Is lactose intolerance and soya sensitivity affecting absorption of T4?

[Sailing14]

SlowDragon

If I have a lactose intolerance and sensitivity to soya, could this be affecting my T4 absorption or conversion to T3? If so, would liquid thyroxine help or do I need T3 added?

I recall reading a post regarding this from you but I am unsure where it is now.

I avoid lactose and soya but still suffer bloating and feeling unwell.

Thank you for any advice you or others can give.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

You can get lactose-free levothyroxine so lactose intolerance is not necessarily an argument for levothyroxine oral solution or any form of T3.

And I don't think any levothyroxine tablets contain any soy.

Hence avoiding lactose and soy could be a matter of adjusting your diet.

Teva and Aristo Vencamil are lactose-free.

helvella's medicines documents (UK and Rest of the World) can be found here:

helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines

helvella has created, and tries to maintain, documents containing details of all thyroid hormone medicines in the UK and, in less detail, many others around the world. There is now a specific world desiccated thyroid document.

I highly recommend viewing on a computer screen, or a decent sized tablet, rather than a phone. Even I find it less than satisfactory trying to view them on my phone.

helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines - UK

The UK document contains up-to-date versions of the Summary Matrixes for levothyroxine tablets, oral solutions and also liothyronine available in the UK. Includes descriptions of tablet markings which allow identification. Latest updates include all declared ingredients for all UK products and links to Patient Information Leaflets, etc.

dropbox.com/s/bo2jzxucgp9hl...

helvella - World Desiccated Thyroid

Contains details of all known desiccated thyroid products.

dropbox.com/scl/fi/gx6dmz5i...

helvella - Thyroid Hormone Medicines - RotW

Contains details of all levothyroxine, liothyronine and combination products - excluding desiccated thyroid products. Details available vary by country and manufacturer.

The link below takes you to a blog page which has direct links to the documents from Dropbox and QR codes to make it easy to access from phones. You will have to scroll down or up to find the link to the document you want.

helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...

[Sailing14 in reply to helvella]

Thank you for all this helpful information to read through.

I do have vencamil but I don’t seem to agree with it. I will try it again though to see if I can. If I can’t, would this be enough reason to request liquid and do you consider these dietary issues will be affecting absorption and conversion even though I try to eliminate where I can?

I couldn’t consider Teva after a reaction I had at the start of all my problems with my thyroid.

Thanks again for your help.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Sailing14]

I agree re Teva!

I don't think our opinions matter at all. It all depends on the individual doctor in front of you when you ask. Do prepare before asking. Get the official recommendations such as exist. (You might have local documents.) That way, they will be less able to steamroller through their attempted refusal.

[Sailing14 in reply to helvella]

Thank you. I will read through all that will help the case if another attempt with Vencamil doesn’t work out.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Are you on dairy free and gluten free diet…..and avoid soya

what are your most recent Thyroid and vitamin results

Previous post showed low Active B12

What vitamin supplements are you taking

[Sailing14 in reply to SlowDragon]

Early April 2024:

Serum TSH level 0.31 mu/L [0.4 - 4.9]

Serum free triiodothyronine level 4.7 pmol/L [2.4 - 6.0]

Serum free T4 level 15.6 pmol/L [9.0 - 19.0]

I take vitamin D at present and my other vitamins look okay but are not optimal I am trying to increase them at the moment.

I avoid soya and lactose and I am not sure I can manage gluten free or dairy as I find it is too much to exclude. I feel dairy is okay for me and gluten but I wouldn’t know this until I try.

What are your opinions on the conversion and absorption of T4 when someone has these issues?

Thank you for your help.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Sailing14]

Free T4 (fT4) 15.6 pmol/L (9 - 19) 66.0%

Free T3 (fT3) 4.7 pmol/L (2.4 - 6) 63.9%

So pretty good levels

Personally I think it’s always worth trying 3-6 months on gluten free

You might be amazed

Similarly……at a separate time worth trying dairy free……lots of alternatives these days

[Sailing14 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you for your help. I will give all this some thought and hopefully, it will prove a positive move for me.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Sailing14]

Personally I had absolutely no inkling I was gluten or dairy intolerant

But like thousands of hashimoto’s patients I have found significant improvements by being both gluten and dairy free and would never go back

[Sailing14 in reply to SlowDragon]

I see. Would it apply to a post radio iodine patient too though?

Thanks

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Sailing14]

You presumably have/had Graves’ disease which is also autoimmune

[Sailing14 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks for your reply. I have never been told but Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies have been negative (last tested two years ago).

Are there others to test to find out if it was Graves?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Sailing14]

You are legally entitled to copies of all test results

You should have had TSI and/or Trab antibodies tested to confirm Graves’ disease BEFORE RAI

[Sailing14 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you for this. I didn’t know that about the types of antibody tests. I spoke to the GP about a year ago and said what was the cause if my antibodies were negative, and he said that it could have been a virus that started things but maybe he wasn’t looking far back enough to 2004.

I will have to try and obtain all my results going back to then. Would they do this if I request?

[molrom]

My endocrinologist recommends a Low Exorphin diet for anyone with thyroid issues. No gluten, dairy, soy or spinach.

[Obsdian]

Only personal experience, everyone is different... I cut out dairy when I realized I had become dairy intolerant. Have had lots of blood tests before and after (while not t4) lots of my results have been rising since. Still not ideal but going up. So, to me that says inflammation from dairy was blocking my absorption of some things. Also have a lot less pain.