Hi I am new I was diagnosed hypothyroid in 2011 and I take 50mcg levo
tsh 6.10 range 0.2 - 4.2
free t4 12.7 range 12 - 22
free t3 2.9 range 3.1 - 6.8
thyroid peroxidase antibody 295 range <34
thyroglobulin antibody 398.5 range <115
ferritin 16 range 15 - 150
folate 2.2 range 4.6 - 18.7
total vitamin D 24.1 range <25 severe vitamin D deficiency. Supplementation is indicated
vitamin B12 206 range 180 - 900
iron 9.3 range 6 - 26
do my results suggest i need more i feel very awful with tiredness sore and glossy tongue straining to go to toilet bladder weakness feeling cold heavy periods fizzy feelings in legs pale skin aches in muscles and joints and dry skin thank you
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Zara_2
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Yes, your results show you are woefully under-medicated.
You should ask your doctor for another 25mcg Levo immediately, and then get blood tests 6 weeks later. If your results are still not optimal then you need another 25mcg followed by more testing 6 weeks after that. And keep going with increasing and repeating blood tests every 6 weeks until you feel well and your results are optimal.
Based on your current results I would estimate your optimal dose is likely to be around 100mcg - 125mcg but one can never really guess.
Make sure that you always take your Levo on an empty stomach, one hour before food or two hours after food and supplements. For iron, oestrogen, vitamin D, magnesium, calcium supplements the gap should be 4 hours between taking the supplements and taking Levo.
When you are going to be tested, arrange your appointment for blood taking as early in the morning as possible, the earlier the better, and before 9am.
1) Take your daily Levo 24 hours before your appointment.
2) Don't eat or drink for 8 - 10 hours before your appointment. Water is okay though, and should be drunk freely.
3) Delay breakfast and taking levo until after the blood draw. Again, drinking water is fine. After blood has been taken, take Levo if you've missed a dose, and you can go back to eating and drinking normally.
You should also ask your doctor if he/she will test thyroid antibodies and also vitamin B12, vitamin D, folate, ferritin and iron.
Once the results are available ask for a copy. Then write a new post and copy your results and reference ranges into the post and ask for feedback.
Hi Zara1 you definitely need an increase in your levo, your Tsh is far too high and your t4/t3 are far too low in range, 50mcg of levo is a starting dose, how long have you been on that? You'll probably need more than one increase in dose befor you feel anywhere near well. I would ask gp for increase as you are not feeling well, then have another test in 6 weeks time to see how you are doing increase should be in 25mcg at a time, then post results on here for guidance, make sure test is done early morning , fasting and leave off levo for 24hrs before test.Make sure you are taking levo on empty stomach with glass of water and no tea ,coffee or food for hour after you have taken it.
it was decreased because i took the 150mcg levo with 10mcg t3 and my tsh became supprrssed. the endo didn't like this and asked me to reduce to 50mcg and stop taking the t3 because it wasn't helping me
Your endo is a sadistic idiot. The 10mcg T3 is roughly equivalent to 30mcg levo. So your dose was effectively reduced from 180mcg levo to 50mcg Levo.
Levo should be reduced as carefully and slowly as raises are. I imagine the real reason your endo reduced your dose and made a fuss is because he wanted to take away your T3. It's outrageously expensive in the UK.
thanks yes i felt no better on the dose and the endo said symptoms take several months to catch up with biochemistry. i was only on the 150mcg and 10mcg t3 for 3 months and the endo said because of no improvement in symptoms she felt that decreasing the levo and taking the t3 was a better idea
"it was decreased because i took the 150mcg levo with 10mcg t3 and my tsh became supprrssed. the endo didn't like this and asked me to reduce to 50mcg and stop taking the t3 because it wasn't helping me"
Beggars belief. I am speechless. No, tell a lie, I'm not speechless but what I'm thinking contains a very, very naughty word so I'll just zip it for now.
The above results show that you are positive for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, also known as autoimmune thyroid disease (the name UK doctors use).
Having high antibodies means that your thyroid function test (TFT) results will fluctuate, possibly by quite a lot. This tends to make doctors nervous and so they micromanage your thyroid meds and change them up and down every time your TSH changes. To try and avoid this, you need to reduce your antibodies if you can. People find giving up gluten, and being ruthless about it, helps. For some people giving up animal milk products helps (because of the lactose and casein). If you find a particular dietary change doesn't help you to feel better, go back to eating what you previously did rather than eliminate lots of food groups from your diet.
Taking selenium supplements (200mg per day) helps some people lower antibodies too.
A good person to search for is Izabella Wentz. She has Hashi's, and has a website, a facebook page and a book which is sold on Amazon and gets good reviews. Look her up.
total vitamin D 24.1 range <25 severe vitamin D deficiency. Supplementation is indicated
vitamin B12 206 range 180 - 900
iron 9.3 range 6 - 26
Your ferritin (iron stores) and iron are both far too low.
Ferritin should be around mid-range or a bit higher i.e. around 85 - 100. Some people feel best around 100 - 120. We all have to find our own sweet spot. Optimal iron is needed for the body to make use of thyroid hormones and to help with conversion of T4 to T3.
Iron should be around mid-range or a bit higher too. According to this link :
serum iron should be about 55% - 70% of the way through the range, so that would be around 17 - 20.
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You can buy iron supplements for yourself, either online or in UK pharmacies. In pharmacies it is up to the pharmacist's discretion whether or not s/he will sell them without prescription. If one pharmacist refuses to sell it, go to one from a different chain and ask again.
I took ferrous fumarate 210mg, one tablet, three times a day. I was prescribed it initially, then bought my own. They had 69mg pure iron per pill, for a maximum dose of 207mg pure iron per day. I would not suggest anyone takes more than this.
The higher the dose of pure iron in the tablet, the more people have trouble tolerating it, so do experiment with other supplements if you have problems.
Another way to raise iron levels in non-vegetarians is to eat liver or black pudding a couple of times a week. Note that black pudding might have gluten in it.
To reduce the risk of constipation take high dose vitamin C with each iron pill. The suggested dose is 500mg - 1000mg vitamin C per dose of iron. If you get diarrhoea reduce the dose of vitamin C. Note that vitamin C also helps the body to absorb iron.
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For advice on your B12 and folate, please join the Pernicious Anaemia Society forum on HU :
The vitamin D test can also be included in thyroid function test packs from Blue Horizon and Medichecks.
Vitamin D raises the absorption of calcium from the diet. To persuade that extra calcium to go into bones and teeth rather than your soft tissues and lining your arteries you need a couple of co-factors - vitamin K2 and magnesium.
Vitamin K2 - read posts by SeasideSusie on the subject of vitamin K2.
Magnesium - choose the one that most appeals to you from these lists :
Omg! Humanbean is right your endo is an idiot. Also you need to look at vitamin levels they are all dire way too low, as I'm not that knowledgeable on the amount you should take I will leave that up to the experts.
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Advice please - to undergo psychological assessment 
Hypothyroidism check. Blood results.
HELP - TSH still below range, advice please.
