Hi,
New results, very confused as dr just repeated " normal" rather than explain the ranges (or changes for that matter). Any views on these please? On 50mcg Levo from May 17 which is when I was first diagnosed. Don't feel any better, still gaining weight at an alarming rate, still weak and tired. Still waiting for result from Celiac test, should get soon.
Would be grateful for any help/advice!
Ps. Being referred re high cholesterol, is this thyroid related? Certainly not my diet!
A higher cholesterol level is a clinical symptom of hypothyroidism and in order to help your doctor understand how many clinical symptoms we can have, tick off the ones that affect you and give him a copy:-
thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...
We have to study, read and ask questions and learn ourselves how best to recover our health which is possible, I am pleased to say but it isn't a quick fix but it is there on the horizon.
Statins might probably be the first offer and they may be quite unaware that our cholesterol reduces as levo is increased. Your dose is miniscule. Normal doses used to be 200 to 400mcg of NDT now it is all about the whereabouts of the TSH which is from the Pituitary Gland. Of course TSH will have more notice taken about it rather than ensuring the patient's FT4 and FT3 are optimal.
You should have had an increase of 25mcg levo at your last visit.
This is a past post from SeasideSusie which I think will be an eye-opener for you as she is excellent with blood test results..
Thank you for all the info. Any suggestion how I can get my dr to up my dose of Levo? Actually just realised that she didn't mention when I should have another blood test..I'll have to drive this myself! As referred to cholesterol/metabolic specialist I might wait and see what happens with that.
L1McG First question - did you do this test first thing in the morning, overnight fast and left off Levo for 24 hours (this gives the highest possible TSH which is needed when looking for an increase in dose or to avoid a reduction).
TSH: 1.2 (0.27-4.2) Previously 5.4
The 50mcg Levo is doing it's job, it's reduced your TSH. It really would have been helpful if your GP had done FT4 as well to see how much it had increased from last time when it was 12.6 (12-22).
The aim of a treated hypo patient generally is for TSH to be 1 or below or wherever it is needed for FT4 and FT3 to be in the upper part of their respective reference ranges if that is where you feel well.
FT3 would also be useful to see if you are converting T4 to T3 well enough.
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B12: 255 (180-914)
Folate: 9 (3.10-20)
B12 is rather low.. Do you have any signs of B12 deficiency b12deficiency.info/signs-an... If so then post on the Pernicious Anaemia Society forum here on Health Unlocked for advice healthunlocked.com/pasoc
If not anything under 500 can cause neurological problems and you might want to supplement to raise this.
I have read (but not researched so don't have links) that BCSH, UKNEQAS and NICE guidelines recommend:
"In the presence of discordance between test results and strong clinical features of deficiency, treatment should not be delayed to avoid neurological impairment."
And an extract from the book, "Could it be B12?" by Sally M. Pacholok :
"We believe that the 'normal' serum B12 threshold needs to be raised from 200 pg/ml to at least 450 pg/ml because deficiencies begin to appear in the cerebrospinal fluid below 550".
"For brain and nervous system health and prevention of disease in older adults, serum B12 levels should be maintained near or above 1000 pg/ml."
That's good enough for me and I keep mine around 1000. Sublingual methylcobalamin lozenges are what's needed to supplement B12 yourself along with a good B Complex to balance all the B vitamins.
The B Complex will also help raise your folate which, whilst not dire, is a bit short of the recommended level of at least half way through it's range which would be 11.5+ with your range.
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Vit D: 88
The recommended level is 100-150nmol/L according to the Vit D Council. Yours isn't too bad, plenty of sunshine now will help and maybe a maintenance dose through October to April is a good idea. Maybe 2000iu daily in the winter.
If you do supplement with D3 there are important cofactors needed
vitamindcouncil.org/about-v...
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...
Check out the other cofactors too.
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It would be a good idea to get ferritin tested too. This needs to be half way through it's range.
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All vitamins and minerals need to be at optimal levels for thyroid hormone to work properly.
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High cholesterol can be a symptom of hypothyroidism. You may find when you are optimally treated with Levo this corrects itself.
