• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Levothyroxine - Suffering Possible Painful Side Effect

  • Thread starter Thread starter asparagusp
  • Start Date Start Date
A

asparagusp

Guest
In March, three months after starting Levothyroxine for my thyroid, I started getting pains off and on in my left knee area. I asked my Endocrinologist who said he didn't think the pain was attributable to the drug. I am due to finish the thyroid treatment at the end of January.

Has anyone had similar reaction to Levothyroxine?
 
Hi @asparagusp sorry to hear about the knee pain.

I can't report any similar such symptoms, having been on Levothyroxine for over a decade, but I hope you get to the bottom of it.
 
asparagusp said:
In March, three months after starting Levothyroxine for my thyroid, I started getting pains off and on in my left knee area. I asked my Endocrinologist who said he didn't think the pain was attributable to the drug. I am due to finish the thyroid treatment at the end of January.

Has anyone had similar reaction to Levothyroxine?
Click to expand...
No , I have not , I have taken it for years and will continue to ...
Sorry you are experiencing this ..
Hope you find the cause ,,x
 
only on levothyroxine for 6 months here but no symptoms as you describe.... hope you get sorted soon !!
 
I have Googled prior to posting the question and some people have been asking the same question regarding knee pain associated with Levothyroxine

I forgot about the information here - https://www.drugs.com/sfx/levothyroxine-side-effects.html Knee or hop pain are a rare side effect! However I still would appreciate first hand experience from those who suffer.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
asparagusp said:
I have Googled prior to posting the question and some people have been asking the same question!
Click to expand...

What answers were received...? Wrong type of shoe support? An old "sports injury" recurred with age? Bad posture???
 
asparagusp said:
In March, three months after starting Levothyroxine for my thyroid, I started getting pains off and on in my left knee area. I asked my Endocrinologist who said he didn't think the pain was attributable to the drug. I am due to finish the thyroid treatment at the end of January.

Has anyone had similar reaction to Levothyroxine?
Click to expand...

Must admit to being confused regarding your thyroid treatment. Once you have an under active thyroid you are on medication for life, with regular blood tests to start with until the right dose is found then it's checked yearly and the dose can go up or down or stay the same. Levothyroxine is only replacing what your own body does not produce.
 
CarbsRok said:
Must admit to being confused regarding your thyroid treatment. Once you have an under active thyroid you are on medication for life, with regular blood tests to start with until the right dose is found then it's checked yearly and the dose can go up or down or stay the same. Levothyroxine is only replacing what your own body does not produce.
Click to expand...


I had an overactive thyroid, but as I state below, the condition is in remission. The endocrinologist by extending the medication wants to ensure the condition is unlikely to return. I lost a stone in weight through it!
 
Good morning.
I seem to recall, ?correctly, that treatment with carbimazole and levothyroxine for thyroid is known as blocking-replacement therapy. Is that so?
I sometimes get spells of a little pain in a knee, but it's nothing that I'd attribute to my levothyroxine. I think it's reflective of my weight actually. I have no anecdotal evidence to draw on either, I'm afraid, so not very helpful.
 
Struma said:
I seem to recall, ?correctly, that treatment with carbimazole and levothyroxine for thyroid is known as blocking-replacement therapy. Is that so?
Click to expand...
Yes you are right! There can of course be many causes for knee pain but overweight in my case is not the cause! There were similar twinges in my other knee during last night!
 
Agreed re your checking OA, after that, consider whether the changes in your thyroid hormones over the period may have temporarily affected your tendons. I have a separate condition which affects my ligaments, and therefore impacts on tendons, and the time before diagnosis of hypothyroid disease was agony, esp feet and knees, it all got better when thyroid hormones had been normalised for a while. Every time i have changes in thyroid hormones i know it - i am in lots of pain - esp knees and hips now, as well as feet - this may be because subtle tendon changes put more pressure on weak ligaments - in my case, exercise can't help and physios do not appear to know - I avoid them until my situation has been settled for months. i noticed recently https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3838329/. interesting other research also mentions tendon problems. Hope this helps
 
Last edited:
ann34+ said:
Agreed re your checking OA, after that, consider whether the changes in your thyroid hormones over the period may have temporarily affected your tendons. I have a separate condition which affects my ligaments, and therefore impacts on tendons, and the time before diagnosis of hypothyroid disease was agony, esp feet and knees, it all got better when thyroid hormones had been normalised for a while. Every time i have changes in thyroid hormones i know it - i am in lots of pain - esp knees and hips now, as well as feet - this may be because subtle tendon changes put more pressure on weak ligaments - in my case, exercise can't help and physios do not appear to know - I avoid them until my situation has been settled for months. i noticed recently https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3838329/. interesting other research also mentions tendon problems. Hope this helps
Click to expand...

Thank you! That is fascinating. I have a similar tendon issue, except that mine is due to excess prolactin.
 
Thanks Guys for believing me! It eased yesterday again but still the odd twinge. It seems to flare up during the night.
 
Back
Top