New to NDT and help with blood test results please

[ClairePorter]

I have finally seen a private doctor and got a private prescription for NDT (West Thyroid make). I was previously on a dose of 75mg Levothyroxine and they have given me the eqivalent in West Thyroid. I have been taking it for 1 week and feel worse and energy levels are extremely low. Do I need to allow some time for my body to adjust to it? Can anyone help me make sense of my latest blood test results too? I'll attach a photo.

I have been following the Autoimmune Paleo diet for the last 6 months and have lost 3 dress sizes but still struggle with brain fog and anxiety and bloating terribly. I was hoping to reverse the autoimmunity, do my antibodies look high?

I still need to purchase a pro biotic, digestive enzymes, iodine I think? I currently take vit D natural drops (I was vit D deficient but am not any longer), breastfeeding support multi vitamins, I have apple cider vinegar with each meal also.

Any help or advise at all would be most appreciated.

Thank you so much in advance,

Claire

[eeng]

Most people need to get their TSH down to 1 to feel better, and since you are now taking something containing T3 your TSH may well end up closer to zero. You are aiming to get your FT3 and FT4 up into the top half of the ranges. The reference ranges are missing from your post but I think you are positive for Tg Antibodies (although not very strongly).

Basically the message is that you need a higher dose of NDT. You could probably take an extra half a grain (30mg) in a week's time. Normally when people start on NDT they are advised to leave 2 weeks between dose changes to start off with, and longer once they are close to an optimum dose. You have been on Levothyroxine previously so 2 weeks will probably work for you.

It is worth getting your ferritin/iron and B12/folate levels checked since they are often deficient in people with dodgy thyroids, and they all need to be mid range for your thyroid hormones to work properly. Iodine isn't necessarily a good thing, and anyway your NDT contains lots of iodine in the form of T3 and T4, so you probably don't need that.

Probiotics and digestive enzymes are a matter of personal choice. If you go for the leaky gut theories then you will probably take them, but if not you won't bother. You could try them, see if you feel better, and ditch them if not. Some of these things are expensive if they don't help you.

[ClairePorter in reply to eeng]

Thanks so much for your response. I will speak with the doctor with a view to increasing dosage.