Hi All, I have been taking Levothyroxine for 8 years and have had no improvement with my hairloss and weight gain. I don't sleep well and always feel really fatigued by 2pm each day. I keep fit and eat healthily but cannot lose weight however it is the hairloss that bothers me the most. I saw an endo through the NHS and after blood tests he increased my Levo to 75mg. He discharged me after one consultation and after 3 months of taking the higher dose nothing has changed at all. Should I go back and see him Privately or maybe see a different consultant (this option would be very costly)? or should I try Natural Dessicated Thyroid which I have read is extremely effective? Can this be taken whilst using HRT Estrogen patches?
Can you add the ranges on these. Each lab is different
Both your FT4 and FT3 look on low side, but need range
Have you had Thyroid antibodies tested ever? If so were they high? If high this is Hashimoto's also called autoimmune thyroid disease
Low vitamins are especially common with Hashimoto's
Have you had vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 tested? These are often too low and need to be optimal. Many need to supplement, but important to test FIRST.
I believe I was tested for autoimmune disease and vitamin levels in the past but I did not see the results of these tests. I was told over the phone that everything was normal.
Thank you for your help with this. It is much appreciated.
You are undermedicated. The aim of a treated hypo patient generally is for TSH to be 1 or below with FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of their respective reference ranges if that is where you feel well. You need an increase in dose of Levo. In support of requesting this, refer to thyroiduk.org/tuk/about_the... > Treatment Options
"Dr Toft 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)."
Dr Toft is past president of the British Thyroid Association and leading endocrinologist. You can obtain a copy of the article by emailing Dionne at tukadmin@thyroiduk.org and highlight question 6 to show your GP.
As of 27/01/17. Please note new adult reference range for iron. The concentrationof iron in serum is dependen on ingeston of iron and is subject to circadian variations.
Serum iron level 29 umol/L 5.80 - 34.50 umol/L
Serum TIBC 57 umol/L 45.00 - 70.00 umol/L
Saturartion iron binding 51 % 14.00 - 51.00%
Serum ferritin (VR2686) Normal 47 ug/L 13.00 - 150.00 ug/L
As of 23/11/15, new reference range quoted for Vitamin B12 due to change in method. Interpretations of results at the lower refrence limit can be unclear. See Chemical pathology handbook for more information.
Then there is a whole load of results for the full blood count which overall was normal no action.
I can't see there is much change in the results really but then again I don't know what i'm looking at really.
Hi Slow Dragon, I have started taking Ferrous Fumarate 120mg twice a day and have been advised by the lovely people on here to take Vit C with it because I suffer horrendously with constipation all day every day and the iron will make this worse. It seems I should be taking a lot of supplements such as the above plus magnesium, zinc, B12 and D3. I have just had bloods done yesterday and will get the results on Tuesday afternoon when I see my GP and this time I asked them to test my Vit D and B12 levels. I really appreciate your help with this matter.
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Help with hairloss ;-(
