Was not feeling great and also tightness in throat so went back to my doctor to ask for blood tests again. Results came back as T4 11, TSH 10 so doctor increased levothyroxine from 50mg to 100mg. That was nearly 6 weeks ago and am due to get a blood test at the end of this week before seeing the doctor again. A couple of weeks ago I was feeling even worse, absolutely exhausted, so decided to go for the Blue Horizon Plus Ten so that I could get T3 results as doctor said they don't do them. Got the results back today.
CRP 2.9 <5.0
Ferritin 52.0 20-150
TSH 0.36 0.27-4.20
Total T4 108.5 64.5-142.0
Free T4 19.4 12-22
Free T3 6.01 3.1-6.8
Anti-Thyroidperoxidase abs H 550.7 <34
Anti-Thyroglobulin Abs 82.9 <115
Vitamin B12 287 Deficient <140
Insufficient 140-250
Consider reducing dose >725
Serum Folate 26.99 10.4-42.4
Antibodies were 388 in January.
Obviously antibodies have increased, not sure what this means and I think ferritin is a bit low but think the rest might be ok, would appreciate advice on the results.
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Jay23
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Vitamin B12 should be at or near the highest level. Get some methylcobalamin lozenges, either Jarrow or Solgar from Amazon.
Finally you don't have a vitamin D result. Go to thyroidUk.org.uk and click on testing and find City Assays. Then take one of their tests if you haven't had one in the past year. You want a level of around 100nmol/L to be optimal.
Also you should consider going gluten free if you aren't already.
Thanks, my doctor did vitamin D in May and I was deficient, was given a month of tablets, have continued to buy them myself. Was wondering about Gluten free, is this something that my doctor could check? I've got the Jarrow B12.
If you have Hashimotos the advice on here it to go gluten free as it is likely you will end up with coeliac or other bowel disease at some point. However the test may come back negative even though you are having gut problems.
In addition grain free diets, commonly called low carb, are recommended for everyone regardless of their gut and cholesterol status as diets full of grain e.g. bread, cereals is one reason why everyone in the West is getting fatter.
Your thyroid hormone test results are really good. You have adequate levels of T3, T4 & TSH is still within range. Sometimes symptoms can lag behind good biochemistry by several weeks or remain if meds aren't working as they should. Increasing Vit B12 & iron should help. Jarrows B12 is good but are you also supplementing any iron ?
Sometimes thyroid antibodies will reduce with optimal hormone replacement but supplementing selenium may help and a gluten free diet. Also Apple Cider Vinegar or Betaine HCL can help with absorption problems if you have gut issues.
Adequate Vit D is important, especially with raised antibodies as is an immune system modulator. Vit D can take a while to build so supplementing for month may not have been sufficient to deal with your deficiency. Many members supplement D3 with added K2.
Jay23 Positive antibodies means you have autoimmune thyroiditis aka Hashimoto's disease. Hashimoto's isn't treated, it's the resulting hypothyroidism that is treated and it's good that you are already on Levo. What you need to do is educate yourself about Hashi's. The antibodies will continue to attack your thyroid until it is destroyed. The attacks will fluctuate and so will your symptoms. To help yourself you need to try and reduce the attacks and many members find that a strict gluten free diet helps as gluten is a trigger for the antibodies, also supplementing with selenium can help reduce attacks.
Your vitamins and minerals all need to be at optimal levels for thyroid hormone to work. Your ferritin is too low, it needs to be at least 70, 100+ would be better. You need to take an iron supplement and with each dose of iron take 1000mg of Vit C to aid absorption and help reduce the risk of constipation.
Your B12 is very low, the Pernicious Anaemia Society recommends 1000. Supplement with Solgar or Jarrows sublingual methylcobalamin lozenges 5000mcg and when level is good reduce to 1000mcg as a maintenance dose.
When taking B12 you need to take a B Complex to balance the B Vits.
Your folate is about half way through range so that is OK.
Your thyroid results look good at the moment. The aim for a treated hypo patient is for TSH to be 1 or below or wherever it is needed for FT4 and FT3 to be in the upper part of their ranges, which is where all yours are. Don't allow your GP to tell you that you are over medicated because your TSH is low in range, if he wants to reduce your dose then tell him that FT3 is in range (which is the important one) as is FT4. You would only be over medicated if your FT3 went over range.
If your Vit D was classed as deficient then you should have had more than one month's worth of a supplement. I see you are continuing with a supplement you have bought yourself. It might be that you need a big dose like 5,000iu daily until your level is up to 100+ and then you could drop down to 1000 or 2000iu daily as a maintenance dose. When taking D3 you also need K2. Vit D aids absorption of calcium and K2 directs calcium to bones and teeth rather than arteries and soft tissues. Look for K2-MK7.
SeasideSusie, When I got the original results of the antibodies I asked the doctor if it was Hashimoto’s and she said not necessarily!!
I am starting to feel better than I was, felt horrendous a couple of weeks ago and that was three weeks after increasing the dose that is why I wanted to get the T3 checked as well and got it done before going back to the doctor next week (didn’t think the results would come back to quick, posted them on Monday and got an e-mail Tuesday at 6.30pm, fantastic service from Blue Horizon), got a blood test at the doctors surgery on Friday so will be able to see how they compare, shouldn’t be much of a difference with only a few days apart.
