Hi
I have a diagnosis of Hashimotos and continue to have lots of symptoms which are a pain in the butt! And to top it all, my GP is only prescribing Levothyroxine 125mcg as a treatment and is not listening to my pleas to try alternatives. I currently take the following vitamins to help but am wondering if any others may be helpful too?
Pregnenolone 50mg
magnesium with zinc
selenium 200ug
Vit D3 1000u
vitamin B12 1000ug
Your advice will be gratefully received!
Thanking you.
Louise, pregnenolone is not a vitamin nor a mineral, it's a hormone. Why did you start taking it? Have you had your cortisol tested?
Testing is the key to know what you need to take, so vit D, vit B12, folate, iron and ferritin are the absolute minimum to test. Have you had them tested? If not, you Don't know how much to take.
Having said that, magnesium and zinc are ok, because most people are low, and if you're taking vit D3, you need to take them because they all work together. But add some vit K2 into the mix because that cocktail will raise calcium levels, and you need the K2 to get it into your bones, rather than the tissues.
If your taking vit B12, you should also be taking a B complex to balance the Bs, because they all work together.
You should also get tested for selenium, after a while, because too much can be toxic.
And you should be taking lots of vit C for many reasons.
There are many other vits and mins, but work slowly. Never start a bunch of things at the same time, because if something disagrees with you - which is a possibility - you won't know which one it is.
Does your doctor test FT4 and FT3? Because it's very important to know where you are with these. TSH is a useless test on it's own. It won't tell you, for example, if you're not converting. You need FT4 and 3 to see that. If he won't test them, you could get them tested privately. But Don't accept second-best treatment - which is what you're getting at the moment - insist - firmly, but politely - that he takes your illness seriously and does his best to get you well!
Hugs, Grey
Thank you. You make perfect sense.
Started taking pregnenolone one advice from another person with thyroid issues.
I think another trip to doctor for tests you suggest is the order of the day.
Hugs to you too. Louise
Grey Goose, when taking these vitamins and minerals should they all be taken at the same time to get optimum results?
Well, not that I've heard of. And that would be a little complicated, because I take my B12 twice a day, but B complex only once a day, for reasons of quantity.
I take my D3 with my lunch, but magnesium at bedtime because it promotes sleep.
I suppose it possible you might get better results, but I Don't want to take my b12 at bedtime, it would keep me awake, and I Don't want to take my magnesium at lunchtime...
They're all going to end up in much the same place, and levels are going to build up, so I Don't think it's so much taking them together physically, as taking enough to balance. If you see what I mean.
If you have Hashimotos then you need to be focusing on healing your gut and helping out your liver. Supplements to heal your gut include the following:
Aloe vera - you can get them in gel caps - much easier to take that way, but if you like the juice, then get some organic aloe juice and start drinking some each day. You can add it to smoothies with other fruits and vegetables.
L-Glutamine: heals gut tissue similarly to aloe vera. Also like aloe vera, it is good for healing all bodily tissue.
Proteolytic enzymes: help to break down the large protein molecules that get your gut buzzing. Take only between meals on an empty stomach.
Probiotics: take with food, give them a couple hours before taking the proteolytic enzymes.
Additionally, with Hashimotos, you want to understand that your redox activity is impaired. In other words, you need more antioxidants, and in particular, you want to focus on glutathione production in the liver. Undenatured whey protein powder is one of the most powerful foods you can eat for glutathione production. Try out Bluebonnet if you can get it - I get it on Amazon. It's reasonably priced, undenatured, from grass-fed cows, no hormones, it's sweetened with stevia, delicious, and comes in a variety of flavors. Otherwise look for Well Wisdom or Naked Whey - something that is undenatured, contains no soy or hormones, preferably from grass-fed cows, and organic.
Additionally you might want to consider NAC (N-Acetyl- Cysteine) to help your liver out, as well as Vitamin A and E (natural, not synthetic, and make sure the Vitamin E is full spectrum), and plenty of Vitamin C. Also, as greygoose noted - DO take D3 and K2 together. It's important. As well as to get a B complex instead of just B12 - and make sure that the B12 is METHYLcobalamin rather than the synthetic and less bioavailable cyanocobalamin. I use Thorne Research Stress B complex and swear by it.
I also highly recommend adding Glycine (a very important amino acid) to the mix, either via supplementation (I use NOW Glycine), or by adding gelatine to your diet, and plenty of it. Frequent bone broths are the best way to get it into your system, if you can do that.
You may also want to consider a quercetin complex with citrus bioflavanoids. I use Solgar brand. It helps the liver, which is of high importance with Hashimotos. If you do take this one, I suggest taking it only at night before bed, as it can also lower your cortisol levels. If you have very low cortisol to begin with, I wouldn't take this UNLESS you are dragging all day and wide awake at night when it's time to sleep. That would indicate too much cortisol at night, and the quercetin can help lower night-time cortisol production so that you can sleep and get your diurnal cortisol cycle back on track.
I also do use pregnenolone, but I take it sublingually in liquid form, about 10 drops under the tongue upon waking. It has been invaluable to me, as my progesterone was nill and my cortisol was very low. I also supplement OCCASIONALLY with sublingual DHEA tablets - 5mg - around 5PM, but not every day. I do, however, suggest having your doctor test your hormone levels, because there may be other things you need. Mine had to prescribe me Prometrium - a high dose bioidentical progesterone (USP - biodentical progesterone, NOT synthetic progestin) - at 200 mg per day, as the over-the-counter Progestelle I had been taking was not giving me anything near the amounts of progesterone my body needed to compete with the comparatively ridiculous amounts of estrogen going on. With thyroid disorders, it's all related - and too much estrogen, with progesterone deficiency absolutely exacerbates thyroid conditions. So please go have all your hormone levels tested. Also, check your albumin levels, because if that's low, your thyroid hormone can't get to where it needs to go in sufficient quantity, to the rest of your cells. Gut problems often cause low albumin levels.
It should be a B complex PLUS B12 if the B12 is low, because with the B complex alone, she's never going to get the level because there just isn't enough B12 in it. However, it hasn't been tested, so when it doubt, take the higher level of B12.
There's no point in testing B12 now, because having been on the supplement, it will skew the results. Unless, of course, you want to come off it for about 6 weeks.
confusing results - any advice (other than I should be better with my supplements)
Should I take magnesium
Should any other tests be requested in my case?
How much vitamin b12 and ferritin should I take.
Is Vitamin C ok to take with my other meds?
