How Hypothyroidism Causes Chronic Pain and Insulin Resistance

You probably know that your thyroid helps to control the metabolism of your entire body but did you know that it also has many more functions than just that?

It's common for patients who are hypothyroid to gain weight, but one of the other (many symptoms) of hypothyroidism includes chronic musculoskeletal pain.

In fact it's not uncommon for hypothyroid patients to present with back pain, joint pain or multiple tender points deep in their muscular tissue.

While hypothyroidism can cause chronic pain and a fibromyalgia like syndrome this doesn't mean that ALL cases of fibromyalgia and chronic pain are due to hypothyroidism.

​That being said...

If you have either condition (chronic pain syndrome, fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome) you absolutely should have your thyroid checked out.

And I don't mean a cursory glance at your TSH, I mean a complete thyroid panel and thorough work up that includes ALL thyroid ​lab tests including markers for autoimmune thyroiditis.

I hear patients all the time respond that their thyroid is "fine" only to find out upon closer look it's anything but fine. ​

Before we talk about how to correctly diagnose thyroid issues we need to talk about how thyroid hormone can cause chronic pain and fibromyalgia. ​

Bottom line: Hypothyroidism can certainly cause and potentiate chronic pain and fibromyalgia. Standard blood tests and standard "interpretation" of thyroid lab studies is insufficient to correctly diagnose the problem. To properly evaluate for this condition you need a complete set of lab tests and proper work up.

Tissue Level Hypothyroidism Explained

​So what can cause "normal" thyroid lab tests but all the symptoms of hypothyroidism?

More : https://www.restartmed.com/hypothyroidism-chronic-pain/

Thyroid hormone potentiates insulin signaling and attenuates hyperglycemia and insulin resistance in a mouse model of type 2 diabetes.

Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

The thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine (T3) has many metabolic functions. Unexpectedly, exogenous T3 lowered blood glucose in db/db mice, a model of type 2 diabetes. Here, we have explored this finding and its possible mechanisms further.
EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH:

db/db and lean mice were treated with T3, the phosphoinositide 3- kinase (PI3-kinase) inhibitor, LY294002, plus T3, or vehicles. Blood glucose, insulin sensitivity, levels and synthesis were measured. Effects of T3 on intracellular insulin signaling were analyzed in 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes with Western blotting. Knock-down of the thyroid hormone receptor α1 (TRα1) in 3T3-L1 cells was achieved with an appropriate silencing RNA (siRNA).
KEY RESULTS:

Single injections of T3 (7 ng·g⁻¹ i.p.) rapidly and markedly attenuated hyperglycemia. Treatment with T3 (14 ng·g⁻¹·day⁻¹, 18 days) dose-dependently attenuated blood glucose and increased insulin sensitivity in db/db mice. Higher doses of T3 (28 ng·g⁻¹·day⁻¹) reversed insulin resistance in db/db mice. T3 also increased insulin levels in plasma and the neurogenic differentiation factor (an insulin synthesis transcription factor) and insulin storage in pancreatic islets in db/db mice. These anti-diabetic effects of T3 were abolished by the PI3-kinase inhibitor (LY294002). In 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, T3 enhanced insulin-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 and activation of PI3-kinase, effects blocked by siRNA for TRα1.
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS:

T3 potentiated insulin signaling, improved insulin sensitivity, and increased insulin synthesis, which may contribute to its anti-diabetic effects. These findings may provide new approaches to the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20883475

Perversely I went the other way - hypERthyroid. This had the bizarre effect of dropping my LDL by exactly as much as a statin.

I also went hypOthyroid when I was overtreated, neither is much fun.

The other weird one was that I grew a cute pair of A cups, not sure if that was from the high or low thyroid. But yeah I regard T3 as one of the Master Hormones along with insulin and leptin, it affects many other systems.