Thanks for all the advice and links, not had time to read them all but read the first couple and will read the others today.
I'm vegetarian so that might also be a reason why some of the vitamins are low.
I’ve got my shopping list ready for vitamins, could you have a check and see if I have got the right things please.
Doctor also wants me to start on HRT, will this have an effect on Levothyroxine and readings? Am seeing her next week and will discuss this with her again as not sure.
Thanks again for all the advice, really appreciate it.
You've been a busy girl (gets expensive doesn't it )
Lazy way of answering:
B12 amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00... - Fine
B Complex amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00... - Fine
Iron amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00... Are these strong enough, should I take more than one? - Fine and I think with your level of ferritin (52) you might be OK to take just one. If you are planning to re-test at some time just see how much it's improved, aim for at least 70, possibly 100. If you could possibly eat liver once a fortnight that will boost iron too. Take each iron supplement with 1000mg Vit C to aid absorption and help prevent constipation.
Selenium amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00... - Fine
K2 amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00... - Fine, take your K2 at a different time of day to the D3, and take with some dietary fat
Betaine Hydrochloride amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00... - Fine, as these are tablets make sure you take with plenty of water, you don't want them getting stuck and the acid being released before it reaches your stomach.
I already have D3 5000iu amazon.co.uk/Strength-Chole... - Fine, take with dietary fat
Should I also add Zinc? amazon.co.uk/Gluconate-Tabl... I'm really not that well up on Zinc. I do know that it's usually advised that zinc and copper should be taken in balance. My zinc was on the low side when I was tested and I bought a zinc/copper combined supplement. You might want to ask in another thread about this.
HRT - I'm not it's biggest fan and if I had have had to consider it I would have been researching bioidentical HRT not synthetic. Just my opinion, one of those things that is a personal decision and I think needs a lot of research. It probably wont have an effect on Levo as long as you treat it like all other supplements - take 2 hours away from Levo, iron and Vit D 4 hours.
As far as your antibodies and Hashi's are concerned, it seems that a lot of doctors know as much about this as my son who is a ceramic tiler! I think hypothyroidism is thought of as an easy to treat condition by a lot of the medical profession, shame they can't have a temporary dose of it and see what it feels like!
Hi SeasideSusie, I got the results from my doctor back, the ones I got from BH were take on the Monday and the doctor's ones were taken on the Friday.
BH - TSH 0.36 and T4 19.4 (others as well that are listed above)
Doctors - TSH 0.17 and T4 19
She wants to check again in 6-8 weeks to see that I am not over medicated. Antibodies had increased to 550 from January which were 388 but she did not understand if these fluctuated at certain times but I asked if I could be tested for coeliac and she has agree to do that at the next blood test. My Dad has dermatitis herpetiformis so is on a gluten free diet which is maybe why it was so easy to get it done.
Jay23 What's the doctor's ranges? (I know the BH ones and they're in your original post anyway)
When you next have your GP tests, don't let her tell you that you are over medicated if your FT4 is still in range or if your TSH is suppressed. If she insists, then insist on a FT3 test as that is the one that's important.
Be ready with this information (the bit in bold):
Dr Toft, past president of the British Thyroid Association and leading endocrinologist, wrote this in a Pulse Online magazine article:
"The appropriate dose of levothyroxine is that which restores euthyroidism and serum TSH to the lower part of the reference range - 0.2-0.5mU/l.
In this case, free thyroxine is likely to be in the upper part of its reference range or even slightly elevated – 18-22pmol/l. Most patients will feel well in that circumstance.
But some need a higher dose of levothyroxine to suppress serum TSH and then the serum-free T4 concentration will be elevated at around 24-28pmol/l.
This 'exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism' is not dangerous as long as serum T3 is unequivocally normal – that is, serum total around T3 1.7nmol/l (reference range 1.0-2.2nmol/l)."
If you email louise.warvill@thyroiduk.org.uk she will let you have a copy of the article which you can print out and show your GP.
.....she did not understand if these fluctuated at certain times....
Yes, well she doesn't know much about Hashi's then. Antibodies fluctuate willy nilly, there's no set pattern, if they feel like having a party then they will. Certain things will trigger them such as gluten, as I said before.
However, I see you are having a coeliac test. You don't have to have positive results for coeliac, you can have negative results but still be gluten intolerant. And for a Hashi's patient gluten is a no-no. The only benefit of being diagnosed coeliac is that you may get gluten free foods on prescription, but I think that may be withdrawn soon if not already. I've heard that a lot of gluten free stuff (bread etc) tastes yucky anyway!
Hi SeasideSusie , got the latest results from my doctor yesterday. T4 is 15 and TSH 0.05 so T4 is down a bit from a couple of months ago but I am feeling a lot better than I have in a long time, that might also have something to do with all the supplements I have been taking. I also got the results from the coeliac testing and they were negative, range was over 20 would be positive and I was only 1.9 I think it was so not even borderline so glad about that. As I know the T4 has gone down I will go back at the slightest sign that I feel I am going backwards again.
Jay23 Good to hear you are feeling better. Do you think you are optimally medicated? You haven't mentioned your doctor's range but your FT4 could be higher depending on range.
It's good that you are not coeliac but you don't have to be coeliac to be gluten sensitive. Plus it doesn't matter of you are coeliac or not, going gluten free will help reduce the antibody attacks.
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