Hi everyone.
In the past I have seen posts about vitamin optimisation but cannot find any of them.
Please can someone advise me of the vitamins I need to optimise, and the daily doses required?
I remember seeing something about selenium, magnesium, vit D and B in the past.
Thank you in advance
If you read SeasideSusie's posts for instance, that will give you a good idea of what factors are important in optimising good thyroid function. However before supplementing anything, your first step must be to have your own levels measured, to identify where, if at all, your levels are falling short, and what supplementation is required. If you already have test results, post them here and member can comment on them.
Thank you for your reply MaisieGray. I have just had my blood results and have posted them on SeasideSusie’s reply to me. Hoping she can shed some light as the endo told me to stop taking T3 and raised my levothyroxine by 25mcg to 200mcg. (I was on 25mcg liothyronine and my GP reduced me to 100mcg levothyroxine in view of this, but the endo raised it to 175mcg levothyroxine for six weeks before the most recent blood test). Now I have just received a letter discharging me back to GP stating my levels are fine:
TSH 4.6U/L
Free T4 10.7pmol/L
Free T3 4.6pmol/L
Apparently, I should be happy because my TSH is no longer suppressed by the liothyronine, but in the fact is I am back to where I started before seeing the Endo (on 200mcg levothyroxine). The only good thing that came out of the one consultation is that she actually confirmed Hashimotos. Apart from that I’m still feeling as ‘poop’ as I did before.
For many people, (and without the reference ranges I'm informed guessing only), those numbers will be indicative of being under-medicated and symptomatic. A TSH for many, needs to be around 1.0, and when on mono-T4, FT4 in the top half of range and FT3 in the upper quartile. When dosing with T3 in whatever form, that changes to low/suppressed TSH, lowish FT4, and top quartile FT3.
I couldn’t include the reference ranges as that is exactly as the endo wrote it in the letter. I wonder if they use the same reference range as my GP. If so, I can post them from previous blood test.
The ranges are pertinent to the laboratory carrying out the assay, so if they use the same laboratory yes, otherwise no.
I’m not sure about which labs are used, but I’m assuming probably the same as I live on an island. I’ve just purchased Izabella Wentz’s book, so have some serious reading to do 😀
bluehaven201
The important ones always recommended here are
Vit D
B12
Folate
Ferritin
and if ferritin is very low then
Iron Panel
Full Blood Count
They should be tested before supplementing, you need to know if you do need to supplement and at what level. Vit D and iron can reach toxic levels if supplemented unnecessarily.
Selenium can help with T4 to T3 conversion which some people need, and selenium can be tested too.
Thank you for your reply SeasideSusie. I have just had some bloods done. Here are the results. Wondering what your thoughts are on these levels.
Serum vitamin B12 level 477ng/L [180.0 - 900.0] No supplement taken
Serum folate level 19.6ug/L [4.0 - 20.0] No supplement taken
Serum ferritin level 26ug/L. [15.0 - 200.0] No supplement taken
Serum vitamin D level 83.6nmo/L. [50.0 - 150.0] 800ui taken daily
Any help greatly appreciated as getting nowhere with endo or gp.
bluehaven201
Serum vitamin B12 level 477ng/L [180.0 - 900.0] - ng/L is the same as pg/ml
I have read (but not researched so don't have links) that BCSH, UKNEQAS and NICE guidelines recommend:
"In the presence of discordance between test results and strong clinical features of deficiency, treatment should not be delayed to avoid neurological impairment."
Signs and symptoms listed here b12deficiency.info/signs-an...
And 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."
So if you have no signs and symptoms of B12 deficiency then it would be a good idea to supplement to raise your level to at least 550. 1000mcg sublingual methylcobalamin will help and when taking B12 we need a good B Complex to balance all the B vitamins. There are B Complex supplements that give a good level of B12 so you would only need to take that, have a look at Igennus Super B which at the recommended dose of 2 tablets gives 900mcg methylcobalamin although it is not a sublingual supplement but certainly worth a try.
Serum folate level 19.6ug/L [4.0 - 20.0]
This is good.
Serum ferritin level 26ug/L. [15.0 - 200.0]
Even though this is in range and wouldn't raise any red flags for your doctor, it is very low and I would ask for an iron panel and full blood count to see if there is any anaemia. If not then you can help raise your level by eating liver regularly, maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content, also liver pate, black pudding, and including lots of iron rich foods in your diet apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/in...
This is much easier than taking iron tablets which really should be provided by a doctor rather than self supplemented.
Serum vitamin D level 83.6nmo/L. [50.0 - 150.0] 800ui taken daily
This isn't too bad although The Vit D Council recommends a level of 125nmol/L and the Vit D Society recommends a level between 100-150nmol/L. As we can't make Vit D naturally from the sun during the winter months so we draw on what has been stored during the summer, it's an idea to top up now. With your current level the Vit D Council suggests, to reach their recommended level, 2,500iu D3 daily along with it's cofactors.
Your doctor wont know, because they are not taught nutrition, but there are important cofactors needed when taking D3 as recommended by the Vit D Council -
vitamindcouncil.org/about-v...
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 such as hardening of the arteries, kidney stones, etc.
D3 and K2 are fat soluble so should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, D3 four hours away from thyroid meds if taking tablets/capsules/softgels, no necessity if using an oral spray
Magnesium helps D3 to work. We need Magnesium so that the body utilises D3, it's required to convert Vit D into it's active form. So it's important we ensure we take magnesium when supplementing with D3.
Magnesium 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 taking tablets/capsules, no necessity if using topical forms of magnesium.
naturalnews.com/046401_magn...
Check out the other cofactors too (some of which can be obtained from food).
Its possible you have not found RELATED POSTS. Scroll down and down if you are on a phone or to the right of your post if on a PC. There you will find 10 similar posts to yours. 😊😊
Thank you for your reply Marz. I have found a few posts relating to vitamins but still can’t find where I read about the optimisation of vitamins for hypothyroidism and hashimotos. I may have even read it on either Isabel Wentz or Dr Josh Axe’s websites. Brain fog kicks in and I forget where I read stuff.
It is certainly included in Izabella Wentz' book Root Cause. 
Thank you, thank you p, thank you. That must be where I read it!
Hashi's and Vitamin A
Best place to buy Doctor's Best Vitamin D3
Blood results - Vitamin D deficiency
Vitamin D with Vitamin K
