Vitamin advice please

[AlliBalli]

Hi again all,

I posted my results earlier this week and although my TSH is on the higher end of normal (4.18) my gp is satisfied that I'm well and is taking no further action at this time. 😖

I don't want to be at the mercy of an ill informed NHS gp so have decided to try and take some control back and make some lifestyle changes in the hope it alleviates some of my suffering.

Members have talked about b12 supplements, a good b complex, vitamin D and a thyroid health supplement. I'm unsure what doses of these supplements or whether any of these are likely to conflict with each other. Can taking too high a dose cause harm or does the body excrete all unused vitamins? Would I require a multivitamin still if taking these supplements?

As you can see I'm fairly vitamin illiterate!! Any advice would be gratefully received, as ever. Some recommendations on brands that work for others would also be appreciated.

Thanks and best wishes

Allison

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

AlliBalli  - some vitamins are water soluble and you will pee out any excess so you can't overdose on those. Some are fat soluble so excess is stored rather than excreted, so you need to be careful with those.

One way to remember the fat soluble vitamins is the letters K-E-D-A

Vitamin K

Vitamin E

Vitamin D

Vitamin A

The above four vitamins are fat soluble, and the remainder are water soluble.

B Complex and B12 are water soluble so no problem there. One thing to watch out for is your folate level as B Complex can raise that so you don't want your folate to go sky high.

Vit D is fat soluble so you need to keep your eye on your levels, City Assays do a Vit D test for £28, quick and easy as it's a finger prick test. You should test to see where you are now, then about 4 months after starting supplements to see where your level is then, and adjust dose accordingly.

If you are taking Vit D you should also take Vit K2. Vit D aids calcium absorption and K2 directs the calcium to bones and teeth rather than the soft tissues and organs.

If you are taking selenium generally recommended not to take more than 150mg -200mg per day.

You could really do with knowing your current levels of vits and mins to know what dose to take. Blue Horizon do Thyroid plus Ten which will test B12, folate and ferritin levels as well as thyroid tests, and then you could get the Vit D done with City Assays.

[Heloise]

Hi Allison,  I think you are wise to be careful about taking in any substance but when you have metabolism problems and associated digestive problems, we may have to supplement what we aren't retaining from food.....if, in fact, our food has nutrients we expect.   I use a B complex called B-Right because it has methyl folate as opposed to synthetic folic acid and a methyl B12.  it's by Jarrow.  I also like Doctor's Best chelated Magnesium which the adrenals need and most people are low.   I don't think you have to worry about overdosing.  I use a powdered vitamin C and sprinkle it in drinks also supports you adrenal glands.  Thorne is also a good company as well.  If you take extra B12 which you probably should, get a sublingual methylcobalamin.   D3/K2 makes up for not getting enough sun.  I think your doctor should allow that test as the importance of D can't be overestimated. 

Allison, a TSH of 4.8 is not good.  How do you feel and what do you think you would like to do?

[AlliBalli in reply to Heloise]

Hi Heloise,

Thanks for the reply, the vitamin side of things is quite complicated so don't want to risk getting it wrong and feeling worse!

I feel extremely unwell, my doctor wants to pass my symptoms off as anxiety and/or depression as I had a baby 6 months ago so I'm unsure of what else to do. He wanted to give me a prescription for anti depressants before I convinced him to do the blood test.

I don't know where to go from here, I thought if I get a good vitamin complex and possibly even cut gluten from my diet I might feel a bit better at least? The NHS makes you feel so helpless!!

Thanks

[Heloise in reply to AlliBalli]

Because you are in an area of which doctors know very little.  I'll post a short video so you can understand, though they should have some knowledge of how hormones work.  If you have Hashimoto's, going gluten free might be very helpful.

Now that you say you have given birth, I wonder if this may be temporary but anything over a TSH of 2 puts you in the autoimmune territory....possibly.   He should do further testing of FT4 and FT3. Try to get them.

You can very safely take vitamin C and magnesium glycinate and omega 3 and probably should.  You do want to support your adrenal glands.  You could be have an iron deficiency as well.  These are the levels recommended. stopthethyroidmadness.com/l...

youtube.com/watch?v=ZNKd0ic...(Not working as expected?)

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to AlliBalli]

AlliBalli   A multi vitamin isn't really the best way to go. They don't really contain enough of any one particular vitamin to be of help if you are deficient, that's why it's been advised that you get tested and then you can supplement what you need.

The better supplements are the ones that are the most bioavailable, so that's one word to look out for when deciding which brand, 'food state' is another. The most easily absorbable form will do the most good. They are more expensive but you tend to get what you pay for.

Some good brands are Cytoplan (also Nature's Own is the same company so you could check theirs). Nutri Advanced is another brand. Thorne. Lamberts (also Nature's Best is the same company, same products a bit cheaper).

Solgar and Jarrow are popular brands for sublingual B12.

But before you do anything you need to know what you need to supplement, that way you won't waste money on unnecessary supplements.