I've submitted two posts before this, but these seem to have caused some confusion, I had no intention of misleading anyone or wasting any ones time, my first was about how shocked I was over how little GP's know about hypothyroidism/ Hashi's and to thank people on here for the valuable info I had learnt from reading the forums, from this, SlowDragon suggested asking my doc for Vit D, folate, ferritin and B12, I asked and got the blood tests apart from the Vit D one as I already take this alongside a calcium tablet for osteopenia.
I then posted my test results, Vit B12 607 ng/L (211.0-911.0)
Ferritin 342 ug/L (10.0-322.0) above high ref limit
Folate >24.0 ug/L (5.4-24.0) above high ref limit
I was asked If I took supplements, I replied I didn't as I though that meant any extra Vit D or iron, I have since realised my reply was wrong as I take a Boots A-Z multivitamin which contains biotin, iron and a host of other stuff !
I now intend to stop taking this as I realise it could have skewed my results, I do have full blood results but don't want to clog up this post with them unless they're needed.
It's been suggested SeasideSusie, SlowDragon or humanbean can help with any supplements I may need?
For info: 5'1 female 49 yr old, take 50 mg Levo as TPO was 1300, symptoms, weight gain and fatigue, I also have a sore tongue which I thought maybe a cause of low Vit B12 but it doesnt seem that low ?
I weigh 8st but was 7st gained 1 stone recently although following a low carb diet / keto with no change in the past 4 years.
Take baby aspirin & 5mg Crestor statin for peripheral arterial disease ( very narrow arteries in legs) resolved 4 yrs ago by angioplasty.
Osteopenia from early menopause @ 35
And 300mg of magnesium as I low carb/ keto.
Thanks for reading
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Bev69
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Hiya, sorry I can't help with anything - but I just noticed you said about a sore tongue, I have this too! Doc gave me thrush medicine ( it's not thrush).
Also interesting about supplements and blood tests as I didn't give it a thought when I had my B12 tested ( for the tongue issue) and it came back above average..... I take a good multi vitamin too 😳
ys52 Multivitamins are definitely not advised. They generally if not always combine factors that shouldn't be taken together, because some ingredients work against or obstruct the take up of others; the amount is often too low to be of benefit or in the wrong proportions, or may simply be not what you need; they may routinely contain ingredients that people rarely need to supplement with, such as copper; they often contain iodine or kelp, which can be antithyroid (iodine used to be used in solution as a treatment for hyperthyroidism) and should be taken in any case, only under advice and only if you've tested iodine-deficient; they may contain the poorest/wrong chemical form of an ingredient; and so on. It's advised that you test first, to identify what you specifically, need to supplement, and then take those factors individually in the correct amounts.
Is there such a thing as a good Multivitamin? Sorry, I don't think so.
I would never take either Multivitamins or Multiminerals. Not recommended for anyone, generally, and definitely not recommended for Hypo patients.
Why would anyone want to take Vitamin A or Vitamin K1 or Iron for examples? (Without knowing of a need /deficiency ).
I'd an old friend who was admitted to hospital with abdo pain. They were going to remove his appendix till they noticed he no longer had it! It turned out to be constipation caused by the iron in a recommended Daily Multivitamin +Iron.
We live and learn.
If I had my way I would ban the sale of Multivitamins. It's a disgrace that Pharmacies sell them.
Only if your calcium level is low, increasing it to much and you run into problems.
I've had osteopenia for several years due to hyperparathyroidism which causes high calcium but my calcium levels are now good and within range so I don't take any supplements.
This is my calcium result after been on it for a year:
Calcium-adj,Alb,PO4
Serum adjusted calcium concentration 2.51 mmol/L [2.2 - 2.6] so it seems ok 😀
Another GP suggested I do an online test to see if I was getting enough calcium from food but I seemed to score very low as I don't drink milk or eat a lot of cheese.
Swollen sore inflammed tongue..ive had this on and off since perimenopause and thyroid issues started. Tongue thing usually resolves when i incrrase topical estrogen. Get your Estrogen levels checked as low levels also cause fatigue
Lets have a look at your multivitamin. First thing to say is they're not worth their money (even cheap supermarket/high street brands) I'm afraid. They contain too little of anything to help with low levels or deficiencies, often contain the least absorbable/wrong form of active ingredient, and also often contain things we shouldn't take unless tested for and know we are deficient.
