Please Help I am new here

[jaki396]

Please help me if you can. I really do not understand all the technical jargon. I have been on Levothyroxine for many many years and I have lost count of the number of times I have asked for something other than levo. I am always so very very tired and lethargic . I read about liothyronine some months ago and my doctor did write to a specialist to ask if I could be prescribed it, of course the answer came back as No

My friend lives in Turkey and I have found that I can buy Timirel over the counter , is this wise and how much should I take ? and do I take it together with the levo. I would appreciate any advice. My current dose of Levo is 125mg

thank you in advance

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

jaki396

Before you consider adding T3, it's absolutely essential to know if you need it so you need to test the following

TSH

FT4

FT3

Thyroid antibodies

And because thyroid hormone needs optimal nutrient levels to work, and they must be optimal before adding T3, you also need to test

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

Come back with results/reference ranges for these and we will help you.

You may not get all these tests done with your GP, in which case you may wish to do what hundreds of us here do and that is a private test with one of our recommended labs:

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.)

Medichecks have the ULTRAVIT test on special offer price today so if you want to order it at £20 less than normal price you need to order before midnight.

If you supplement with Biotin, or a B complex containing it (B7), Medichecks have confirmed that because they use biotin in their assay it's recommended to leave it off for 7 days before doing any blood tests as it can give false results. It's a good idea to leave it off whoever is doing the test as many labs use biotin in the testing procedure.

When doing thyroid tests, we advise:

* Book the first appointment of the morning, or with private tests at home no later than 9am. This is because TSH is highest early morning and lowers throughout the day. If we are looking for a diagnosis of hypothyroidism, or looking for an increase in dose or to avoid a reduction then we need TSH to be as high as possible.

* Fast overnight - have your evening meal/supper as normal the night before but delay breakfast on the day of the test and drink water only until after the blood draw. Eating may lower TSH, caffeine containing drinks affect TSH.

* If taking thyroid hormone replacement, leave off Levo for 24 hours before blood draw, if taking NDT or T3 then leave that off for 8-12 hours. Take your thyroid meds after the blood draw. Taking your dose too close to the blood draw will give false high results, leaving any longer gap will give false low results.

Once you post your results, we can tell you if you are likely to benefit from T3 and if so how to introduce it and if you need to lower your dose of Levo.

[jaki396 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you. where do I get this test. I live in Norfolk

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to jaki396]

I have given you the links in my reply above. Click on the blue links - Medichecks is the cheapest today. If you don't want to do a fingerprick test at home, they can arrange either home phlebotomy or they have a list of clinics/hospitals you can attend so you'd have to find one you can travel to.

[jaki396 in reply to SeasideSusie]

thank you. am taking both B complex and Biotin so will arrange for a test for 10 days time. Thank you for your quick response and help.