Hi all! Full blood tests at end of post but starting with my questions! I am hypothyroid taking 100mcg of levothyroxine. As this thread has become really long I'm going to start a second about my other vitamins etc (will add link!)
So I had a recent blood test which shows that my vitamin D is still deficient (72, range 75 - 500). I can definitely feel the negative difference that not taking vitamin d is having, so I went back to the doctor today to discuss it. Whilst he has given me a further 3 months of 1600iu per day, he wasn't overly happy about doing so as I'm so close to being in range.
The first Vit D result I have is 26/03/15 when it was 86 (and I think I was taking the Betteryou DLUX 3000 spray) and it then dropped to 61 on 16/07/2015. I was put on Hux D3 40,000 units per week for 8 weeks, which then took my vit D to 65 on 15/10/2015, after which I was switched to 1600 units per day. I was on this until end of June which has only managed to raise my Vit D level from 65 to 72 (lower end of range 75). I just can't think that this rate of increase is what it's meant to be?!
The Doc has suggested I do a further 3 months of 1600iu and then retest mid January which will "give us a more accurate picture due to the time of year". I suggested that he combine the 8 weeks of 40,000 iu and the daily 1600iu treatment types, but that is not recommended practice and he doesn't want to put me into overdose/toxicity and that they can't monitor that because they don't test while you're taking the vitamins. I did suggest that they test it during the course but that comment seems to have been overlooked.
He also says that if it's still low on retest in January he'd then go on to investigate other factors to see if they're an issue such as parathyroid (which was 3.4 on 11/9/15 and 8.5 on 15/10/16 [range 1.5 - 7.6]), serum albumin (41gl on 10/9/15 & 15/10/15 [range 35- 50]) and serum alkaline phosphatase (serum inorganic phosphate was 1.18 mmol/l on 10/9/15 and 1.1 on 15/10/15 [0.8 - 1.5], alkaline phosphatase was 171 iu/l on 10/9/15 and 173 on 15/10/15). To me the albumin and phosphatase readings don't suggest that I have any liver or kidney problems, and I think the parathyroid issue was treated as my calcium levels are back in range.
My current dilemma is whether I follow only the Doc's treatment plan and then undergo the further tests to see why I'm not digesting the vitamins, or if I go ahead and treat myself with some extra vitamin D in order to bring my levels up to around 100/150 (which I think is what is recommended and if anyone can direct me to any papers saying so I'd be most appreciative!). I don't want to mask any other problems that might exist by taking my treatment into my own hands, but I also want to get better... What would you advise? I have IBS and other gastrointestinal issues anyway so I do think absorption is an issue for me!
I am currently taking
the following:
- Levothyroxine 100mcg (increased 4/7/16 from 75mcg)
- Vit D 1600iu colecalciferol
- H&B Calcium 333.3mg , Magnesium 133.3mg & Zinc 8.3mg
- Sainsbury's Evening Primrose Oil 1000mg
- Betteryou multivitamin spray (methyl b12 6mcg, d3 400iu, folic acid 400mcg, selenium 75mcg, b1 1.1mg b2 1.4mg k1 75mcg, b7 50mcg, iodine 150mcg, b5 6mg, a 600iu, b3 8mg, c 20mg)
- H&B Iron 14mg & Vit C 60mg
( I am looking to change my vitamin/mineral sources and amounts but will ask those questions on a separate thread due to length of this one!)
Recent results
26/3/15 16/7/15 11/9/15 15/10/15 2/8/15
TSH [0.2 - 4.0] 2.1 4.5 3.8 2.2 0.47
FT4 [10.0 - 20.0] 13.9 9.1 14.8 - -
Parathyroid [1.5 - 7.6] - - 3.4 8.5 -
Vit D [75 - 500] 86 61 - 65 72
Magnesium [0.7 - 1.0] 0.91 - - - 0.9
B12 [211 - 911] 390 423 419 - 440
Folate [5.4 - 24] 6.5 14.4 - - 13.9
Ferritin [10 - 322] 46 47 - - 81
Calcium [2.2 - 2.6] - - 2.29 2.17 2.39
Thank you all in advance for wading through this lot!