Was diagnosed being Hypo back in 2005, GP put me on 125mcg of levothyroxine.
Since the age of 15, I have also had vitiligo.
It did not take long and by 2007 have been on 250mcg daily, I am reluctant to have dose increased any further and my GP has no clue what to do next.
Have been to an Endo a couple of times over the years and when I have queried the use of NDT and\or T3 it has always been dismissed as no evidence to support justifying prescribing either.
My latest round of blood results are:-
Free T3 - 3.5 pmol/L
Free t4 - 13 3.5 pmol/L
TSH - 4.9 mU/L
The tiredness, fog, joint ache and weight fluctuation is a never ending cycling that has such an impact on my life.
Am always looking for alternative options, is taking Tiromel worth a try, where to purchase it from and what doses should I start with?
TIA
Written by
Mohandeep
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Can you please provide the reference ranges for your test results, they vary from lab to lab so results can't be interpreted without the range your lab uses.
Also, please double check FT4 result, it doesn't look right.
What is very obvious is that your TSH is far too high for someone on Levo. The aim of a treated hypo patient generally is for TSH to be 1 or below or wherever it needs to be for FT4 and FT3 to be in the upper part of their respective reference ranges when on Levo.
Have you ever had thyroid antibodies tested - Thyroid Peroxidase and Thyroglobulin - to see if you have autoimmun thyroid disease (Hashimoto's).
Also very important for thyroid hormone to work are optimal nutrient levels. You need the following tested
Vit D
B12
Folate
Ferritin
If already tested, please post results with their ranges, if not tested I would arrange to have this done as soon as possible.
If you are taking 250 ug T4 still, and have thyroid values like you state, then it is very clear that you are not taking in T4 into your blood system efficiently. It isn't primarily a matter of conversion to T3 once its in, but that it isn't going in at all well. I would suggest that you try liquid thyroxine if your GP can access it. Then if that does't work, T3 is the only option in combination or alone.
Thanks diogenes. Hopefully will get some further information.
Hi, with regard to your vitiligo, I read somewhere some while back that vitiligo is a folic acid deficiency but I can't now put my hands on where I saw that. However, I have picked at random a link, which might at least give you an idea of how this process works and then you can research further if you think it is relevant. It also seems to involve B12 & C. There is a gene mutation that inhibits the enzyme that turns folic acid into its useable form (MTHFR) so that might be something to keep in mind. Its about half way down the page:-
How do you take your levo? Do you take it on an empty stomach and leave at least an hour before eating or drinking, two hours before taking other medications or supplements, and at least four hours before taking iron, calcium, magnesium and vit D? Are you on any other medication?
OK, so you have serious absorption problems. Could be leaky gut, could be low stomach acid - has any of this been investigated? Have you tried going gluten-free?
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Difference between Free T3 and T3?
Endo wants me to reduce T3 and raise T4
Optimizing Free T3 to resolve symptoms?
