the millions.

Finetuning can involve more investigation and trials of thyroid

med in patients who are still symptomatic. Some symptoms can

be caused by other things, and all that needs to be sorted out.

Carol

willis_protocols

my article archive in Files, blog, Links, not a discussion group.

[Guest guest]

For me, it's not about " trusting " TSH, but rather using

TSH is an inexpensive starting point, and if TSH is over 2.0,

I'd say it's usually a problem, and imo would warrant a trial

of thyroid med. Fine tuning can come later.

What you're talking about below, I'd call fine tuning.

No one here is saying not to look at frees and symptoms. I see

frees as fine tuning. And symptoms as needing to be considered,

sorted out as treatment and time go on. Some symptoms

may be related to thryoid, others not, as it turns out.

Older persons especially can have a TSH that has crept up

over the years from a euthyroid norm around 1.65,

to between 2.0 and 3.0.

I have to wonder if they would he having a lot of the

problems they're having

such as cancer (lack of cell differentiation), cold hands

and feet, chilliness generally, high cholesterol, dementia,

constipation, infections, generally sluggish metabolism, etc. etc.

if thyroid had better monitored, tighter standards used,

treatment done earlier. There are Millions of people who

fall into that category, and so simple to treat, yet are

overlooked. Even 25 mcg of a T4 (or more) can make

a big difference for many people.

Carol

willis_protocols

my article archive in Files, blog, Links, not a discussion group.

Apricot85 <apricot85@...> wrote:

>

> Well, I don't see how you trust TSH at all. My TSH was well

below 2,

> and my frees were well below the normal ranges. The docs kept

looking

> at my low TSH, which is not a thyroid hormone. Their goal was to

> increase frees so that they were kinda close to normal range.

(ha) Of

> course, symptoms were ignored.

>

> So from my perspective, it would be better to look at frees and

symptoms.

>

>

> cbwillis9 wrote:

> as an inexpensive starting point, revise the TSH range down to

2.0,

> identify the people whose TSH is over 2.0, and do a trial of

thyroid

> med, starting low so the person can acclimatize.

>

[Guest guest]

I've noticed that the many women I know on a little dab of Synthroid

are the healthiest senior women I know. My theory on this is that

their pituitaries were actually healthy enough to register falling

thyroid hormone levels by rising TSH so that a doc notices...and

that the rest of the senior population...should their Free levels

actually be tested...would also show a decline in Frees without

corresponding rise in TSH. Just a thought...because honestly, those

25 mcg synthroid users are very healthy.

Cindi

>

>

>

> Older persons especially can have a TSH that has crept up

> over the years from a euthyroid norm around 1.65,

> to between 2.0 and 3.0.

> I have to wonder if they would he having a lot of the

> problems they're having

> such as cancer (lack of cell differentiation), cold hands

> and feet, chilliness generally, high cholesterol, dementia,

> constipation, infections, generally sluggish metabolism, etc. etc.

> if thyroid had better monitored, tighter standards used,

> treatment done earlier. There are Millions of people who

> fall into that category, and so simple to treat, yet are

> overlooked. Even 25 mcg of a T4 (or more) can make

> a big difference for many people.

[Guest guest]

>

> AMEN AMEN

> we could cut our national health care bills in half tomorrow by getting

> proper treatment, but how to reeducate the docs? We have to bypass them,

> they are glorified drug reps at this point, part of the problem not the

> solution.

> Gracia

>

>> >From: " cbwillis9 " <cbwillis9@...>

>>

>>>I don't think money is the motivation for sloppy dx and tx of

>>>hypothyroid.

>>

>> Don't think about your family practitioner who knows you, and may seem to

>> care.

>>

>> Think about big multi-national corporations who train the doctors so

>> everyone in the medical profession can profit. If they didn't train the

>> doctors, there would be less income for everyone.

>>

>> Do you think it's sane for a country to spend 1 out of every $5 made on

>> health care? I don't.

>>

>>

>

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