Hi, I have suffered with underactive thryroid for 8 years and my GP has treated this with levothryoxine. Whichever dose I am on, I suffer with chronic fatigue and my hair has been falling out. This has been getting worse over the years and I finally have an endocrinology appointment. I was taking liothyronine a few years ago but had to stop as pharmacies in my local area couldn't get hold of it. This seemed to make a difference in my wellbeing and removed some of the 'brain fog'. After recently requesting to be put on this again, I was told it was too expensive and they can't just give it to me now.
What sort of questions/tests would people recommend asking an endocrinologist about? I feel this is probably my one and only opportunity to speak to an expert and want to make it worthwhile. The GPs are reluctant to run blood tests for anything other than T4, and I would also be keen to investigate potential contributors to my hair loss. Thank you in advance x
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18 Replies
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Hello sayhitocaz,
Welcome to our forum and sorry to hear that you are not feeling well.
Many of our members do not do well on Levothyroxine alone but many (including myself ) have seen a distinct improvement with the addition of Liothyronine. ..
I would (try to) insist on having T3 levels blood tested as this may give a clearer picture as to why you feel so bad. I suffered terribly brain fog when medicating T4 alone.
Supplementing Selenium is known to aid the conversion of thyroid hormones T4 -T3 as listed below... there are also many other contributory factors regarding thyroid hormone synthesising..
Many members use private thyroid hormone testing labs and post results for other members to comment ..
This following link explains the importance of vitamins and where they may be obtained. This forum is supported by the charity ThyroidUK. You do not have to join the charity to benefit from this forum but by doing so you will be supporting the charity and also entitled to various discounts when buying supplements, as detailed in the link below.
Hair loss can be a deficiency in hormones or nutrient levels . Be sure you attain optimal nutrient & iron levels for thyroid hormone to synthesis. //
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substituted for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.
Thanks that's really helpful I will check this out- I had never heard of selenium, so will definitely bring this up at the appointment and get my T3 levels checked. Thanks again
• in reply to
Evidence that selenium works..
I don't suppose the endo will do much though.. we usually just buy our own.
Members will have to send you a private message if they have information for you as it is not permitted to post on the open forum for prescription medications.
Reading this I remembered I bought some Selenium, but haven't really taken it regularly or for a while now.
I note the link you provided for the article by STTM says:
'Selenium comes in many forms. Most selenium supplements are selenium yeast, selenomethionine, selenite and selenate. Selenite and selenate are both inorganic forms of selenium and have an absorption rate of about 50%. This unfortunately, increases the chance of selenium toxicity. For this reason alone, organic forms of selenium, such as selenium yeast or selenomethionine, are safer and are more readily absorbed. In fact, organic forms of selenium are the only way to raise serum levels of selenium within the body.'
Inevitably (!) this has confused me. The product I have is by Health Plus, Mineral Selenium suitable for Vegans, but doesn't say it's organic. It seems to be described as Selenium (Sodium Selenite) with other trace ingredients. It doesn't mention selenomethionine and says it's yeast free.
Any idea whether this is suitable? Got myself in a bit if a pickle before when I supplemented various Vitamin B's and D as my levels became too high so stopped taking them......don't want to get this wrong.
I didn't mean to provide that STTM link. That is giving info on the connection between iodine and selenium. No wonder you were confused.. I am so sorry..! ! ..
There is evidence that organic selenium is better absorbed in the small intestine than the synthetic chemical form.
Therefore .. just take a selenium supplement from a premium company such as Solgar, Biocare, Nutri Advanced, Lamberts, etc to ensure quality.
Most supplement 100mcg a day.
I am supplementing 200mcg as am chelating re mercury removal and Selenium has been shown to activate antioxidant defence and bind heavy metal ions.
Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.
Hi I'm alternating 125 and 150mg every other day. Not sure what my levels are but will hopefully find out blood results on Friday x
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Good luck- hope you get the results you are hoping for. This dose made me feel the most human but still feel lousy so fingers crossed for T3 in the future!
Good idea to ask for B12, ferritin, folate and VitD to be checked too. My Vit D levels were found to be low when I saw the endocrinologist. Low B12 often accompanies underactive thyroid. MariLiz
Will do! I asked for these to be tested by GP but was refused saying they don't carry out these tests (pretty sure they could if they wanted to!!) hey ho!
Of course they can get these tests done, they're just too lazy to, in case anything is picked up. If that happens, maybe they'd have more work to do! It is possible to pay privately for these tests, several labs do them. Have a look on the Internet, or maybe someone on here can recommend one in a private message to you. MariLiz
Go and see Dr.Peatfield - type his name into google and he comes up - ignore all the ridiculous counter-stuff about how he operates...he is brilliant. He will put you right after one visit (expensive) but its worth every penny. After years of misery, one visit sorted everything and I've been well since for years.
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