I have been using 50 mcg thyroxine for about 5 months and although it helped a bit at the beginning my symptoms are now awful again š
Hair loss
Dry skin/ exzema all over face
Muscle and joint pain
Massive water retention and weight gain
Very tearful
Bleeding gums
My consultant said it was just stress causing this which didn't help
So because he only ever tested tsh and also antibodies never t3 or Crp or the others that I read on here that people said were useful I got a blue horizon test
Crp 0.30
Ferritin 44.3
Tsh 0.56
T4 total 110.7
Free t4 17.09
Free t3 4.62
Anti thyroid peroxidase abs 8.3
Antithyroglobin abs 409.7
Vit b12 340
Serum folate 11.12
Do these look OK to any of you that know what they are looking at?!
Would be very grateful if someone could let me know!
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Dsdc
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Well I'd really like to know if with these results the consultant who keeps telling me I'm
Just stressed and there's nothing wrong and just carry on with 50mcg will perhaps suggest increasing meds or adding t3 or suggesting a supplement that could help
The hair loss weight gain pain in joints depression etc
It would have helped the other members if you had quoted the ranges, however I do know the Blue Horizon ranges so can tell you that your ferritin is low. The range is 20-150 and you need to be half way through range which is 85. Thyroid hormone can't work until ferritin reaches at least 70 and low ferritin can cause hair loss. You need an iron supplement which should be taken with 1000mg Vit C to help avoid constipation and to aid absorption. Take iron 4 hours away from thyroid hormone.
B12 is too low. The Pernicious Anaemia Society recommends 1000. You shoukd supplement with Solgar or Jarrows sublingual methylcobalamin lozenges 5000mcg daily for about 3 months then reduce to 1000mcg as a maintenance dose.
Your folate is too low, the range is 10.4-42.4 and it should be at least half way through range so that's 26+. When supplementing with B12 we should also take a B Complex to balance the B vits. Thorne Basic B or Jarrows B Right both contain 400mcg methylfolate which will help raise your folate level.
Find out what your Vit D level was, it needs to be 100-150. Low Vit D can cause aches and pains.
Once you have all your vitamins and minerals at their optimal levels then your thyroid hormone has a better chance of working properly.
Your TSH is good at 0.56 (0.27-4.2)
FT4 at 17.09 (12-22) is only half way through range and would be better around in the upper third so around 19+
Your FT3 at 4.62 (3.1-6.8) is low, better would be in the upper quarter so around 5.9+
You will need an enlightened endo or GP to increase your Levo, most dose by TSH and ignore the FT4 and FT3.
Your TPO antibodies are negative but your TG antibodies are high so positive for autoimmune thyroid disease aka Hashimoto's. To help reduce antibody attacks you should adopt a 100% gluten free diet. Gluten contains gliadin which is a protein which triggers antibody attacks. Also supplementing with selenium helps reduce antibody attacks. Selenium also helps with conversion of T4 to T3 which may help increase your FT3.
I can't thank you enough - I did actually buy t3 from Greece a few weeks back because a gp client said she never prescribes just thyroxine she always gives a bit of t3 -
Wondering if I should try taking a bit and reducing my levo?
My consultant is horrid - I see him in Friday so I will wait to see what he says when I show him the results š
Dsdc Can I suggest that you get your supplements online? I think you will find better quality supplements that you won't find in a chemist shop or own brand health store or supermarket brand.
The Solgar or Jarrows B12 you can get from Amazon, likewise the Thorne or Jarrows B Complex. Selenium look for L-selenomethionine. Good brands usually state something like bioavailable, wholefood, food state, bioactive. Cytoplan, Nature's Own, Lambert's, Nature's Best, BioCare, some Doctor's Best supplements are good.
I would think that an increase in Levo would be a first step rather than adding T3 at this stage. Good conversion takes place when FT4:FT3 ratio is 4:1 or less. Your ratio is 3.6 : 1. So an increase in Levo of 25mcg will raise your FT4, conversion seems to be fine so that should increase your FT3 as well and the selenium will also help. Plus optimal levels of vitamins and minerals will all help thyroid hormone to work.
Don't expect your endo to know any of this or even take any notice of your BH test results.
Please get your Vit D result because there's a good chance that needs supplementing too, post the result and advice can be given about dosing if you are deficient and Vit D co-factors that are needed when taking D3.
Gosh I can't thank you enough for all your help and info -
Will dig out vit d results - originally I know I was low so I do take a daily spray of 3000 and the last test they said was fine but of course wil check and post.
Thank you so so much.
Do you think I would be mad to start taking 25 mcg levo extra daily without asking my unpleasant consultant?
I know it's only a week to wait but I really do feel rough š£
Ah well, you know your endo and how he would react if you told him what you've done. If you don't tell him or your GP how are you going to get enough Levo prescribed to continue with the increased amount you take?
Going back about 15 years the endo I saw was an absolute pig. After three appointments with him, and him insisting on getting my TSH back in range rather than under range, despite the fact that he turned me into a zombie with FT4 at 29% of range and FT3 at 0% of range ( yes zero percent, result was 2.8 with a range of 2.8-7.1), my GP agreed with my decision to not see him again and she increased my Levo until I got my FT4 and FT3 back to the upper parts of their ranges with a suppressed TSH.
