Supplements

[dbrowning02]

Hi, I wanted to start taking a supplement to help with my hypothyroidism does anyone have a good brand that really works and helps support the thyroid?

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

dbrowning02

Steer clear of "thyroid support" supplements, they often contain iodine/kelp which we hypos shouldn't take unless we test and are found to be deficient.

What you really need to do is get full thyroid and vitamin testing if you feel you are not optimally medicated and still symptomatic.

For a full picture we need:

TSH

FT4

FT3

Thyroid antibodies

Results of these will tell us if you are optimally medicated.

Also, for thyroid hormone to work properly, optimal nutrient levels are necessary so we need to test:

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

Once we see results for these we will be able to identify any low levels or deficiencies and it's these that would then require supplementation.

You could ask your GP but s/he wont be able to get all of those tests done. However, you can do them yourself in one test bundle with a private test from one of our recommended labs, either as a fingerprick test or venous blood draw at extra cost:

Medichecks Thyroid Check ULTRAVIT medichecks.com/thyroid-func... You can use code THYROIDUK for a 10% discount on any test not on special offer.

or

Blue Horizon Thyroid Check PLUS ELEVEN bluehorizonmedicals.co.uk/t...

Both tests include the full thyroid and vitamin panel. They are basically the same test but with the following small differences:

For the fingerprick test, Blue Horizon requires 1 x microtainer of blood (0.8ml), Medichecks requires 2 x microtainers (total 1.6ml)

Blue Horizon includes Total T4 (can be useful but not essential). Medichecks doesn't include this test.

B12 - Blue Horizon does Serum B12. Medichecks does Active B12.

Serum B12 shows the total B12 in the blood. Active B12 shows what's available to be taken up by the cells. You can have a reasonable level of Serum B12 but a poor level of Active B12. (Personally, I would go for the Active B12 test.)

Post results when you have them, including reference ranges, and we will be able to help further.

[dbrowning02 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you so much SeasideSusie. I'm in the US and was planning to get new bloodwork but waiting since I switched from Nature to Armour about 6wks ago. Been pricing out the vitamin panel to also get that done. I had read about some using supplements on here not thinking I should see what is deficient first, makes sense.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to dbrowning02]

Ah, I don't know what tests you can do privately in the US or how much they cost, we're quite lucky here in the UK as we can get the full panel at a fairly reasonable cost. I hope you can find something suitable.

[Karenk13]

Hi There are many things you can supplement with but it really depends what you are deficient in. No point wasting money on a supplement if you have good levels of that particular vitamin already. Selenium is always a good thing to take if you have Hashimotos as it can help support Thyroid function and has been known to lower inflammation but in terms of general supplements I'd recommend getting your levels checked first so Iron, Ferritin, Vitamin D and B12 are the most common to get checked

[dbrowning02 in reply to Karenk13]

Thank you I'm definitely going to do that first and post my results.