Thyroid and b12 absorbtion link?

[lesley12]

Good morning,

Do thyroid levels affect B12 absorbtion? Im treated for hypothyroidism with 125(mg?) Recent bloods show high levels but gp says he doesn't want to fiddle with this. Any idea why this might be? forgot to ask him ! . I get bouts of extreme fatigue,severe headaches and breathlessness (? Undiagnosed asthma)

Often find it hard to get out of bed. I remember feeling like this pre PA diagnosis.

GP surgery injections 1xevery 8 weeks and I get additional injections independently every 8 weeks =b12every 4weeks. Just fed up with gp dismissing me cos bloods are ok on his view.

Thanks

[Nackapan]

Once on b12 injections you dont need to test levels any more .

You need to find a b12 frequency that suits you.

I dont know if thyroid levels affect b12 absorbtion. I woukdnt have thought so. Symptoms do overlap though.

I would go to the thyroid forum

[fbirder]

Ask helvella for a decent answer to the question as to whether thyroid levels can affect B12 absorption.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

There are a number of ways that thyroid problems could affect B12 levels (and incidence of both auto-immune thyroid and B12 problems.

However, there is no direct link between B12 and thyroid hormones.

Some people do find that thyroid medications need adjusting when they start B12 which may be because both play a part in the Krebbs cycle which is used to produce energy in cells, so it can be difficult to re-balance things when starting on a different medication.

Not sure if you mean that your B12 levels are high or your thyroid levels. If you are on injections then this will be the cause of high B12 levels as an injection puts a huge amount of B12 into your system and levels post injection are astronomic and then fall over time - but the rate at which they fall varies a lot from person to person.

If you haven't posted already on TUK I would suggest that you do. Getting on to the right level of thyroid medications can be quite difficult. It sounds like you are on 125mcg of levothyroxine if you are hypothyroid - this is a drug that takes a long time to get out of your system and it's usual to start on much lower doses (50mcg) and then build up over time.

I was started on 25mcg and that left me totally lifeless and positively suicidal - wasn't until I got up to 75mcg that I started to feel anywhere near normal. Cuirrently on 100mcg but I drop that in very hot weather to 75mcg otherwise I'm just completely brain-dead.

The symptoms of hypothyroidism overlap hugely with those of PA so not surprised that you feel the way you did when diagnosed with PA.

[lesley12 in reply to Gambit62]

Thanks that was helpful. Hypothyroidism diagnosed 20 yrs ago,appeared to recover with treatment. Diagnoised PA 6 yrs after failure to recover from Cryprosiridium???. Have never felt the same since. . I feel its almost impossible to regain that naturally achieved balance now. .

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to lesley12]

sorry to hear that.

I also find coping with hashimotos much more difficult than coping with PA... and don't have much faith in my GPs knowledge of either, which is a bit sad.