.why has no doctor told me this before?

I've been battling hypothyroidism for well over 10 years now.  Probably like most of you, I know the popular symptoms of the disease to be fatigue; weight gain and loss of hair.  Through all the years of increasing my synthroid, I have still never felt well. 

After meeting with my dr yesterday and talking about my thyroid, it really got me wondering about it.  She talked to me about the difference between being on a generic vs being on actual Synthroid; she talked to me about the importance of taking the medication on an empty stomach, one hour before taking anything else.  She talked about the fact that just because at times my numbers are considered "in range", what may be in range for one person, may not be true for me.  She brought this up because I told her (as I told my endocrinologist many times) I never felt symptom free.  99.9% of the time I carry around the symptoms of hypothyroidism.

I remember talking to one of my girlfriends years ago one evening and she just didn't seem to feel well.  I asked her if she was ok and she said she just wasn't feeling up to par that day as she had forgotten to take her Synthroid that morning.  I was stunned!  I asked her did she mean to say if she missed ONE pill she could feel a difference?  She said absolutely.  I've never even noticed a difference taking the pill.  Much less if I missed one!

So I'm having a terrible night with pain in my right hip and leg so bad I can't get comfortable no matter what I do and no matter what I take.  So I get up and start googling around about my thyroid and come across this article from The Mayo Clinic.  As I'm reading the list of symptoms I'm checking them off one at a time....got it; got it; got it.  All the things I had ever heard about.  But then I see this..............

Can hypothyroidism cause joint pain? I have hypothyroidism and have been experiencing severe arthritis-like pain in my shoulders and hips.

Answer

from Todd B. Nippoldt, M.D.

For some people, hypothyroidism can contribute to joint and muscle problems.
Specifically, hypothyroidism may lead to:

• Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness, especially in the shoulders and hips
• Joint pain and stiffness
• Swelling of the knee joint and small joints in the hands and feet

OMG!! What??!?!  Huh??  Say what?!?!  I am stunned!  Floored!  Absolutely flabbergasted!  I have NEVER heard this before.  In well over 10 years of dealing with this disease no one has ever mentioned this to me!!

Could this be the answer to the problem I've been having for years?  Could the reason all the tests are coming back negative is because the answer has always been right under the drs nose and they just haven't seen it??!!

I'm still so stunned and taken aback by this information that I feel a little bit like I'm in shock.  But rest assured....later today I WILL be on the phone with my doctor!!