I've just received results back from Blue Horizon. 48 years old been on levothyroxine for many years, I think 10. See below for results. I can understand the TSH level and I think that is ok, also understand that the TPO is high, but do not know what that means and if other levels are ok. THey all seem in the normal range.
I have several symptoms; tiredness, very achy legs and lower back, thinning hair, brittle nails, foggy brain and memory loss etc have had these for yeArs but they have been getting progressively worse over past 6 months.
I take levothyroxine 125 mg daily as well as vit d and b12 supplements and Ferroglobulin from the health shop.
Any help and advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks for your help.
ferritin 21.5 normal range 13-150
TSH 0.31 Range 0.7-4.20
Total t4 83.8 range 66-181
Free T4 15.60 range 12-22
Free T3 4.10 range 3.1-6.8
ANtithyroidperoxidase 173 <34
ANtithyroidglobulin 13 <115
Vit D 68 range 50-175
Vit B 375 range 250-569
Serum folate 25 range 8.8-60.8
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Jmorgan48
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Your antibodies are high this is Hashimoto's, (also known by medics here in UK more commonly as autoimmune thyroid disease).
About 90% of all primary hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto's
Hashimoto's affects the gut and often leads to low stomach acid and then low vitamin levels
Low vitamin levels affect Thyroid hormone working
Your levels are all too low. Hopefully SeasideSusie will be along with detailed supplements advice soon. If not see her replies to others
Poor gut function can lead leaky gut (literally holes in gut wall) this can cause food intolerances. Most common by far is gluten. Dairy is second most common.
According to Izabella Wentz the Thyroid Pharmacist approx 5% with Hashimoto's are coeliac, but over 80% find gluten free diet helps significantly. Either due to direct gluten intolerance (no test available) or due to leaky gut and gluten causing molecular mimicry (see Amy Myers link)
Changing to a strictly gluten free diet may help reduce symptoms, help gut heal and slowly lower TPO antibodies
But don't be surprised that GP or endo never mention gut, gluten or low vitamins. Hashimoto's is very poorly understood
you are possibly under medicated as FT3 is too low, but GP very unlikely to agree as TSH is so low
Improving vitamins and strictly gluten free diet is first steps
Then you may get better absorption of Levothyroxine. Retesting in 2-months perhaps
Always take Levo on empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after. Many take on waking, but it may be more convenient and possibly more effective taken at bedtime
Many people find Levothyroxine brands are not interchangeable. Once you find a brand that suits you, best to make sure to only get that one at each prescription. Watch out for brand change when dose is increased
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. (Patient to patient tip, GP will be unaware)
Thank you so much for your reply. Was hoping someone would be able to answer in a way I could understand. Have made appointment with GP and A nutristionist. Really want to feel well now, especially as menopause is fast approaching! Thanks
What brand and how much D3 do you take? Do you take D3's important cofactors Vit K2-MK7 and magnesium?
Vit B 375 range 250-569
Serum folate 25 range 8.8-60.8
What brand and how much B12 do you take, and are you taking a good B complex to balance all the B vitamins?
ferritin 21.5 normal range 13-150
Which Ferroglobin and how much are you taking? Your ferritin is dire and needs to be at least 70 for thyroid hormone to work. You can help raise your level by eating liver regularly, maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content, and including lots of iron rich foods in your diet apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/in...
Thanks so much for your reply. I'm taking Innopure vit d3 5,000 iu X1 daily, but do not take a cofactors with it? Actually ferritin was 11, I read it wrong. I take Feroglobin liquid by vitabiotics just over the counter chemist stuff, 5 ml a day and iron content is 7 mg per 5 ml. And I have one drop of B complex sublingual which contains 1,200 ug of B12 per drop, holland and Barrett.
I have just gone Completely gluten and dairy free.
dr has had to rearrange my follow up blood test appointment, so I have to wait 2 weeks now. I'm guessing they would only give me an iron supplement anyway and not be interested in my antibodies level or want to know the reason why my ferritin is so low. I'm seeing a nutrioinalist on Monday so hopefully she will help. I will have to get some liver then, perhaps it wouldn't fast so bad in a curry!!
Jmorgan48, for SeasideSusie to be notified of your reply, you have to use the Reply button attached to her reply. All you've done is replied to yourself and Susie won't know. The alternative is to tag her, as described in this link :
The Vit D Council recommends a level of 100-150nmol/L. 5000iu is a decent amount to take until your reach that level, then you'll need to find a maintenance dose, that could be 5000iu alternate days, 2000iu daily, maybe more or less, it's trial and error. The it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep within the recommended range. You can do this with a private fingerprick blood spot test with City Assays vitamindtest.org.uk/
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
When you have finished your current supply of Innopure, personally I would take a D3 softgel. They contain olive oil to aid absorption and contain no added ingredients, only D3 and the oil. Doctors Best and Now Foods are good brands.
A good brand of K2-MK7 is Healthy Origins.
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Ferritin 11 (13-150)
You need to speak to your GP about this. Low ferritin can suggest iron deficiency anaemia. You need a full blood count and an iron panel.
Below range ferritin really needs an iron infusion. The 5mg ferritin in the Ferroglobin wont do anything at all to raise your level. If you were prescribed Ferrous Fumarate then each tablet contains 65mg elemental iron, and if you have iron deficiency anaemia you would be prescribed 3 tablets a day, so that would be 195mg elemental iron.
If you are prescribed iron tablets then take each one with 1000mg Vit C to aid absorption and help prevent constipation.
Take any form of iron 4 hours away from thyroid meds and 2 hours away from any other medication and supplements as it affects their absorption.
You can add liver to all sorts of meat dishes, cut up small or mince, add to casserole, bolognese, cottage pie, curry, etc. If you like liver pate you can have that as well.
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Vit B 375 range 250-569
Forget the H & B liquid B Complex. It contains B12 as Cyanocobalamin and we should take Methylcobalamin.
If you don't have any signs of B12 deficiency - check for that here b12deficiency.info/signs-an... - then you need sublingual methylcobalamin lozenges 5000iu, take one daily, finish one bottle then change to 1000iu daily. Jarrows do one, also Solgar but that brand seems to have gone very expensive lately.
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."
Retesting B12 wont give a baseline result unless off supplements for 4-5 months. However, it will tell you if your dose is too much or too little. If you reach over 1000 you can reduce your B12 lozenges from daily to just a few times a week as maintenance.
For a decent quality, better balanced B Complex to take in addition to the B12 lozenges (to balance all B vitamins), look at Thorne Basic B.
Wow you are so knowledgeable . You must have spent years researching? Thank you for giving your time and sharing your knowledge. I will definitely take some time to get a plan together for myself. It's so easy to forget about yourself when life is so busy.
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