Diagnosed with Hashimoto Thyroiditis - Advice Needed from all you knowledgeable people !!

[Haider5]

Hello All,

I have been visiting and reading tons of posts here for last month or so and learnt a great deal of information from this site so finally decided to join to be a part of the community.

I am a 37 year old male. I had been feeling tired, depressed, lifeless and lethargic for a long time so got lots of blood tests done recently. The FBC was normal as was the KFT, LFT, PSA etc. Other results which were not so normal are given below:

TSH 5.7 (0.27 - 4.2)

FT4 16.64 pmol/L (10.6 - 22.7)

FT3 5.4 pmol/L (3.4 - 6.8)

Anti-TPO 88 UI/mL (< 34)

TSH and Anti-TPO - were OUT of Range (above).

ESR 44 mm/h ( < 15)

CRP 0.228 mg/dl (< 0.5)

Cholestrol Total 219.2 mg/dl (per range, it is borderline High)

Cholestrol LDL 156.4 mg/dl (per range, it is borderline High)

Lipid Total 719 mg/dl (400-700)

I also had "Serum Protein Electrophoresis (SPE)" blood test which was ever so slightly out of range too. (Other hormones like FSH, LH, Free Test, SHBG, Estradiol, Total Test, Prolactin etc are totally Normal).

Endocrinologist also performed a thyroid ultrasound following the results and said that my glands look "TIRED" (no other abnormality was found apart from that). I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Hypothyroiditis and prescribed "Euthyrox 25mcg" first thing every morning for 3 months initially (which i have been taking for 3 weeks now).

In addition to Euthyrox 25mcg/day, i am also currently taking :

1000mg Vitamin C

1000iu Vitamin D3,

Omega-3 EPA & DHA 950 mg, and

Centrum Performance - Multivitamin daily

I am taking the above multivitamins and minerals 4 hours after my Thyroid pill (with meal). I exercise around 45 mins 3-4 times a week. I have not noticed any remarkable difference in my tiredness and depression, so my questions are as follows:

1) is the diagnosis correct according to you guys/ladies?

2) i was quite concerned at my elevated blood levels but the endocrinologist said that my high ESR of 44, high cholestrol and lipid levels are all as a results of Hypothyroid (according her, if CRP was elevated, that would have been a cause of concern but it's normal) - is that correct?

3) My minimally "out of range" Serum Protein Electrophoresis (SPE) results are also due to hyothyroidism - is that correct?

4) i am also thinking of taking Probiotics on a daily basis as i feel bloated most of the time after eating for few hours - has anyone done that? if so, does it help? which brand to choose? or is it to do with your digestive system only and nothing to do with thyroid?

5) anything else i should be doing or taking?

i am also thinking of running some vitamin, mineral blood tests to see exactly how deficient i am, would that help? has anyone done that?

any comments/advice is welcome..

thank you for reading my post

"Haider"

[bluebug]

Have you actually had your vitamin D level tested? If not why are you taking 1,000IU of D3?

Have you had your ferritin(iron), folate and vitamin B12 levels tested? If so edit your post to put the result and ranges as these vitamins and minerals plus vitamin D levels are important for thyroid function. If you haven't then get them tested and start a new post as we will tell you if they are optimal.

Also taking a multivitamin is a waste of money. The amounts of vitamins and minerals in them are not sufficient if you are deficient in any of them and many of the ingredients interact with each other e.g. iron interacts with calcium meaning you absorb no iron.

As you are just starting dosing for your thyroid don't expect to feel better immediately it takes about 6 weeks.

Also stop exercising until you don't feel tired. Instead do something gentle like walking. Heavy exercise while tired isn't going to help you.

I would post you some links from the mean site but it's been hacked.

[Hidden]

Hi, Whenever I see someone say they are taking Vitamin D (Vit D3 is the correct one ) and/or calcium, I always have to recommend taking K2 mk7... If you don't VitD and Calcium can end up in your blood stream!!! I know. K2 mk7 and Magnesium (not with Oxide) help to get the Vit D and Calcium into your bones. I totally agree about taking pro biotics and pre biotics. At present I get mine from Healthspan, but am shopping around too. You do have Hashimotos and will most definitely benefit from going Gluten Free. Since doing so myself and supplementing Selenium 200mcg daily for the last 9 months, as decreased my level of antibodies. It's been slow but worth it.

I wish you all the best .

[Lavender-Blue]

Hello

I am supplementing with Organic Dulse which is Seaweed. Seaweed is high in Iodine, something that is vital for our own ability to produce thyroxin. It is also hi in iron and b12 and other vital minerals.

I also digest Organic whey powder to get all essential amino acids, tyrosine is vital for the body to carry essentials around the body.

I learned that levothyroxine has four iodine molecules in it! Is levo simply a synthetic iodine replacement?

Dr Guy Abrahams work is interesting.

we used to have iodine in bakery products but no more! With pesticides the soil may not be iodine rich hence deficiency in foods and hence the body.

I was kindly given a trial of armour. My pains disappeared but I felt my mood change and got hoody eyes.

I am seeing the endocrinologist on Friday to discuss future options if any.

I am tempted to try Thyro gold, does anyone have experience of this?

K

[Haider5]

thank you for replying to my post with useful info and advice guys.

@bluebug:

thanks for replying. Yes, I have had some tests done in relation to vitamins etc good few months ago. here are some:

Vitamin B12 414ng/L (200-900)

serum folate level 8.5ng/L (2-17)

vitamin D 67nmol/L (75-200)

serum calcium level 2.34nmol/L (2.1-2.6)

corrected serum calcium 2.26nmol/L (2.1-2.6)

Ferritin 182.4ng/mL (30-400)

Also Centrum Performance (the multi i am on) does not have calcium otherwise it would interact as you rightly said above. Actually it does not have any vitamins and/or minerals that interact with each other so its quite safe that way.

@Mango_555:

thanks for wonderful advice and confirming the diagnosis.

1) Is vitamin K2 MK7 the same as Vitamin K? as i am already taking 25mcg of vitamin K in my multivitamin. Do i need to be supplementing further with Vitamin K2 MK7? if so, at what amount per day?

2) at present, my MV contains 75mcg of Selenium but i will increase it to equate 200mcg per day from now. Also will be starting Probiotics with MV and minerals daily now.

@modfather:

thanks for your comments.

Organic Dulse (seawood) sounds interesting so will do some research on it.

[Haider5]

Also l would be running the following tests again once i have been on Euthyrox for 6 weeks. Let me know if i need to add anything to add to these blood tests please?

Vitamin B12 active,

Vitamin D 25 OH,

Folate Serum

Iodine,

Magnesium

Selenium

Calcium

Corrected calcium

Iron

TIBC

Cholesterol and Lipid profile

Copper

Zinc

albumin

and obviously:

TSH, FT3, FT4, Anti TPO

also the Multivitamin i am taking already has 70mcg of Selenium.

Now do i add another 200mcg of Selenium daily to it, making it 270mcg/daily or add another 100mcg to it, making it 170mcg daily?

thanks in advance guys..

[Haider5 in reply to Haider5]

can anyone shed light on the above?