There are so many ingredients, I'll concentrate on the ones that are always discussed here.
Vit D - 5mcg - 200iu - not worth having, wouldn't even help a sunburnt flea.
Vit K is K1 - the blood clotting form of this vitamin. When taking Vit D we need K2 as this directs the extra uptake of calcium from food which (D3 aids) to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries, soft tissues, etc, where it can cause problems.
Folic acid - 200mcg - this is wrong form, this has to be converted to folate, methyfolate is the recommended form.
B12 - 2.5mcg - not worth having. If you have a low level you'd need 500mcg-1000mcg daily. It's also the Cyanocobalamin form which we should avoid, and take Methylcobalamin.
Selenium - 50mcg and this is the Selenite form which is inorganic and should be avoided. Selenium l-selenomethionine or yeast bound selenium are the recommended forms.
Iodine - 150mcg. This is the RDA. We should only take iodine if tested and found to be deficient, and then only under the supervision of an experienced practioner. Iodine deficiency is rare in the UK (but know unknown) and we get plenty of iodine from diet - milk, yogurt, white fish, scampi. And we get some iodine from taking Levo.
Calcium - 200mg - you already take calcium.
Zinc and Copper - you don't know if you need them.
And here we have the bad boy
Iron - 14mg
Iron affects the absorption of everything else in the supplement, it should be taken 2 hours away from any other supplements (and 4 hours away from Levo)
So really, the best place for this supplement is the dustbin I'm afraid.
Because the Multi contains Biotin and may have skewed your results, the best thing to do is repeat the tests after leaving off Biotin for a week. And don't eat any liver, liver pate, black pudding or high iron foods in the week before testing ferritin. Post new results when you have them, include reference ranges and units of measurement, and I'll be happy to comment further.
I don't know. Because Biotin affects all blood tests, not just thyroid, then maybe her ferritin result is skewed. Retesting to get accurate levels is best before doing anything else.
I did a very low cal diet about 4 yrs ago and they were advised by the diet website so I've just continued to take them out of habit really, I knew they didn't have the right magnesium in them hence taking extra magnesium but didn't realise all the other ingredients were just a useless lol.
As you have issues with narrow views you may want to avoid all vitamin K. You will need to do your own careful research on that, make your own decision
Suggest you start with just a good quality daily vitamin C for the moment
Then get bloods retested
Hashimoto's affects the gut and leads to low stomach acid and then low vitamin levels
Low vitamin levels affect Thyroid hormone working
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, sometimes 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
Ideally ask GP for coeliac blood test first or buy test online for under £20, just to rule it out first
Trying gluten free diet for 3-6 months. If no noticeable improvement then reintroduce gluten and see if symptoms get worse
I'd heard about Vit K helps calcium absorbtion but digging deeper it's a double edged sword with arterial disease, I've asked the docs if they would prescribe Vit K and they came back with a "no".
But since my angioplasty I've stopped smoking and follow a low carb/ keto diet so hopefully that helps, although my cholesterol wasn't high to start with, the surgeon just said that because my arteries in one place were really narrow ( ok in rest of my legs ) that just a tiny bit of plaque was blocking them, they couldn't even put stents in as there wasn't enough room !
So yes I don't eat gluten due to eating low carb already 😀
K1 is the clotting vitamin K and K2 is the one you need to direct calcium to the bones instead of the arteries. In a dose of around 45-90mcg, it shouldn't affect clotting. I wouldn't expect a GP to know the difference between K1 and K2. But obviously do your research
Well, you definitely shouldn't be taking anything with iron in it and iron in a multi vit stops you from absorbing the other nutrients in it properly (as does calcium). Biotin needs to be stopped 3-5 days before a blood test as it can affect results. Vegetarians often have high folate but it can also be a sign of liver or kidney problems. If my B12 drops into range, I get eye tics and symptoms of deficiency, so a good serum B12 doesn't always mean it getting into the cells. It might be worth getting an active B12 test. Statins cause blood sugar problems and brain fog, so could be contributing to your symptoms. Worth stopping of r a bit to see if you feel better (on average taking them for 5 years gives you less than a week extra lifespan, so you would'nt be losing much). Symptoms also just sound like hypo - especially swollen tongue. I would up the magnesium, too.
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