I am new, but not yet ready to post a question until obtaining the labs due to be obtained next month. I have been taking many drugs over the years for hypertension. Recently I have realized that I have had sub-clinical hypothyroidism all my life, and suspect that I may be able to relieve myself from hypertension drug side effects by supplementing my thyroid. I feel fine; the criterion for successful thyroid supplementation will be to throw away the hypertension drugs.
I am currently on 100 mcg levothyroxine. I do not have Hashimto's.
So far in googling the literature, I find it odd that I cannot find evidence for clear, systematic studies related to my goal. Any relevant sources would be welcome!
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bhm90503
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There is a similar question just above yours. I posted a video by John Bergman who has many informational videos to help us understand the body's systems.
What are your most recent results and ranges on 100mcg Levothyroxine?
Have you had ultrasound scan of thyroid to definitely confirm it's not Hashimoto's. 10-20% of Hashimoto's patients never have raised antibodies
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested. Also extremely important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if still under treated for hypothyroidism
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and fasting. Last Levothyroxine dose should be 24 hours prior to test, (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw). This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
Private tests are available. Thousands on here forced to do this as NHS often refuses to test FT3 or antibodies or all vitamins
Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random
Always take Levo on empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after.
Many take Levothyroxine early morning, on waking, but it may be more convenient and possibly more effective taken at bedtime.
Other medication at least 2 hours away, some like HRT, iron, calcium, vitamin D or magnesium at least four hours away from Levothyroxine
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 or at repeat prescription.
Many patients do NOT get on well with Teva brand of Levothyroxine. Though it is the only one for lactose intolerant patients
Thanks for the info. I should add that I live in the US and get my medical care through an HMO (age: 84). My primary doctor is flexible and will usually prescribe what I request, including an endo who I am now seeing and I think wishes I would just go away. My toolkit is Google, the HMO formulary, and memory of my symptoms over the years. As for Hashimoto's, the Quest labs indicated 0 antibodies which seems consistent with my lack of arthritis. Let's defer more details until after I see the endo in a month with labs. I should not change the levo dose until then, but will try to increase ferritin 60 (20-380)ng/mL and B12 507 (200-1100) pg/mL in the meantime. Is it true that I should get up to the middle of these ranges?
I was in a hurry and forgot about the personal references - I apologize. But in addition I forgot that these were previous labs when I was taking too much ndt -hence the low tsh. I switched to levo.
The most recent labs with levo (75mcg):
Free T3 (Collection Date: 01/23/2019 07:34, Status: Final)
Component Result Units Flag Range Comment
Triiodothyronine (T3) Free [Mass/volume] in Serum or
Thyrotropin [Units/volume] in Serum or Plasma 0.39 mIU/L L 0.40-4.50
I then pushed to 100 mcg, risking an over range in t4 and hoping to bring t3 to the upper half of range. A debatable choice!
My typing is very slow - I am recovering from an operation on my hands. I will try to practice a voice dictation system by next month so as to be more verbally fluent.
My next apt with my endo will be 6 weeks after the last adjustment from 75mcg to 100mcg levothyroxine. I am pushing a little fast, but the sooner I can drop Minoxidil from my regimen the better - my vision is blurred. I am controlling the hypertension but the BP is not as low as it was a few weeks ago; I suspect I might have passed the sweet spot. Let's resume the discussion after my next labs. Thanks again for your concern.
I had essential hypertension before I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism but the funny things is that if I am on a low dose of Levothyroxine then my blood pressure is fine but if I try and increase my dose my blood pressure goes up.
Thanks for this reference - actually I have returned to this website often and experimented with ndt. I learned much by (too) rapidly varying the dosage and finding temporary sweet spots which yielded relief from an amazing number of annoyances thru out my life (post-nasal drip, headaches,cold hands and feet, loss of the lower register in my singing voice, etc). However deciding on how to deal with t3 and the shutdown of tsh (which some commentators claim might not recover if =0 for long enough) convinced me to make a fresh start with levo and proceed more cautiously by making sure the vitamins and minerals are optimized for conversion. Then introduce t3 if necessary. I think this website maybe advocates ndt before levo has been tried. Easy for me to say; I have no pain.
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