Hello
(I am currently on 25mcg a day of levo. I definitely feel underactive, having particular problems with inflamed gums that I have posted separately about. I also have Grave's disease (in remission)).
Had blood test in December to check my vitamin levels, would welcome thoughts on changes to supplementation. Blood test attached as a pic below.
Up until the test I was taking for a number of months the following:
- 5000iu of vitamin D every other day (this was right over summer as it's now winter, should I just continue with 5000iu every other day - I wear high factor suncream and cover up all summer as I have very fair skin and burn easily).
- Ferritin - I have been struggling to get up for months and months and struggle to tolerate iron tablets - have just changed to 4xdessicated liver tablets with 1000mg of vit C, plus 2xgentle iron with 1000mg of vit c a day.
- Thornes B complex, one every other day - I've increased it to daily since this test - is this right?
- My zinc is right at the bottom of the range. I found a study online (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl... that seems to indicate optimal zinc is 90-150 mcg/dl. I converted my result to mcg/dl which I believe equals 70.9373. I know reference ranges vary but I believe this gives an indication that my level is sub-optimal? Any thoughts on this?
I thought I had read that zinc supplements can worsen ferritin levels, but on reading again, I think that's only if you take zinc supplements on their own?
Any tips on how much/what type of zinc to take and how to take it?
- I understand that l-lysine can help to raise ferritin and zinc levels - anyone tried this? Any issues with taking this I should be aware of?
- I was taking 200mcg a day of selenium (I tested prior to starting and my result was in range but right at the bottom). As I am now over range I have stopped to deplete them a little but was thinking of restarting at 100mcg a day?
- I note my sodium level is just under range but my thyroid hormones were below range just before this test was done and I understand low sodium can be caused by an underactive thyroid. Is this something to be concerned about?
On top of the above I also take:
- Fish oils
- Psyllium husks
- Magnesium Malate at night - 350mg
Thanks everyone!
SeasideSusie - would particularly welcome your thoughts