Advise please, taking 50mcg levothyroxine since diagnosis in January this year and feeling awful, shouldn't dose have been increased by now? Also taking vitamin D for deficiency diagnosed in 2015. Results from May 2017.
Thank you
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lara556
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taking 50mcg levothyroxine since diagnosis in January this year and feeling awful, shouldn't dose have been increased by now?
Yes, I explained the protocol in my reply to your previous post whereby you should have had regular testing and dose increases. Go back to your GP, ask for a new test, following the advice about timing etc, and make sure you get an increase in dose when the results come back.
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THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODIES 305.3 (<34)
THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODIES 487.5 (<115)
Your high antibodies mean that you are positive for autoimmune thyroid disease aka Hashimoto's which is where antibodies attack the thyroid and gradually destroy it.
You can help reduce the antibodies by adopting a strict gluten free diet which has helped many members here. Gluten contains gliadin (a protein) which is thought to trigger autoimmune attacks so eliminating gluten can help reduce these attacks. You don't need to be gluten sensitive or have Coeliac disease for a gluten free diet to help.
Supplementing with selenium l-selenomethionine 200mcg daily can also help reduce the antibodies, as can keeping TSH suppressed.
Doctors generally don't take any notice of antibodies so wont be advising anything to help reduce them. Take advice from Hashi's members here, and read the post by SlowDragon that she has linked to.
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FERRITIN 21 (30 - 400)
This is dire and you need an iron infusion, that will bring your level up in 24-48 hours, whereas iron tablets will take months, so ask for one. Also ask for an iron panel, full blood count and haemoglobin test to see if you have iron deficiency anaemia. If you already have this diagnosis are you being treated for it? The treatment is Ferrous Fumarate two or three times daily. For low ferritin it's once or twice daily.
If prescribed iron tablets then take each tablet with 1000mg Vitamin C to aid absorption and help prevent constipaton. Always take iron 4 hours away from thyroid meds (which you will be prescribed) and two hours away from other medication and supplements as it will affect absorption.
The recommended level for ferritin is middle of range, with a minimum of 70 for thyroid hormone to work.
Eating liver regularly, maximum 200g per week, and eating lots of iron rich foods will also help.
Please take these results over to the Pernicious Anaemia Society forum here on Health Unlocked for their expert advice. Also include your ferritin/iron results and any signs of B12 deficiency.
You may need testing for Pernicious Anaemia, you may need B12 injections, you certainly need something for your folate deficiency and your very low B12 should be treated. See what the PA forum says then discuss their advice with your GP.
For us Hypos the recommended levels are B12 at the very top of it's range and half way through range for folate.
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TOTAL 25 OH VITAMIN D 26.3 (25 - 50 DEFICIENCY)
Is your Vit D prescribed? How much are you taking?
Has it not occurred to your GP (or you) that considering that you've been taking Vit D for two years you really ought to be out of the deficiency category by now? I raised my Vit D from severe deficiency of 15 to more than optimal at 200 in two and a half months with the correct doses.
With your level your GP should be following the local area guidelines for treating deficiency, which should be very similar to the NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary -
Treat for vitamin D deficiency if serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels are less than 30 nmol/L.
For the treatment of vitamin D deficiency, the recommended treatment is based on fixed loading doses of vitamin D (up to a total of about 300,000 international units [IU]) given either as weekly or daily split doses, followed by lifelong maintenance treatment of about 800 IU a day. Higher doses of up to 2000 IU a day, occasionally up to 4000 IU a day, may be used for certain groups of people, for example those with malabsorption disorders. Several treatment regimens are available, including 50,000 IU once a week for 6 weeks (300,000 IU in total), 20,000 IU twice a week for 7 weeks (280,000 IU in total), or 4000 IU daily for 10 weeks (280,000 IU in total)."
Speak to your GP and ask for these loading doses. These then need to be followed by an adequate maintenance dose which will probably be around 2000iu daily but it's very unlikely your GP will prescribe that amount. Come back and tell us what he says.
D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and K2-MK7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems.
D3 and K2 are fat soluble so should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, D3 four hours away from thyroid meds.
Magnesium comes in different forms, check to see which would suit you best and as it's calming it's best taken in the evening, four hours away from thyroid meds naturalnews.com/046401_magn...
Then you must go and speak to your GP and ask to be treated for the iron anaemia. He is being grossly negligent to ignore your low ferritin and iron anaemia result.
Read through the NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary for treatment of iron deficiency anaemia which states
•Address underlying causes as necessary (for example treat menorrhagia or stop nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, if possible).
•Treat with oral ferrous sulphate 200 mg tablets two or three times a day.
◦If ferrous sulphate is not tolerated, consider oral ferrous fumarate tablets or ferrous gluconate tablets.
◦Do not wait for investigations to be carried out before prescribing iron supplements.
•If dietary deficiency of iron is thought to be a contributory cause of iron deficiency anaemia, advise the person to maintain an adequate balanced intake of iron-rich foods (for example dark green vegetables, iron-fortified bread, meat, apricots, prunes, and raisins) and consider referral to a dietitian.
• Monitor the person to ensure that there is an adequate response to iron treatment.
You can check your local area guidelines (search Google) and they should be very similar.
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Well, 800iu D3 isn't going to ever raise your level. It is hardly a maintenance dose for someone with a reasonable level. Ask your doctor to follow the guidelines/NICE Clinical Knowledge Summary as mentioned above and ask him to prescribe the loading doses.
Once loading doses are finished, a maintenance dose for life will be needed and that's more likely to be around 2000iu D3 daily.
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