Recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Hashimoto's confirmed yesterday. Resuming meds after initial plummet when starting. Update...

[Adalia]

Hello everyone; & thanks once again for encouragement, feedback, input, etc. after my first post last week.

My blood results are back (if you remember, my dr suggested stopping meds after I saw her on Sunday & just confirming that everything we are treating is, in fact, accurate!)

Yes, I am hypothyroid & yes antibodies were present so I assume Hashimoto's is the diagnosis?

Interestingly, even just a week's worth of Levo at initial dose of 50mcg & up to 75mcg had improved my TSH levels already, which had fallen from 70.51 to 43.28 even in that time; & T4 had gone up from 5.7 to 8.9, so I guess I should be encouraged that my body was responding appropriately, even if I was feeling a bit rough!!

Doc has suggested restarting meds at a dose of 100mcg & not bothering with subclinical doses at this stage, given that I was not feeling good on them. So we will see. Worth a try.

I guess the fact I had tonsillitis last week (whether connected or not) can't have helped with the way I have been feeling generally, adding to the over all sense of malaise & 'unwellness'! A bit virusy - or something.

Also, pleased to report that the inflammatory marker tests were all nicely within range. That's a relief! It's amazing how the mind wanders when you just know something is 'up'!

Anyhow, if you don't mind, I will list my current blood results (& lab ranges) here now for your interpretation and input going forward, especially in terms of what I should be aiming for:

TSH: 43.28 (0.27-4.20)

T4: 8.9 (12.00-22.00)

PEROXIDASE AB: 60.48 (0.00-34.00)

In terms of additional info. that some of you have said it would be worth checking, my doctor has ordered my Vit. D and folate to be tested at my next round of bloods. For now, I do have my ferritin and B12, which are within the normal ranges:

Ferritin: 27 (13.00-150.00)

B12: 354 (197.00-771.00)

It strikes me that, although my ferritin falls within the normal range, it is at the lower end of normal and could probably do with a boost. Would you agree? Also, my haemoglobin estimation is right at the lower end of 'normal', at 116 (115.00-155.00), so I am also thinking that perhaps I should take responsibility for getting my iron stores & haemoglobin up. Could possibly play a part in the occasional heart palpitations & breathlessness (which were the symptoms that first took me in to the doctor's surgery the week before last, before this diagnosis came to light. ECG was all clear, by the way).

What bemuses me with regards iron levels is that I do not have an iron-deficient diet. I eat red meat, pulses, leafy vegetables etc. - so I do wonder why I have (all my life) had a tendency towards low iron levels. Any thoughts on this and on absorption issues etc.?

Should I supplement?

I have today bought a Selenium supplement, called Selenium Plus (by HealthAid), with vits A, C, E & Zinc. Selenium content is 200mcg, Zinc 4mg, Vit C 120mg, Vit E 67mg, Vit A 750mcg. Hopefully that will be a help? I will await results of Vit D and folate before supplementing, though I have heard that we could all do with Vit D anyway!

Anything I am missing?

For your info (I don't know what helps!) I am a 33 year old female, my height and weight are indicative of a healthy BMI, although I suppose I have always had to keep an eye on my weight creeping up & take charge of keeping it where I want it to be. For dosage purposes, I am 73kg.

My cholesterol has come back a little high, at 5.1 (2.30-4.90) & HDL cholesterol 2.8 (1.20-1.70). Though my doctor said that the ratio of good to bad cholesterol is fine (all this is a new language to me!)

Anything else that you think would help you to help me or me to help myself, then do please let me know!

Unfortunately I was wrong about my doctor testing T3. Shall I see how I go on 100mcg Levo for a few weeks and hope for the best? Then can go from there in terms of further tests if I am not responding positively?

Thank you so much, as ever. What a great forum for advice, support and encouragement. Thank you for sharing your experiences and experience!

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

I have to rush out so will pop back later. But I just saw this and will quickly comment:

"I have today bought a Selenium supplement, called Selenium Plus (by HealthAid), with vits A, C, E & Zinc. Selenium content is 200mcg, Zinc 4mg, Vit C 120mg, Vit E 67mg, Vit A 750mcg. Hopefully that will be a help?"

That is not a good supplement. It contains soya and any form of unfermented soya is a no-no for us Hypos, plus a fair old list of bulking agent/anti caking agent/glazing agent/bonding agent. There are much better ones out there.

