Been diagnosed with underactive thyroid since april last year still feel rubbish.
getting lots of joint pain thumbs really bad causing problems opening bottles and gripping at times.
managed to get my gp to test my vitamin d levels and it is
40.9 nmol/L range 50-175 so insufficient
she has told me to take 400-800 iu but when she realised I was taking 1000iu a day she said to stay on that and she will retest in 6 weeks along with tsh.
I was on 50mcg levo for months telling them it was not enough but they left it and my tsh shot up to 10.66 so they have doubled to 100mcg levo that was checked and is coming down and is at 2.65 after 6 weeks but doctor wants to wait for a further 6 weeks to check them both to see how the levels are
any advise would be great
thanks
Written by
mo1972
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With a Vit D level of 40.9nmol I would suggest that you take 5000iu daily for 3 months then retest.
The Vit D Council recommends a level of 100-150nmol although your GP probably won't agree, they only need to get you into the "sufficiency" category.
When you have reached the recommended level you'll need to find your maintenance dose, which may be 2000iu daily, maybe more, maybe less, it's trial and error.
There are important cofactors needed when taking D3
D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and K2-MK7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems.
D3 and K2 are fat soluble so should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, D3 four hours away from thyroid meds.
Magnesium helps D3 to work and comes in different forms, check to see which would suit you best and as it's calming it's best taken in the evening, four hours away from thyroid meds
If you have Hashimoto's then an oral spray would be best for better absorption eg BetterYou who do D3 and a D3/K2-mk7 version. If not then D3 softgels are good. Good softgels are Doctor's Best and Now Foods, a good K2-mk7 softgel is Healthy Origins.
Thank you for all your help will look into getting more thought she was keeping it a bit low, because when I said I was taking 25mcg a day she said I was not taking enough and told be to take 400 - 800 iu which she wrote on a post it note, so when I got home I looked into it and realised that my 25mcg was the equivalent to 1000iu so contacted the surgery again to ask and she said stay on what I am taking, don't think she is very good at chemistry and working out dosage.
I had my vit b12 and folate tasted at same time as vit d not sure how to interpret, any help would be appreciated
B12 is good. For information an extract from the book, "Could it be B12?" by Sally M. Pacholok:
"We believe that the 'normal' serum B12 threshold needs to be raised from 200 pg/ml to at least 450 pg/ml because deficiencies begin to appear in the cerebrospinal fluid below 550".
"For brain and nervous system health and prevention of disease in older adults, serum B12 levels should be maintained near or above 1000 pg/ml."
I keep my level at around 1000 as I am in the older age group.
SERUM FOLATE 6.7ug/L range 3.89 - 26.8
This is low. Folate is recommended to be at least half way through it's range, which would be approx 15.5+ with that range. A good B Complex with 400mcg methylfolate will help raise your level. Have a look at Thorne Basic B. It also contains 400mcg methylcobalamin which should maintain your B12, or might even nudge it up a bit.
You could definatly do with an increase in vit D. Vitamin D council used to recommend 5,000 unit to maintain and 10,000 units to treat low levels.This may have changed an Seaside susan probably has better info. I like the better 4u spray but also a company called nutri do soem drop of Vit d and K 2.
I presume you are still feeling unwell and are wanting your GP to increase thyroxine furthur.It sounds like you GP is medicating according to TSH results and not medicating to relieve symptoms which is always problematic.
You might want to see if you can find a more thyroid savy doctor in your practice and next time you have blood taken do so first thing in the morning having not takne your medication the day before. Also ask for ferritin, folate and B12 to be tested as body unable to utilise thyroid hormone with out these being healthy and post you results on here.DO not accept normal or fine as an answer. Normal is a very wide spectrum and you may need more than just the bear minimum.
Thanks a lot for that I had my B12 and folate levels checked at same time as vit d
the results were:
vitamin b12 621ng/L range 191-663
SERUM FOLATE 6.7ug/L range 3.89 - 26.8
don't really know how to interpret these any help would be much appreciated
thank you so much
Mo
I have never seen that range for B12 before but as it is at the top it should be fine. It might well help to take some folate as so low in range. Did they test your ferritin as well? Thyroid issues affect vitmain and mineral absorbtion so a good muli supplement is really helpful.I get one called nutrience which contains every vitamin known to man, it is a drink. A liquid I think much better absorbed generally. I do take extra vit D and K2 though as need extra. I now need to jab B12 makes such a difference but yours is looking ok.
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Vitamin D Insufficiency? 
What vitamin D dose do you take? 
How much T3 do you take? 
Too much vitamin D
Really HOT at night, too much T4? Any ideas?
