Help with vitamins and gluten free please!!

[Flecmac]

Hi

I've been taking a multivitamin with 10ug Vitamin D inc. 90 ug vitamin K, also cod liver oil containing 9.5 ug vitamin D. I would like to know the best vitamins to buy and the right dose for me. I fear taking too much Vit D owing to reading how dangerous high doses can be over many years. I am not sure if I need more B 12, folate and ferrtin etc. that there is in the multivitamins, or how much vitamin K is needed. I have been trying gluten free for two weeks, if product has nothing in bold for allergens but then says it has been produced in a factory where wheat etc may be present, should I avoid these? Do I also have to be dairy free? My diet is fairly compromised anyway, certain foods upset me etc and I am very slim, so no weight to lose.

My Rheumatologist has requested a CT with contrast as chest x-ray showed enlarged trachea. Could this be connected with thyroid? I'm worried what this might be. I have seen my GP to put to her that I need to go back on thyroxine (she lowered my dose and took me off it 18 months ago and I haven't been well at all recently), she reluctantly prescribed 25mcg and wants to wait to see results of CT which is on Monday. Should I stop taking thyroxine before C.T. or is it OK? I cannot eat or drink (only water). Endo tests are as follows:

AFTERNOON TFT’s:

TSH 3.0 mu/l [0.3 - 5.5] mu/L

T4 11.1 [10.0-19.8] pmol/L

T3 4.7 [3.5-6.7] pmol/L

Vitamin D 50 (24 -167)

B12 704 (190-8000

Folate 8.6 (3.0 - 17.0)

Ferritin 75 (12.0 - 300)

MORNING TFT’s:-

TSH 3.8 mu/l [0.3 - 5.5] mu/L

T4 10.7 pmol/l [10.0-19.8] pmol/L

T3 4.7 pmol/l [3.5-6.7] pmol/L

Endo says all normal, but noted the antibodies done by GP of <1300 to be positive.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Flecmac You won't get to toxic Vit D level as long as you test twice a year whilst supplementing. The Vit D Council recommends a level of 100-150nmol/L and anything above 250 is toxicity level according to City Assays who you can use do do a home fingerprick blood spot test vitamindtest.org.uk/index.html

With your current level of 50 you haven't said whether that is nmol/L or Ng/ml but here on the UK it's normally nmol/L.

As you have Hashi's the best form of Vit D supplement t is an oral spray as it gives better absorption. BetterYou do a D3 spray and a combination D3/K2-MK7 spray and they come in 3000iu and 1000iu doses. You could take 6000iu daily for 3 months then retest and once you've reached the recommended level then reduce to a maintenance dose, which could be 2000iu daily, it's trial and error. You could use the combination spray and you wouldn't have to worry about a separate K2-MK7 but if you want separate supplements the usual amount for K2 is 90-100mcg.

Ferritin is fine.

Folate isn't bad but recommended is at least half way through range.

B12 is good but 900-1000 can help prevent dementia.

[Flecmac in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks SeasideSusie

The vitamin D results do not say which measurements but must be nmol/L as in UK.

Can I take thyroxine before my ct on Monday? They are looking at enlarged trachea which I guess could be to do with thyroid.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Flecmac]

Sorry, I don't know about taking your Levo before your CT scan. Maybe make a new thread, put question in title to attract attention of those who may have had this procedure.

[Flecmac in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks.

[Flecmac in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks. If I had 6000 iu of D3 and K2 in spray as you say, wouldn’t that give too much vitamin K?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Flecmac]

It would only be temporary, about 3 months, then you would lower the dose. The 3000iu dose one gives 75mcg K2-MK7 so double dosing would give 150mcg.

But if you're concerned, take a separate D3 and K2-MK7.

PS - I've just seen on their website that they only do the combined spray in 3000iu dose.

[Flecmac in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks. Yes I saw that, wondered if it was right? Is BetterYou good place to get B12 too?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Flecmac]

I don't use BetterYou myself as I don't have Hashi's and it's accompanying absorption problems.

For B12 you could use sublingual methylcobalamin lozenges or the oral spray, both bypass the stomach for better absorption. Bear in mind your B12 level is already good, if you want to boost it to 1000 then you may only need to supplement a few times a week with a low dose supplement of no more than 1000mcg. If you do supplement with B12 you should also take a B Complex to balance all the B vitamins. Or you could look for a B Complex with a decent level of B12 (make sure it says methylcobalamin).

[Flecmac in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

I agree with SeasideSusie on the vitamin advice

Your very under medicated thyroid wise

Dose should be high enough to bring TSH down to around one and FT4 towards top of range and FT3 at least half way in range.

Dr Toft, past president of the British Thyroid Association and leading endocrinologist, states in Pulse Magazine,

"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 articles from Thyroid UK email [e-mail]. print it and highlight question 6 to show your doctor.

Are you still only taking 25mcgs? You need 25mcg dose increase and retesting after 6-8 weeks. Likely to need further increase(s)

All thyroid tests should be done as early as possible in morning and fasting and don't take Levo in the 24 hours prior to test, delay and take straight after. This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results

Your GP is an idiot if they really don't understand that Levothyroxine is a replacement thyroid hormone. It's not a medication you can stop. It's for life, in all but the very rarest of cases.

When blood tests are good taking Levothyroxine, it doesn't then mean GP can stop prescribing. Unbelievable ignorance if they think that.

Gluten free, you should avoid things that say "made in factory where wheat is present" if at all possible. Also avoid cross contamination e.g. Using same toaster, butter dish etc

Personally I would just stick on gluten free, not include dairy as well, unless you think you are getting reaction from dairy. Milk especially is more likely to upset than butter & cheese.

Is there any pattern to what foods upset you? Some with Hashimoto's react to nightshades - tomatoes, peppers, aubergine.

Eating little and often may help improve your weight.

Did you loose weight while Levo was incorrectly stopped?

[Flecmac in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you. I haven’t taken any thyroxine for 18 months, just started again on 25mcg as GP sees results as normal and wants to see what CT scan shows. I didn’t loose weight without Levo until I became ill in July and had to cancel our holiday on day of departure. I still have hip and back pain and most of the symptoms on the Thyroid UK website, although I am better than I was in July/ August. I had a stir fry the other day with shredded vegetables and my tummy/bowel and joint pains are worse. I have to be very careful with food.

[marigold22]

SeasideSusie and SlowDragon have given you good advice. I have Hashimotos Thyroiditis and since August 2017 have been following a strict way of eating. I am now the best I have ever been - was still getting periods of suicidal thoughts, high anxiety, agoraphobia. Basically it involves cutting out ALL grains, (not even one piece of bread), cutting out as much sugar as possible, taking into account that fruit contains sugar so only one piece of fruit each day, AND adding Good Fats (full fat milk, cream, plain bio yoghurt, all cheeses, nuts, olive oil, etc.) If you would like a copy of my Special way of Eating (I don't call it a Diet as I didn't need to lose weight) please send me a PM