Hey lovely thyroid family a bit of advice please regards latest bloods and supplementing :)

[Lozzer66]

Hi I have just had a few bloods done and need some advice ..they were done a few days ago and unfortunately hadn't realised just exactly how long you have to stay of b12 and complex for...so I had only left about 30hrs from last dose so I kinda know it's not accurate, but I have only been supplementing for a month or so and had been taking b12/b complex/vitD/gentle iron and vit C to absorb iron .. Bloods are as follows and my old tests from a while back are first...

Vit D 85......now 105

folate 6.4 (3-20)..now 8

B12 487 (160-1000)...now 1098

Ferritin 126 (10-291)..now 133....also this time they did

Serum TIBC and is 42umol/L (45-80)..is that good ??

Anyways I am wondering if I should stop supplementing anything or carry on...and if so for how much longer?...I know we are all different but roughly??

T4 as gone from 10.50 (10.40-24.5) to 12. 5 by adding quarter of a grain (so now 2grain)

They did not do T3 but it was previously .....4.6 (3.7-7.10) do you think the slight increase in T4 may have nudged T3 up a bit to more where it should be?

THANKYOU

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Lozzer66 Generally, you don't stop supplementing, you adjust your dose to a maintenance dose which keeps your levels optimal.

As you haven't said what doses you're taking, I can't comment on what might be a maintenance dose.

Recommended levels are

Vit D - 100-150nmol/L according to the Vit D Council

B12 - very top of range, even 900-1000 for us Hypos

Folate - at least half way through it's range

Ferritin - half way through it's range

So your Vit D has just about reached the lower end of the recommended range. I prefer mine at the top of the range.

Folate needs to be 11.5+ so you should continue with your B Complex, does it contain methylfolate?

B12 is good. To get a baseline you need to be off supplements for 4 months, but testing while supplementing shows you are taking supplements and whether it's too much or too little. Yours is just about right. If it goes any higher you could do what I do and instead of supplementing 7 days a week, reduce to maybe 5 or alternate days and see how that goes.

Your ferritin is good, you don't really want to supplement to get that any higher. You could maintain that level now by eating liver regularly and iron rich foods. Liver every 7-10 days should do it, around 150g a meal or spread over that amount of time. Also check out iron rich foods and include them in your diet.

Your TIBC is under range so I doubt it's in the best place. You can check it here labtestsonline.org.uk/under... and I don't know how ferritin relates to this. You might want to check this result with your GP.

As you're taking NDT it's important to test FT3 so I don't know why that hasn't been done.

[Lozzer66 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thankyou ....the one I've been taking contains folic acid 100 mcg do you think I should get the one with methyl folate? ...would I get that online...all herbalists I've been into only have folic acid one!thanks!

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Lozzer66]

I don't know anything about herbalists. Folic acid is synthetic and has to convert to folate. We, as individuals, may or may not be able to do the conversion. Personally I tend to buy the converted version of supplements, the more bioavailabe, bioactive forms.

Folate v folic acid chriskresser.com/folate-vs-...

A good B Complex like Thorne Basic B or Metabolics B Complex contain 400mcg methylfolate per serving. Some others contain 200mcg.

I buy all my supplements online, I think that's where the decent quality ones tend to be when you know what to look for.

[Lozzer66 in reply to SeasideSusie]

..they don't usually test T3 unless my T4 is below range or very low on it ..and they don't know I'm on ndt (I'm self medicating )I'm just hoping that as last time it was 4.6 and that since then ive added 1/4 grain that it may have nudged it up a bit...although my temperature is still a bit low ..

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Lozzer66]

As you are self medicating with NDT then if you can't get FT3 done with your GP you should be testing privately periodically, particularly when after a dose increase. It's the most important test, particularly when taking NDT.

[Clutter]

Lozzer66,

VitD 105 is optimal. No need to supplement until Oct-April to maintain levels.

Folate 8 is satisfactory.

B12 1098 is high because you are supplementing. 487 was adequate and unlikely to be deficient.

Ferritin 133 is almost halfway through range which is optimal.

Low TIBC can indicate iron overload. I would stop supplementing iron until you find out whether your iron levels are high. labtestsonline.org.uk/under...

FT3 is the most important value when taking NDT. It doesn't matter that FT4 is low as long as FT3 is good. Most people taking NDT will feel well when FT3 is 5.9 - 7.10. 1/4 grain won't have made much difference to FT3 4.6. There is scope to increase beyond 2 grains if you still feel symptomatic.

[Lozzer66 in reply to Clutter]

Thanks Clutter...do you think the iron overload is due to me supplemening ...?funnily enough I decided to stop taking it a week ago as I've started with hairloss again ')and wondered if I had become 'toxic'? ...also I had wondered if it was causing all that face/scalp tingling that I've mentioned in previous post (which I still have)and I doubt it's b12 deficiency?

[Clutter in reply to Lozzer66]

Lozzer66,

Iron overload is a possibility, there isn't enough information to determine it at this stage. As far as I'm aware there is barely any elemental iron in Gentle iron so supplementing is unlikely to have raised iron much.

Tingling in the face, particularly around mouth and nose, can be due to low calcium.

[Lozzer66 in reply to Clutter]

Thanks Clutter...the iron i was taking contained 20mg of iron...They did test calcium at same time and it was..

Serum Calcium

2.44 mmol/L (2.20-2.60)

So I think thats ok ? Thanks again .

[Clutter in reply to Lozzer66]

Lozzer66,

20mg iron isn't a high dose.

Calcium is in range, so normal.

Your results are satisfactory. One off low TIBC probably isn't significant. You don't appear to have B12 deficiency or calcium deficiency causing face/scalp tingling. I don't know what else to suggest.

[Lozzer66 in reply to Clutter]

Thanks Clutter...I'm almost wondering if it's too much ndt as my symptoms are more hyper than hypo at mo even though temperature not high ...I think thats another question to post though lo!thanks again

[Clutter in reply to Lozzer66]

Lozzer66,

I really can't see the extra 1/4 grain raising FT3 so that you are overmedicated.

[Lozzer66 in reply to Clutter]

I know...it's puzzling me ..the tingling ..feeling more wired ?.. (maybe b vitamins don't agree with me?)I'm not tiired ..I have way more energy than I've had previously.. ...constipation has completely gone ...in fact more loose if anything. ..all this has changed since supplementing and 1/4 increase.In the past I had got up to 3grain but was still hypo and very low temperature so cut back and decided to add adrenal glandular (which I've now stopped) and try to get vitamins optimal as I was thinking maybe my body just wasn't utilising ndt properly ...guess I'll have to order t3 test to see what's going on there! 🤔

[Clutter in reply to Lozzer66]

Lozzer66,

What B vitamins are you taking? Too much B6 taken for prolonged periods can cause tingling.

There's 2.5mcg T3 and 9.5mcg T4 in 1/4 grain. FT4 is low in range and previous FT3 was 4.6 so it seems inconceivable that FT3 is now over range.

[Lozzer66 in reply to Clutter]

There's 10mg of b6 un the b complex I'm taking ...but I've only been taking for approx 5 wk or so ,thanks

[Clutter in reply to Lozzer66]

Lozzer66,

<50mg is unlikely to be a problem but it may be worth stopping all the supplements you take for a few weeks to see whether the tingling improves. If not, you can resume supplementing.

[Lozzer66 in reply to Clutter]

Also Clutter..what extra info should I ask /look for?..Doc just said every thing was satisfactory 🤔