So you have to learn as much as you can, do as much as you can to help yourself and fight your corner. Then if all else fails you work the system, use your GP for tests and a prescription for whatever you can get, then tweak meds if necessary with something self sourced.
I have a 'sweet' gp who says the endo is a specialist so if he is happy with prescription and doesn't need further blood tests ( eg ft3 and b12 and ferritin ) then I have to accept that he specialises in this field and I must just be depressed.
This is why I did the blue horozon test š
The first endo I was referred to said my weight gain was because I wasn't exercising enough and being a single mother was the cause of hair loss ....
And discharged me
I then got referred to the current one who is equally nasty š„
Contains folic acid (synthetic) rather than folate (natural). B12 is cyanocobalamin as it's the cheapest and we shouldn't take that form - see naturalnews.com/032766_cyan... . Very small amounts of everything, just put it in the bin.
Contains magnesium oxide, cheap, least absorbable form of magnesium. B12 is cyanocobalamin again. Vit K is the K1 form and we should take K2-MK7 when taking D3 (which is included). Folic acid again instead of folate. Contains 150mcg iodine which we shouldn't take unless tested for and shown to be iodine deficient. Put it in the bin.
Contains calcium and we should only supplement if we've been tested and shown to be deficient. Magnesium oxide again. Wrong forms of B12 and Vit K again. Folic acid again. Another 150mcg iodine!! Put it in the bin.
Just dump them and wait for some decent ones.
If you want a probiotic (good idea for gut health) then look at Bio-kult Advanced Multistrain, Cytoplan Acidophilus Plus, Nature's Own Probiotic Plus.
There even less information about that but it has folic acid again, the wrong form of B12, and calcium you don't need. It belongs in the bin with the others.
Just another quick question - u mentioned you thought my ft3 was at the lower end and being higher on the scale is better ...
Could this be why I am gaining weight ( and impossible to shift despite teaching dance 25 hours a week!) ( I'm an ex prof ballet dancer dinthevweight issue is very hard to deal with! )
I've been told that many people lose the weight gained when they have a combo of t3 and t4 ...
PLUS it helps with low moods ...
If I suggested this to my delightful endo - wpuld he argue that it was in range so not a problem ? Or is it low enough for him to agree to try the t3/t4 combo ?
Being optimally medicated will help with all the symptoms and generally that means a TSH of 1 or below or wherever it needs to be for FT4 and FT3 to be in the upper part of their ranges, usually FT4 in the upper third and FT3 in the upper quarter. But we are all individuals so that's not set in stone, it's wherever it needs to be.
But GPs and endos don't seem to know this or take it into account unless they're very enlightened and can think outside the box, a lot will only dose by TSH like mine did.
I really don't know what your endo will think or whether he will even consider T3, not all of them will.
Your conversion is pretty good. Your FT4 is 50% through range, your FT3 is 41% through range. Both should be higher in their ranges and FT3 is lagging behind a bit so a bit of T3 could help. BUT so could optimising your vitamins and minerals to help your Levo work better, plus selenium will help with conversion so it would seem send to try that route first.
One thing that might help (or completely get up your endo's nose) is an article by Dr Toft, leading endocrinologist and past president of the British Thyroid Association, that was in Pulse Online magazine in which he said
"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 ā 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 ā 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 endo.
That might get you an increase in your Levo which would be a start.
Sorry, I forgot the ferritin. Ferrous Fumarate or Ferrous Sulphate is available from Amazon. Take one tablet twice a day with Vit C as detailed above. If that's causing constipation or tummy upset then try Iron Bisglycinate as it is more gentle, Solgar Gentle Iron is one such brand. You would need to retest ferritin at the end of a course to make sure it doesn't go over range, too much iron is as bad as top little.
Well just finished with the delightful consultant .... His words ' what a waste of money - who/what is blue horizon anyway? Your results show everything is working fine and there are no vitamin deficiencies .TSH is only thing an endo needs to see to show if meds are right - your tsh is spot on so I can discharge you'
Dsdc Oh dear, you bruised the poor man's ego, they don't like that you know š.
Well, he proved what a t*thead he is then didn't he? Like all of these doctors, he doesn't know about 'optimal', he only knows about 'in range' so if you're in range then your 'normal' so you haven't got a problem. Yeah, right! So how do they explain the symptoms?
And if he thinks TSH is the only thing that matters then he needs to go back to med school and learn how the thyroid works. He will be a diabetes specialist for sure.
So you have a choice, you can listen to this donkey who knows nothing about thyroid or you can listen to the members on here who have been through exactly what you have, have researched and learned all about their condition, found out how important optimal levels of vitamins and minerals are, how important FT4 and FT3 are, what other options there are if Levo doesn't do the job for them, and where everything needs to be for you to have any chance of being well.
You can bet your life that if this delightful consultant was feeling how you feel, and had the test results that you have, he would be doing a darn site more than just looking at the TSH and declaring himself fine and dandy!
Does anyone know of an endo or go in the Hertfordshire area that may listen to me and look into the symptoms rather than tell me your tsh is fine so your medication is right ! ? I'm in an all time low .... My mood has plummeted and I'm not coping too well š¢
Dsdc If you email louise.roberts@thyroiduk.org.uk she will send you a list of thyroid friendly endos. No guarantee that they will be perfect but you can see if there are any you can get to then ask on the forum for any feedback for that particular one.
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