Supplements and checking levels

[Vic198]

I'm 34 and currently on 125 levo which I take at nighttime. I had some recent tests and found that my levels were low/ low in range for a number of vitamins and minerals, so I am now supplementing with the following:

At breakfast - B Complex, D3 1000IU (I was on a higher dose but my levels have increased so I decided to continue on a lower dose), Iron 14mg and vitamin C 60mg, methyl cobalamin lozenges (b12) 1000mcg.

I have also bought some vitamin E (400 IU) tablets and zinc 15mg tablets, which I haven't started yet. Are these ok to take in the morning with the others or should I space out my supplements?

Does this sound like a reasonable supplement schedule? Other than vitamin D from my doctor I am trying to work it out myself and am not really sure whether I'm on the right track. I started all bar the vitamin D last week and haven't noticed any improvement in my symptoms yet. I feel so tired, particularly in the mornings and suffer with muscle twitches and hazy vision in my left eye which comes and goes every few months.

I also wondered once people have started on supplements whether they get their vitamin and mineral levels checked, how frequently, and whether they do this privately.

Thanks for any advice, this website is invaluable.

[Clutter]

Vic, I take all of my vitamins in one go straight after dinner. I've not seen anything to suggest they need to be evenly spaced throughout the day. Vitamin D and ferritin should be checked every 6-12 months when supplementing,ask your GP first, get private tests if GP declines. Don't expect to feel much improvement until you've been supplementing 6-8 weeks.

[Hidden]

Hello Vic98,

It is important to supplement nutrients as thyroid issues cause a lot of indirect problems with our gut and then in turn....malabsorption.

Your doctor will probably never test again but I think your supplements are an excellent choice and will be fine for long term use.

If this were me I would supplement for a year or two and then have a private comprehensive blood test to see exactly where I was.

Dr P & Dr Wilson are big advocates of vitamin E which I supplement myself. The other sups I would add for thyroid support are CoEnzyme 10, selenium and fish oil.

A good all rounder Adrenal support which incorporates all wonderful things is Dr Wilsons Super Adrenal Stress Formula. Although expensive, you only have to take one pill instead of dozens...!!

Depending on how many sups you end up taking, it may be better to split them into two for better absorption...(..breakfast & dinner..?..) but obviously keep iron four hours apart from Levo.

I take Vit C with my Levo first thing in the morning as there are reports stating it improves absorption. (See links below).

I take loads of sups as have had serious gut issues which I am sorting with very positive results. I shall review my sups and abandoned a load next year.

Supplements will take a while to work but long term should not only improve your general well being but use of your thyroid meds as well.

Flower

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/246...

endocrine.org/news-room/pre...

[Vic198 in reply to Hidden]

I like the sound of Dr Wilsons adrenal tablets. Have you tried them yourself and had good results? What dodage co enzyme 10, selenium and fish oil do you recommend? Thanks 😀

[Hidden in reply to Vic198]

Hello Vic,

Yes I was taking Dr Wilsons adrenal tablets and would highly recommend. They have 5-HTP in (amongst many other great things) which is serotonine and encourages well being and sleep. They also include Vit E with mixed tocopherols (the best) and selenium (although maybe not enough..?) and you should be aware .....a tiny bit of kelp which some may say is controversial when used in the treatment of Hashimotos disease.

My recent diagnosis of Haemochromotosis (See recent posts) has forced me to readjust my whole supplement regime.

I am not allowed Vit C with foods that contain iron as Vit C encourages absorption. This is actually torture for me because Vit C was my favourite supplement and now I am only allowed a small dose first thing in the morning away from foods. Dr Wilsons adrenal tablets contain a lot of lovely Vit C.

I take CoQ10 100 mg a day, Selenium 100mcg a day, Eskimo-3 Extra fish oil x 2 1000mg a day.

I take a huge amount of sups and do find them all difficult to manage some days. My whole existence seems to be ruled by pills...lol. Some I am hoping to lose next year but some I will have to supplement for life.

For instance Selenium is an antioxidant & essential for glutathione peroxidase production & activity. Both glutathione and selinium are essential in thyroid hormone production and a recent genetic test showed I am absent of the whole glutathione gene. This is unusual. My cousin is a professor of genetics at Birmingham University and was amazed. He thought this to be the reason why I have had so much trouble synthisizing thyroid hormones. I now supplement glutithione which is terribly expensive but have been told I can probably stop next year after thyroid hormones are stabilised but will need to supplement selenium for life.

Because of all my illness, I am under a nutritionist who works with my endo, is a Hashimoto suffer herself, and so understands thyroid and immune response problems. I would never have been able to sort all this out myself.

Flower007

Link for Dr Wilsons Super Adrenal Sress Formula

drwilsons.com/product-qa/qa...

[Vic198 in reply to Hidden]

Sorry to hear of your new diagnosis but I'm glad that you have a good supportive endo and nutritionist to support you. I am wondering whether to try and find someone to go to privately as its seems overwhelming trying to work it all out yourself. Did you get your genetic tests done privately too. I haven't tried any private blood tests yet. Thanks for the advice on the additional supplements. I will look at those too. I do hunk the adrenal support would be good as I feel so tired most of the day except for evenings!

