2.2 Tsh with big hypothyroid symptoms

[Lolalewis]

Hi all long post coming up just trying to give as much info as possible to see if I can get some help!

Back in 2009 I had an accident while dancing and was dropped in my head. I badly damaged my neck. With in a year of this happening my health deteriorated massively my arms wouldn’t work properly, my lower back went, my ribs were in severe pain, my sleep went out the window, every joint and muscle hurt.

I was eventually diagnosed with fibromyalgia. During this time my sister who is 16 years older then me also became very poorly and symptoms were very similar to mine.

Eventually my sister was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid and Hashimoto disease through a private doctor. I went to see the same doctor my Vit D was at 18 and he diagnosed me with adrenal fatigue due to very low cortisol.

I tested both conditions and got some improvements but still suffered desperate fatigue and flair ups.

I went to see Dr Petefield he diagnosed me there and then with Hashimotos and an underactive thyroid. Despite my TSH only being at 2.2 he prescribed me something natural as he is not a prescribing doctor which I had a bad reaction too.

During this time I became a single mum and could not afford to go back to doctor P. My sister recommended maybe I try some low dose levothyroxin from which I had great results I lost 24lbs, I was sleeping, pain levels were substantially lower and my bowels were working! I then felt like I was going over active so I stopped taking it especially as my own gp wasn’t very supportive of it despite the great results. I crashed fairly rapidly after stopping it.

My symptoms were all too much yet again so I went back to the Levo 25mg a day. Literally straight away energy levels were better pain was less but by day 6 of being on it I was agitated and sweating, I dropped it by 12.5 mg and the same thing happened.

Now the weight is coming back I’m constantly tired my neck ankle and wrists keep going, my upper back burns with not much activity.

All I really know is when my tsh is at 2.2 I don’t feel well at all. My periods ruin my life I suffer with PMDD I have 2 good weeks sometimes 1 good week and the rest with horrible symptoms like weigh gain, agitation, depression, pain and insomnia. The NHS are not helping me. I can’t afford to go private and I’m really hoping someone here has been through something similar? I know some of you will get cross at the fact I even went near Levo with my 2.2 tsh but I’d like to to take into account how desperate I as a single mum with very little help on hand..

I really appreciate any advice given TIA

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Lolalewis

In order for members to give helpful responses, we need more than just a TSH result, we need to see a full thyroid panel and vitamin panel.

Presumably you've had TSH tested with your GP? Is this all that's been tested? What we really need are

TSH

FT4

FT3

Thyroid antibodies

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

You probably wont get all these done with your GP but we do have private labs recommended by ThyroidUK which do a test bundle that includes all of them. One of these labs does special offers on Thursdays and this week's offer happens to be the exact test that includes all these. See this post

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

You can do the test by fingerprick or venous blood draw if preferred (at extra cost).

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, last dose of Levo should be 24 hours before blood draw, if taking NDT or T3 then last dose should be 8-12 hours before blood draw. Adjust timing the day before if necessary. This avoids measuring hormone levels at their peak after ingestion of hormone replacement. 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.

* If you take Biotin or a B Complex containing Biotin (B7), leave this off for 7 days before any blood test. This is because if Biotin is used in the testing procedure it will give false results (Medichecks definitely use Biotin, they have confirmed this and the amount of time to leave the supplement off).

These are patient to patient tips which we don't discuss with doctors or phlebotomists.

I went to see the same doctor my Vit D was at 18 and he diagnosed me with adrenal fatigue due to very low cortisol.

What happened after these diagnoses? Are you taking any medication/supplements?

[Lolalewis in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you so much for your reply. It’s been a while since I had any further testing outside of the NHS. I can get my latest bloods from my go and see if that can help she any light.

I was put on nitro adrenal and after 6 months I hit a wall so moved up to nutri adrenal extra as recommended found it hard to tolerate as I also have antral gastritis.

I was put on 4000iu of vitamin D for 4 weeks and moved down to 2000iu after that which I was to remain on and have. I took lamberts osteo guard along side to help with absorption.

I did get some results from just this like rub pain subsided massively and sleep improved for a while but I’m still very symptomatic with, hair loss, brittle nails, weight gain, depression and anxiety some joint discomfort.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Lolalewis]

I went to see the same doctor my Vit D was at 18

I was put on 4000iu of vitamin D for 4 weeks and moved down to 2000iu after that which I was to remain on and have.

A level of 18nmol/L is Vit D Deficiency, the prescribed treatment for which is loading doses totalling 300,000iu over a few weeks. If this was your GP who put you on 4,000iu D3 daily then it should have been for 10 weeks:

NICE treatment summary for Vit D deficiency: cks.nice.org.uk/vitamin-d-d...

(click on Management > Scenario:Management)

"Treat for vitamin D deficiency if serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels are less than 25 nmol/L

For the treatment of vitamin D deficiency, the recommended treatment is based on fixed loading doses of vitamin D (up to a total of about 300,000 international units [IU]) given either as weekly or daily split doses, followed by lifelong maintenance treatment of about 800 IU a day. Higher doses of up to 2000 IU a day, occasionally up to 4000 IU a day, may be used for certain groups of people, for example those with malabsorption disorders.

When taking D3 it's essential that your level is checked after the loading doses have finished so that you can work out what dose to move on to next.

The Vit D Council recommends a level of 125nmol/L (50ng/ml) and the Vit D Society recommends a level of 100-150nmol/L (40-60ng/ml).

When the recommended dose has been reached then you'll need a maintenance dose to keep it there, which may be 2000iu daily, maybe more or less, maybe less in summer than winter, it's trial and error so it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep within the recommended range. You can do this with a private fingerprick blood spot test with an NHS lab which offers this test to the general public:

vitamindtest.org.uk/

What is your current Vit D level - very important to know so you can see if you are taking enough D3.

There are important cofactors needed when taking D3 as recommended by the Vit D Council

vitamindcouncil.org/about-v...

D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and K2-MK7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems such as hardening of the arteries, kidney stones, etc.

D3 and K2 are fat soluble so should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, D3 four hours away from thyroid meds if taking tablets/capsules/softgels, no necessity if using an oral spray

Magnesium helps D3 to work. We need Magnesium so that the body utilises D3, it's required to convert Vit D into it's active form. So it's important we ensure we take magnesium when supplementing with D3.

Magnesium comes in different forms, check to see which would suit you best and as it's calming it's best taken in the evening, four hours away from thyroid meds if taking tablets/capsules, no necessity if using topical forms of magnesium.

naturalnews.com/046401_magn...

drjockers.com/best-magnesiu...

afibbers.org/magnesium.html

I took lamberts osteo guard along side to help with absorption.

Who told you to take that? It's completely the wrong thing. It contains a large amount of calcium, something we shouldn't take unless tested and found to be deficient. Taking D3 will increase our calcium by the fact that it aids absorption of calcium from food.

It contains a small amount of magnesium at 125mg, whereas the usual amount is between 350 and 450mg. Also, it's magnesium oxide which is the worst and least absorbable form of magnesium.

It contais 38mcg of Vit K and we need between 90-100mcg when taking up to 10,000iu D3. It's also the wrong form of Vit K, they've included K1 which is the blood clotting form, instead of K2 which is the form which directs calcium to bones and teeth and away from soft tissues.

So all in all it's a totally useless supplement to take as a cofactor of supplementing with D3.

I think you should do the Ultravit test mentioned above, get a baseline for everything and start over. If you order before midnight you'll get it at the discounted price of £79 instead of £99.