Supplement help....

[Paolatello]

Ok so I have Hashimotos - currently not on medication as I'm "within range" although I feel awful at times and my TPO antibodies are out of range

Anyway, I want to start taking supplements- please can you guys advise what I should take.....

These are my results:

TSH 0.27 (0.3-3.0)

Free T4 15 (12-22)

Free T3 5.4 (3.2-6.8)

TPO 77 (>35)

Folate 15.6 (4.60-18.70)

Ferritin 55 (15-300)

B12 300 (180-700)

Also, can I take folic acid?

[Clutter]

Paolatello, B12 is low, PA Society say 1,000 is optimal. Supplement 1,000mcg methylcobalamin daily and take a B Complex vitamin to keep the other B vitamins balanced. Folate is good, you don't need to supplement in addition to the B Complex which has a small dose of folic acid.

Ferritin is optimal >100 through to half way in range. Supplement iron and take each tablet with 500mg-1,000mg vitamin C to aid absorption and minimise constipation.

You might like to supplement 200mcg selenium which is good for thyroid.

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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.

[Paolatello in reply to Clutter]

Brilliant thank you Clutter - that is exactly what I need! Is this something I should continue forever or for how long?

[Clutter in reply to Paolatello]

Paolatello, B12 forever probably as levels drop as we age. Iron until ferritin is optimal. Retest in six months as too much iron is as bad as too little.

[Paolatello in reply to Clutter]

Thanks!

[shaws Administrator]

If you have antibodies Dr Toft says levo can be started. If you email [e-mail] for a copy of the Pulse article read the part about treating due to the antibodies.

[Paolatello in reply to shaws]

Thank you for that information - neither my GP nor my Endo will consider treatment for me at the moment. My antibodies fluctuate and have been as high as 1140, but the doctors claim antibodies are irrelevant if bloods are within range so for now I just have to suffer! They keep telling me that I just have anxiety, but does anxiety only come on random occasions?? No! Plus I also have night sweats, carpal tunnel syndrome, insomnia, thyroid swelling and pain, nightmares, palpitations, shakiness and jittery, frequent bowel movements plus 5 years ago my bloods were very hyper! Still they don't do anything for me

[shaws Administrator in reply to Paolatello]

I don't understand what they are talking above because Dr Toft said in his question/answer article in Pulse Online (the doctors magazine) and he was the President of the British Thyroid Association and is also Consultant to the Queen when she is in Scotland:-

2 I often see patients who have an elevated TSH but normal T4. How should I be managing them?

The combination of a normal serum T4 and raised serum TSH is known as subclinical hypothyroidism. If measured, serum T3 will also be normal. Repeat the thyroid function tests in two or three months in case the abnormality represents a resolving thyroiditis.

But if it persists then antibodies to thyroid peroxidase should be measured. If these are positive – indicative of underlying autoimmune thyroid disease – the patient should be considered to have the mildest form of hypothyroidism.

In the absence of symptoms some would simply recommend annual thyroid function tests until serum TSH is over 10mU/l or symptoms such as tiredness and weight gain develop. But a more pragmatic approach is to recognise that the thyroid failure is likely to become worse and try to nip things in the bud rather than risk loss to follow-up.

Treatment should be started with levothyroxine in a dose sufficient to restore serum TSH to the lower part of its reference range. Levothyroxine in a dose of 75-100µg daily will usually be enough."

The above is the excerpt from the link I posted earlier.

[Paolatello in reply to shaws]

I think the issue is that all my numbers are within range and also my TSH is low! I don't understand it myself! When I was first diagnosed my TSH was 0.01 and my Free T4 was well above range plus I had antibodies but now all my numbers are within limits except my antibodies. I have never had an elevated TSH which I find strange with Hashimotos. I also have a 3cm nodule which has been biopsied twice both times it bled and the results came back inconclusive- it's all so confusing but what I do know is that I don't feel good! Every day I feel different

[shaws Administrator in reply to Paolatello]

I hope you can get sorted out properly because when we feel quite unwell we do want a proper response/treatment from the doctors.

[Paolatello in reply to shaws]

Thanks Shaws!

[Paolatello]

Thank you! The thing is I'm not technically hypothyroid - does that make a difference?

[Paolatello]

Completely agree, I have elevated antibodies so I know I have Hashimotos but why would my TSH always be low rather than high? My free T4 is also pretty low at 15 (range 12-22)

[Paolatello]

But I had my pituitary checked and it's fine, plus I have TPO antibodies so it must be autoimmune

[Paolatello]

Wow! Really? This is all so complicated

[Hidden]

Great Idea x