[Hidden in reply to Vic198]

For details of sympathetic private & national health doctors and endos, that members have had positive experiences with, you can email Louise Warvill.

F

[e-mail]

[Treepie]

I take Nutri Shield which consists of 6 tablets/ capsules and the advice with it is to take with a meal,so I have with the main meal.I also have 1000iu vit C with the Levo usually around 6/7 am and between times 2500/5000 B12 over what's in the Nutri Shield.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Treepie]

Treepie, that's an interesting supplement, I'll make a note of it for when I have to re-stock on some of mine. I notice that there are Soy Isoflavones included, is this OK as I thought we hypos should avoid Soy.

[Treepie in reply to SeasideSusie]

Hi Susie,I raised this with the company ,also the form of B12( which the experts on this site say is the cheapest and less easily absorbed ) and the iodine.The Dr who created the company said excess iodine would be excreted, the B12 was bio organically( I think) the same and the soy isoflavines were not a problem.As Mandy Rice Davis said " He would sat that wouldn't he" .

I have gone ahead anyway. Expensive but no more than your daily broadsheet.

[Vic198 in reply to Treepie]

How long have you been on nutri shield? Have you noticed much improvement in your symptoms?

[Treepie in reply to Vic198]

I tried on and off interspersed with single pill multi vits plus other supplements and realised I was spending as much if not more with separate purchases. So now on third month of direct debit order which is a bit cheaper. I still take extra B12 of 2500/ 5000 iu a day.I split the pill and sometimes forget one half!

I have seen a tremendous improvement, but steady ,since June it's progressive not instantaneous, but as Grey Goose points out below what is cause and effect ? I do not know but right now I do not care.

[Vic198 in reply to Treepie]

Thanks for the info. Where do you buy yours from, Amazon? I am impatient too and just want to feel better and energetic. I find the whole working out what to take quite stressful to be honest and a one pill does it all seems much easier, but perhaps not the best thing for me. Such a shame we can't have good specialists to guide us with all of this! Really pleased you have seen improvement over the last few months 😀

[Treepie in reply to Vic198]

Hi Vic,

Jarrows B12 from Amazon.Nutri Shield direct .Check out their web site.Two options old fogies like me receive 6 pills/ capsules in a bag and 30 bags . There is a cheaper option for younger folk with less pills.

[greygoose]

Sorry, but it wasn't a very good idea to start them all at the same time. It's always best to introduce one thing at a time so that you know what's doing what. But even doctors forget that!

What exactly was your B12 level? Do you have the figures? Because 1000 mcg isn't a very high dose if your B12 was very low. You would need more like 5000.

As you're taking vit D3 and you're going to start zinc, you should also be taking magnesium, because they all work together. Then, you should start vit K2, because that combination is going to raise your calcium levels, and the K2 will make sure that calcium goes into the bones, and not the tissues.

Zinc and magnesium are best taken with your evening meal because zinc helps regulate evening cortisol, and magnesium makes you sleepy. The others you can take spread out over breakfast and lunch.

Have you thought about investigating vit A? Hypos are often short of vit A because they cannot process beta carotine. But do your research first.

[Vic198 in reply to greygoose]

Quite the cocktail now. Will look into your suggestions, thank you 😀 it's a minefield isn't it. Where do you learn all of this? I find the more I read the more stressed I get by it!

[greygoose in reply to Vic198]

Reading and talking to people. But what makes it so difficult is that new discoveries are being made every day, it's impossible to keep up. But it's been a special interest of mine since I nearly starved to death a couple of years ago. And anyone that says I had enough fat on me to last a couple of years, will be shoot through the head! lol Fat - or more likely water-weight - I had. Nutrients, I didn't.

You have to read everything several times, because a couple of weeks later you will have forgotten it. But if you read it often enough, some of it sticks.

[Vic198]

Thanks for all the great advice so far. The adrenal tablets sounds good and seem to include everything I am/ or are about to start taking. Maybe I will look at those for when I run out. I read that it isn't good to treat adrenal fatigue whilst on thyroxine. Is that not the case then or is that with different treatment. I haven't had my adrenals tested and think it may be a good idea as I have a lot of the symptoms.

My test for vitamin D was 39 a few months ago but has risen to 113 since taking mess from the Dr and a sunny holiday. My ferritin was 27 (10-200) and my B12 was 377.

I didn't start all the supplements at once. I started vitamin D a few months ago. I started the b vitamins and iron last week. I haven't started the zinc or vitamin e yet.

It's good to know that it takes a while to improve as I'd read that people feel instantly better on b12 but I haven't felt any change yet. Maybe a higher dose to start would be more effective.

[Hidden in reply to Vic198]

Vic, It is good to treat the adrenals whilst medicating on thyroxine.

Maybe you have read about adaptogens which can be used to treat adrenals but can interfere with thyroid function too.

Vitamins and minerals are vital,

Flower

[Treepie]

I did not notice quick improvement with B12 at 2500 iu ,and doubled up,but what had me really good was two weeks in the Canaries at 28- 33 % , much worse returning home to 15% only to improve again as the temp. Got higher. Now going down so will see......

But with a cocktail of vits and minerals I climbed four flights of stairs today a feat impossible 6months ago.

Grey Goose is correct in that only by changing one thing at a time can you know cause and effect but I had not the patience!