Hello there. This is my first post, after months of daily scrolling through the community posts (& lots of learning). I've attached a picture of my recent, private blood tests.
Current medication: Levothyroxine 125mg (increased from 100mg in Dec'16) Cabergoline (started in Dec '16, for a pituitary adenoma that produces excessive prolactin, the endocrinologist assures me it has not affected any other pituitary hormone or function)
Completed a 3 month course of iron supplements in summer 2016, brought ferritin level up from 40 to 100 (you can see the current level in the results photo)
Current supplements (stopped before recent blood tests): ( all +4hrs after meds), gentle iron, biotin, krill oil, evening primrose oil, silica.
I've been gluten free for about 5 years and take very minimal amounts of lactose. I'm very careful with my diet and I exercise daily (its exhausting and relentless!)
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 9yrs ago, when living in NZ. I very quickly "settled" with 100mg of levo daily, but have never been asymptomatic. My complaints are very recognisable; HAIR LOSS (this is my biggest problem, +50% gone & getting worse), weight gain/difficulty losing, extreme lethargy, poor sleep, dry skin, fluid retention, brain for, episodes of depression. My basal temp is always low (35.7) and with low pulse too.
My NHS endo will not even discuss T3 meds and I live too far away from any private clinic. It was my suggestion to take an iron supplement last year, as I felt 40 was not ideal for someone with my symptoms (endo not interested). In Dec'16 endo agreed we try increasing levo by +25mg and review in 3 months (but I won't get an appointment until June). Before the increase my results with same reference ranges were; tsh 0.63, T4 17, T3 3.8. I had expressed concern with the T3 result, but endo said my body would convert what I needed, so I obviously didn't need any more. Three months after increasing levo dose, I can exercise more (which is helping the weight, a little) but no change to other symptoms. And the results show the tsh is more suppressed (as expected), the T4 looks ok (maybe getting a little too much? Which could account for rT3 levels?) but it hasn't helped the T3 (or my symptoms).
So, advice please! I won't see the endo for months (& it took me 18 months to get her to tweak the levo!) and she doesn't want to even test the T3 again. What would you do as the next step? Based on the results I'm thinking:
1. Vit D3 supplement (with magnesium and k2mk7)... But I can't decide on dosages?
2. Continue with current supplements (am I OK taking vitamins and iron at the same time as long as +4hrs away from levo?)
3. Adding in T3. Can I purchase just T3 overseas or is it just combo T4/T3 available? May I ask anyone with a reliable supplier to send me a PM with contact details of how to order and your suggested starting dose?
Thank you all in advance for any help, I pleaded with my GP before my endo referral that I could not continue losing my hair & dragging myself out of bed everyday... That was 2 years ago now. I can't rely or wait on NHS care any more. Thanks again.