Last year my 20 year old son became quite poorly, after many blood tests he was diagnosed as having hypothyroidism and kidney impairment. He was prescribed levothyroxine, and as the level stabilised, so the kidney function improved and no longer was a problem. My son's health was back to being a normal very healthy and he is again an nextremely active young man.
Fast forward 12 months, and I too have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and my kidney function is impaired at present. I've only been taking levothyroxine for 5 weeks, blood test next week for both.
Also worthy to mention 2 years ago, both my son mentioned above, me AND my older son all tested as having very low vitamin d levels.
I was wondering on 2 points, firstly has anyone ever heard of a link between hypothyroidism and kidney function impairment, secondly should I be having my older son checked too?
Thank you so much for reading this.
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SusieR68
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Are those your results or your son's? The results don't mean much without the lab ref ranges (the figures in brackets after results). Without them one can't tell whether results are within range or abnormal.
TSH is very high. Thyroid levels should be rechecked 6-8 weeks after increasing Levothyroxine dose in case a further dose increase is required.
FT4 is low in range as expected otherwise TSH wouldn't be high. As I said, make sure you have a follow up thyroid test in 6 weeks because you will probably need another dose increase.
Thyroid peroxidase antibodies are positive for autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's). There is no cure for Hashimoto's which causes 90% of hypothyroidism. Levothyroxine treatment is for the low thyroid levels it causes. Many people have found that 100% gluten-free diet is helpful in reducing Hashi flares, symptoms and eventually antibodies.
High creatinine and low GFR indicate impaired kidney function. As mentioned previously, kidney function often improves once thyroid function is optimal.
B12 is deficient. GP should initiate B12 injections and check intrinsic factor antibodies to see whether pernicious anaemia is causing B12 deficiency. Folate also needs to be tested. If folate is deficient folic acid should not be taken until 48 hours after initiation of B12 injection. healthunlocked.com/pasoc are the experts on PA and B12 deficiency so pop over to speak to them for advice.
Ferritin is also deficient and this may indicate iron deficiency anaemia. Your GP should do an iron panel and full blood count to check. If you are prescribed iron it should be taken 4 hours away from Levothyroxine.
What was your vitD result when you were told it was low and how much vitD are you prescribed?
It was checked after the 2 months and it was 91 then. Its never checked since been on the 800iu (2 years next month). Apparently, GPS dont offer the test any longer (presumably cost cutting exercise)
It depends on the practice. I think it is very short sighted not to test annually as there's no guarantee 800iu will be sufficient. An annual test would pay for itself by preventing more serious illness which deficiency can cause.
Quite a few hypothyroid people have come on to the forum and mentioned poor kidney function, which is always treated by doctors as if it was completely unrelated to hypothyroidism. But when the hypothyroidism is treated properly kidney function often improves.
One of the supplements that is often mentioned as being helpful for kidney health is
r-alpha-lipoic-acid
I have no idea what the difference is between that and alpha-lipoic-acid without the r!
It would be worth getting your older son checked out for kidney function, nutrient levels and hypothyroidism. If his results come back fine you have at least put your mind at ease, if they don't you know that something can be done about them.
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