New blood

[16york68]

Hi guys new results yesterday

Vitamin D 27.8

T3 4.7 ( 3.80 -6.00)

T4 12.6 ( 8.00-18.00)

Ferritin 15 ( 11.00-200.00)

Folate 9.4 ( 4.00ug/L)

B12 328

Have had my thyroxine reduced to 75mcg does this sound correct ?

[SlowDragon Administrator]

There's no TSH?

Vitamin levels are dire

See SeasideSusie many excellent posts about vitamins and how to improve

Your FT4 and FT3 look too low - suggests you are under medicated

Why was dose reduced and what from

Do you have Hashimotos (high antibodies)

[16york68 in reply to SlowDragon]

sorry, TSH = 0.02 ( 0.34-- 5.60 )

I have no thyroid it was removed fully 2015 due to cancer.

My dose was reduced from 100 to 75 mcg three weeks ago .

I am taking 1 tablet of 50,000iu Vitamin D once a week for 6 weeks

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to 16york68]

16york68 Are those results before or after the reduction?

[16york68]

those were the results from early august , and because of them the doctor reduced my dosage as he said I was over medicated. I have another blood test next Wednesday and will get my results the following week. I will post those when I get them.

I don't know how I am supposed to feel healthwise on this new dosage Susie ?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to 16york68]

16york68

OK, so on 100mcg Levo your results were

TSH = 0.02 ( 0.34-- 5.60 )

T4 12.6 ( 8.00-18.00)

T3 4.7 ( 3.80 -6.00)

and your GP reduced to 75mcg because you were "over medicated". How did you feel with those results and on 100mcg Levo.

But you have yet another GP who doesn't know anything about treating hypothyroidism.

Bear with me ..

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 when on Levo only.

Your TSH was suppressed, yes, but that's what happens when taking replacement thyroid hormone. TSH is a pituitary hormone, not a thyroid hormone. The pituitary looks to see whether there is enough thyroid hormone, if there's not enough it will send a signal to the thyroid to produce some. That signal is TSH - Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. When there is too little thyroid hormone the TSH will be high, when there is enough the TSH will be low. Because you are taking Levo - replacement thyroid hormone - the pituitary can see that you have plenty of thyroid hormone so doesn't need to signal the thyroid to make any - so you have low TSH.

The only way you can be overmedicated when taking thyroid replacement hormone is if FT3 goes over range. This is explained by Dr Anthony Toft, leading endocrinologist and past president of the British Thyroid Association.

He wrote an article in Pulse Online Magazine where he states "The appropriate dose of levothyroxine is that which restores euthyroidism and serum TSH to the lower part of the reference range - 0.2-0.5mU/l.

In this case, free thyroxine is likely to be in the upper part of its reference range or even slightly elevated – 18-22pmol/l. Most patients will feel well in that circumstance.

But some need a higher dose of levothyroxine to suppress serum TSH and then the serum-free T4 concentration will be elevated at around 24-28pmol/l.

This 'exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism' is not dangerous as long as serum T3 is unequivocally normal – that is, serum total around T3 1.7nmol/l (reference range 1.0-2.2nmol/l)."

You can obtain a copy of the article by emailing [e-mail] , print it and show it to your GP then request an increase in your Levo to bring your FT4 and FT3 up nearer the top of the range because at the moment they are both less than half way through.

He also wrote a booklet - "Understanding Thyroid Disorders" - where he says "many people do not feel well unless their levels are at the bottom of the TSH range or below and at the top of the FT4 range or a little above." The booklet is published by the British Medical Association for patients and can be obtained from pharmacies and Amazon for about £4.95.

**

As for your vitamins and minerals -

Vitamin D 27.8 taking 1 tablet of 50,000iu Vitamin D once a week for 6 weeks

You are Vit D deficient but at least your GP is following he guidelines and giving you the proper loading doses which total 300,000iu over a period of time.

Once the loading doses are finished, you will be given a prescription for 800iu as a maintenance dose. Accept it by all means, but it wont be enough. 800iu is generally too low for anyone as a maintenance dose, particularly throughout the winter.

What you need to do is find out your level after your loading doses then if it hasn't reached the level recommended by the Vit D Council - which is 100-150nmolL - then post on the forum and we can advise what dose to take. Once you have reached the recommended level you'll need a maintenance dose which may be 2000iu daily, it's trial and error so it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep within the recommended range. You can do this with a private fingerprick blood spot test with City Assays vitamindtest.org.uk/

There are important cofactors needed when taking D3

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.

Not much point in discussing this with your GP, they're not taught nutrition so don't know any of this.

**

Ferritin 15 ( 11.00-200.00)

This is way too low. Did you have an iron panel and full blood count done to see if you have iron deficiency? If not ask for them.

For thyroid hormone to work ferritin needs to be at least 70, preferably half way through range.

You need iron supplements to raise your level so ask your GP. For low ferritin it's usually 1 x ferrous fumarate once or twice a day and for iron deficiency it's 1 x ferrous fumarate two or three times a day. With your low level of ferritin you probably need the maximum. You could ask for an iron infusion but you may only be prescribed tablets which will take months to raise your level whereas an infusion will raise your level within 24-48 hours.

Take each iron tablet with 1000mg Vitamin C to aid absorption and help prevent constipaton. Always take iron 4 hours away from thyroid meds and two hours away from other medication and supplements as it will affect absorption.

**

Folate 9.4 ( 4.00ug/L)

B12 328

Check for any signs of B12 deficiency here b12deficiency.info/signs-an... If you have any then you need to post on the Pernicious Anaemia Society forum for further advice healthunlocked.com/pasoc

If not then you need to raise your level. 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."

Sublingual methylcobalamin lozenges are what's needed to supplement B12 yourself along with a good B Complex to balance all the B vitamins.

[16york68]

Susie, thank you very much for your detailed reply.

No I am not happy with having my meds reduced. I have just changed GP this year and have been messed about more than I ever was with my GP of 69 years standing.

I will see what the next bloods results are and take it from there.

My comment to my doc was " no detriment to you,but if you didn't specialisein endocrinology, how do you know that 75mcg is the correct dose "