[Adalia in reply to SeasideSusie]

Many thanks for this, SeasideSusie. I look forward to hearing any recommendations of any alternative brands and/or combos, perhaps with Vit D & Iron also? Thank you.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to Adalia]

Don't bother with multi vitamins, they never have enough oof what you actually need. For iron - ferrous fumarate is what your doctor woud prescribe 210mg (giving about 65mg elemental iron) 2 or 3 a day. Can get from Tescos pharmacy (and others, inc online pharmacies) but need to say that your GP knows you are taking them.

Vitamin D liquid or gel capsule - Bodykind do one, I use Biotics research - can get from Amazon and raise money for TUK via easyfundraising.

Selenium I get from epigenetics-international.com

B12 I use Jarrow Formulas methylcobalamin 5000iu from Amazon or bigvits.co.uk

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Adalia]

Adalia The selenium I use is Cytoplan

cytoplan.co.uk/selenium?sqr...

Frequently on 3 for 2 so I stock up then. It's a nice small tablet and doesn't have the unpleasant odour that a lot of selenium supplements have.

D3 - I rate this one very highly​, only two ingredients and exceptional value for a really good supplement

bodykind.com/productsearch/...

Cofactors needed when supplementing with D3 are mentioned here

vitamindcouncil.org/about-v...

We also need K2-MK7 when supplementing with D3 and my pick would be Healthy Origin's K2-MK7 or Jarrow's MK7 from bigvits.co.uk/products.php?... (check the dates displayed!)

I use a D3/K2 combo amazon.co.uk/Allergy-Resear...

If your choice of magnesium is magnesium citrate then I like the powder form Natural Calm Original in a drink with orange juice

amazon.co.uk/Natural-Calm-S...

Iron supplements I couldn't tolerate so can't recommend anything in particular but eating liver, no more than 200g a week, will raise ferritin. As a meal such as liver and onions or minced and added to any meat dish.

B12 I have used Solgar sublingual methylcobalamin and am now using Cytoplan.

B Complex I did very well on Thorne Basic B which got my folate up from very bottom to very top of range in two and a half months. I now use Metabolics B Complex capsules which I prefer as there are no fillers or other additives

metabolics.com/b-complex-po...

Depending on what dose you need, you take two to give the same dose as Thorne Basic B or one of you don't need that much. It works out cheaper than Thorne for the same dose.

Anything else just shout.

[Adalia in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you so much for taking time. A lot to take in... But I will work through it all in time. Thank you again

[Angel_of_the_North]

Your choleserol shoudl reduce as your meds take effect as high cholesterol is a symptom of hypothyroidism. Before they startd trying to push statins on everyone 5.1 wasn't considered high. Your doctor has oversimplified the whole choleserol thing as HDL is considered good but there are several types of LDL of which only one is known to be harmful - the large fluffy type is OK. Triglycerdies are more important, if those are high, you might ned to cut down on processed carbs (or even all carbs).

Ferritin and B12 are both too low. B12 should be at least 500 and aim for 900+; ferritin should be at least 70 for thyroid meds to work correctly. You need a result for folate too. Many hypo people don't absorb nutrients well.

The aim of medication is to get rid of symptoms so you feel well, which for most people means a TSH under 1 (some people need it suppressed) and Free T4 and Free T3 in the top quarter of their ranges (so there's a way to go yet). You should get blood tests every 6-8 weeks and generally a dose increase until you reach optimum levels.

[Adalia]

Thanks for all the tips. With regards aiming to feel well, I guess the strange thing is that I didn't feel particularly unwell when the results came back showing that I had become overtly hypothyroid. I suppose the symptoms could have crept in slowly enough for me to have assimilated them as part of 'normal life'. It has been a particularly stressful time, with a Coeliacs diagnosis for my daughter, a house move, an op for my daughter and an op for my husband, all within the space of four months... I guess I had come to accept the tiredness as part of being a mum of three youngsters and also put it down to a stressful time of late. We continually adjust to new normals, don't we?

The stand out symptom, however, that I never knew could be down to hypothyroidism, is that I have been suffering from episodes of carpel tunnel syndrome, as well as tingling and numbness in three of my toes on both feet. I have heard this is called peripheral neuropathy? I must say I look forward to seeing that improve - I had just come to accept it.

Beyond that, a propensity toward 'low' patches and general malaise/fatigue, I suppose. I am hopeful that I may simply get some of my mojo back!!

Thanks for your input. Much appreciated.