Hi, yes 9am appointment (fasting and no Levo for 24hrs before). Really confused now, dr adamant that no increase of Levo needed as result "normal" (she did repeat normal many times). I said "but I don't feel any better" her response "you were borderline anyway so I wasn't expecting a big improvement"?! Have been referred to cholesterol/metabolic specialist, no idea how long it will take to get an appointment or if this is the right thing to do though. Not sure what to do next. Thank you for all the advice, much appreciated.
L1McG Don't you just hate the word 'normal' 
I'd like to 3D print it and shove it down their throats! They really haven't got a flipping clue (I'm being very restrained here!).
So I've turned into a bolshy old c*w ('cos I've had too many years of this sort of ****)
Your FT4 originally was 12.6 (12-22) with TSH of 5.2 (0.27-4.20).
So, 50mcg Levo has reduced your TSH - good!
Now, what about the FT4? Is it still low in range? Is T4 converting well enough to T3? We wont know that unless FT3 is tested.
Ferritin is needed to be at least 70 for any thyroid hormone to work (that includes our own as well as replacement) and T4 can't convert to T3 unless it's at this level. Along with all other vitamins and minerals at optimal levels, as mentioned.
Why, oh why, can't these ***** see that there is more involved than TSH alone.
So, what do you do? You could push for FT4 and FT3 tests. FT3 is not likely to be done unless there is something drastically wrong with FT4 and TSH.
You could ask for thyroid antibodies to be tested. NHS rarely does Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) antibodies and almost never does Thyroglobulin (TG) antibodies.
If you want to do your own tests, there are home fingerprick tests available from very reputable companies that many of us use. There are a few thyroid bundles, some including vitamins and minerals.
You can do one with TSH, FT4, FT3, TPO and TG antibodies - bluehorizonmedicals.co.uk/t...
with vitamins and minerals included - bluehorizonmedicals.co.uk/t...
or
medichecks.com/thyroid-func...
with vitamins and minerals included - medichecks.com/thyroid-func...
Any of those tests will tell you more than your GP tests are telling you at the moment, so if you do one post the results for comment.
SeasideSusie I am glad you are being 'very restrained' 
in your response. What have these Endocrinologists and doctors learned/absorbed about the function of the thyroid gland. Answer TSH only and maybe T4 nothing else whatsoever so we'd be better if we consulted dummies in a shop window.They also have no knowledge about the importance of optimum vitamins/hormones which also cause debilitating symptoms.
I think private test will be next step. Thank you for all your support. I'm going to get this sorted somehow!
Check out as much as you can about Cholesterol - it is not the demon we have been brainwashed into thinking. It is produced in the liver for a reason - we need it. The brain is over 25% cholesterol. Have you ever wondered why Dementia is on the rise - with 12 million people in the UK on Statins it is no wonder. Cholesterol is also needed in the production of VitD and ALL hormones. The new generation of Statins contain VitD - umm - I wonder why ?
Over 80% of cholesterol is made in the liver so very little to do with the food we eat. Back in the 70's and before - no Thyroid testing - so anyone with raised cholesterol had their thyroids treated.
drmalcolmkendrick.org is a favourite here. He wrote the book - The Cholesterol Con
I'll read up on cholesterol as suggested. Was initially shocked as really didn't expect to have such a high reading. Thank you!
healthunlocked.com/search/c...
The link above takes you to almost 1000 posts about cholesterol here on this forum alone ! So yes it is a common problem. Also GP's receive more funding points for prescribing Statins than they do Thyroid hormones - sad but true. Health is a business -BIG business - and not about our welfare.
anh-usa.org/the-grave-dange...
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/256...
The above link is a research paper about Statins causing heart disease.
drive.google.com/file/d/0B3...
Read up on CoQ10 and VitK2 - both use the same pathways as cholesterol in the body so become blocked by statins - umm that is NOT a good idea.
You remarked on your high reading - well be reassured that people dying in hospital usually have low cholesterol Also the levels for treatment keep on being lowered so more people are treated and more money can be earned ....
Hope you found the links above useful
I do thank you, so much to take in! I shall digest all the info, wait for my celiac test results, get a private test done and then decide the next step. All the support and knowledge from this forum is overwhelming! 😀
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