Hypertension - can anyone help please?

[Ellieb9]

Hi

I am new to this site. Is hypertension seen in hypothyroid. I was diagnosed hypothyroid back in Feb 2018 and at the moment I take 50mcg Levothyroxine. Other symptoms I have -

Tiredness

Goitre

Hard stools

Difficulty staying asleep

Headaches

Tearfulness

Weight gain

Chest pain

Slow heart rate

Puffy ankles and face

Eyelashes falling out

Periods becoming scanty but usually heavy

Breathlessness

My blood pressure when checked by a nurse was 138/101 after 20 minutes of resting. She asked me if it has always been high and I said it has been very high for the past 3 years.

Thank you in advance.

APRIL 2018

*TSH 4.32 (0.2 - 4.2 MIU/L)

FT4 17.3 (12 - 22 PMOL/L)

FT3 3.2 (3.1 - 6.8 PMOL/L)

*THYROGLOBULIN ANTIBODY 378.3 (<115 IU/ML)

*THYROID PEROXIDASE ANTIBODY 104.5 (<34 IU/ML)

[greygoose]

Yes, high blood pressure can most certainly be a hypo symptom. I always had high blood pressure before I was diagnosed.

And, you are still hypo. Your TSH is much too high. Why are you still on 50 mcg. You should have been retested after six weeks and your dose increased by 25 mcg.

[Ellieb9 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks. I had bloods done today for thyroid. I was on 25mcg Levothyroxine initially and had it increased to 50mcg in mid May. This was because I get a lot of sweats and tremor and the GP wanted to be cautious with my dose.

[greygoose in reply to Ellieb9]

Sweats and tremors are the sort of symptoms that can be either hypo or hyper. Same as high blood pressure! But doctors like to file away all the symptoms in little boxes marked 'hypo' and 'hyper'. It doesn't work like that, in reality. There's such a thing as being over-cautious, and meanwhile, the patient suffers.

[Ellieb9 in reply to greygoose]

Ok thanks. So all the symptoms I have are pretty much hypo ones? What do the antibody levels mean?

[greygoose in reply to Ellieb9]

They mean that you have Autoimmune Thyroiditis - aka Hashi's. Hashi's is a disease where the immune system attacks and slowly destroys your thyroid. And that's why you're hypo. And you really need your TSH down at zero to avoid the attacks. So, you don't want your doctor to be too cautious because you've still got a way to go.

Are you gluten-free? Do you take selenium? Have you had your vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin tested?

[Ellieb9 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks. I didn't know anything about going gluten free. I was in two minds about taking selenium because the GP said it was in range but to me it looked on the low side and I just thought doctors know best. I have had vitamins tested and I supplement too. I had an IV iron done last week for recurring iron deficiency anaemia and I felt a bit sick afterwards. I was also more tired after it had been done.

DEC 2017

VITAMIN D TOTAL 57.7

(<25 NMOL/L SEVERE VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY.

25 - 50 NMOL/L VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY.

50 - 75 NMOL/L VITAMIN D SUBOPTIMAL

>75 NMOL/L ADEQUATE)

I take 3000IU vitamin D since September 2017.

APRIL 2018

FERRITIN 22 (15 - 150 UG/L)

FOLATE 2.38 (2.50 - 19.50 UG/L)

VITAMIN B12 261 (190 - 900 PG/L)

SELENIUM 92 (89 - 1.65 UMOL/L)

So the IV iron was done after the April reading because back in 2016 it was 12 (15 - 150 UG/L) and I had my first IV iron to correct it

Folic acid 5mg since November 2016

Nothing for B12

[greygoose in reply to Ellieb9]

Oh, I'm so sorry, doctors know nothing at all about hormone, and even less about nutrition! Don't take the selenium continuously. Buy a box, take the tablets until it's empty, then have a break for a month or so before buying another one.

OK, well, I think you might want to increase your vit D for a while, it's still much too low. And, when taking vit D, you should also take vit K2 - MK7 and magnesium. Do you take your vit D at least four hours away from levo?

For the B12, you should be taking sublingual methylcobalamin, 5000 mcg daily - when the pot's finished, get 1000 mcg as a maintenance dose. Drop the folic acid. Not the best thing to take. Instead, get a B complex with at least 400 mcg methylfolate, and take one a day. That should bring your folate up.

[Ellieb9 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks. Yes I take my Levothyroxine in the morning and the vit D in the evening.

[greygoose in reply to Ellieb9]

Good.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

See my reply to post above

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

As greygoose says you are very under medicated at the moment. Low vitamins affect Thyroid hormones

Taking a good quality daily vitamin B complex with folate in rather than folic acid is possibly more beneficial eg Igennus Super B complex or Jarrow B right. If you have low B12 symptoms then a sublingual B12 or B12 mouth spray, as well

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

Low vitamin D affect B vitamins

drgominak.com/sleep/vitamin...

If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 3-5 days before any blood tests, as biotin can falsely affect test results

endo.confex.com/endo/2016en...

endocrinenews.endocrine.org...

Vitamin D is still too low. Aiming to improve to around 100nmol. Vitamin D mouth spray by Better You is good as avoids poor gut function. Suggest you try 3000iu for 2-3 months and retest. It's trial and error what dose each person needs. Once you Improve level, very likely you will need on going maintenance dose to keep it there. Retesting twice yearly via vitamindtest.org.uk




Also read up on importance of magnesium and vitamin K2 Mk7 supplements when taking vitamin D

betterbones.com/bone-nutrit...




articles.mercola.com/sites/...

healthy-holistic-living.com...




articles.mercola.com/sites/...


betterbones.com/bone-nutrit...

Good you had iron infusion. Eating liver or liver pate once a week should help maintain levels

[Ellieb9 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks. I do not currently take a B complex. The haematology department suspects I have problems with my B12 because I tried to raise my B12 with an oral spray 1000mg. I even doubled it and the level still didn't rise much.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Ellieb9]

Taking a vitamin B complex may help. We need all the B vitamins at good levels

You could look at testing homocysteine and MMA as well as active B12 privately

healthline.com/health/vitam...

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Ellieb9]

We often need high dose to start

Typically 5000mcg B12 PLUS a good vitamin B complex for a month.

Then reduce B12 to 1000mcg , plus B complex. Staying on that about 6 months .....then stop B12 but stay on B complex.

If B12 symptoms return then add B12 back in for few more months and then try dropping B12 again

Low vitamin D and low B vitamins are linked

drgominak.com/sleep/vitamin...