Please can someone help me . I take 20mg T3 split into two doses . I also take 100mg T4. I bought a tonic called metatone . I have migraines every week that can last for three days . I have dizziness terrible brain fog , very warm and shaky . Extreme fatigue I can just about manage a day teaching . I just want to be able to work more and function properly . I am depressed also as moods are so up and down.
My gp wants to reduce my thyroid meds not sure which one and will not prescribe me folic acid as it is fine apparently .
Please can anyone offer me some advice as I just want to be able to function .
Many thanks .
I got my bloods tested a month ago results are :
Ferritin 180 range 13-150
B12. 647 range. 197-777
Folate 9.6. Range 3.9- 26.8
T4. 18.2. Range. 12-22
TSH. 0.02. Range. 0.27-4.2
T3. 6.1. Range. 3.1-6.8
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Soprano67
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Your GP wont prescribe folic acid because your folate is within range. It's not optimal, recommended level is at least half way through range. Just buy yourself a decent B Complex containing methyfolate such as Thorne Basic B or Igennus Super B.
Why does your GP want to reduce your thyroid meds? Both FT4 and FT3 are within range so no indication of overmedication there. If he is going by your TSH then that's going to be low because you take T3, it's just what it does. The pituitary sends the signal to the thyroid to produce thyroid hormone when it detects there's not enough, that signal is TSH. Your pituitary is satisfied there is enough thyroid hormone so it's not sending the signal so TSH remains low. Doctors who prescribe T3 really ought to understand how to interpret blood tests when their patient takes it.
Are you supplementing iron, your ferritin level is a little over range. Maybe you ate iron rich foods close to your blood draw (liver, etc)?
Thanks so much for your kind reply I really appreciate it .
I was eating iron foods I never thought of that and I had a bug . I have constant migraines swollen lynph nodes dizziness and extreme weakness fatigue !
My Gp doesn’t understand t3 she said as it was my consultant who prescribed it .
I bought well woman vitamins though haven’t used them yet as scared of side effects . I took Epsom salt bath on Thursday and it made me feel more weak and took migraine from it .
I just want to feel well again I know I can’t work 37 hours a week though it would be nice to work 20 hours .
Your well woman vitamins sound like a multivitamin and these aren't generally recommended. They contain too little of anything to help low levels, usually contain the cheapest and least absorbable forms of active ingredients, and often contain things we should be tested for and only supplement if found to be deficient, eg calcium, iodine. If it contains iron then that will affect absorption of everything else as iron needs to be taken 2 hours away from other supplements.
I took one of them and felt severe stomach pain and very weak so don’t think I should be taking them again even though they were expensive £16 . This is the vitamins
That looks like it might be WellWoman Original by Vitabiotics.
They use folic acid when methylfolate is the recommended form, Cyanocobalamin when Methylcobalamin is recommended, Magnesium Oxide which is the cheapest and least absorbable form and can have a laxative effect, the Selenite form of selenium which is the least absorbable (selenium l-selenomethionine or yeast bound selenium being the most absorbable), they don't say whether Vit K is K1 or K2 but my guess is it's K1 which is the blood clotting form, and it also contains Soya Bean Oil and we Hypos should avoid soya in all it's forms unless it's fermented. So all in all it's a very poor supplement, as all of the WellWoman range are.
Oh gosh I didn’t realise I just saw all the vitamins and thought it would help but it definetly made me feel nauseous and spaced out just with one dose . I haven’t taken vitamin d in quite a while as I thought with the Summer weather it would increase .
I am concerned at the constant swollen lymph node always on my left side of my neck with ear and headache pain . Doc just gives me ear drops or antibiotic .
I am wondering could I have Adrenal fatigue as I’m so tired and shaky and I don’t take salt !
My doc just thinks I’m stressed as my mum was sick for two years and dad hasn’t been well with shingles .
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water . This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
Last Levothyroxine dose should be 24 hours prior to test, (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
If/when also on T3, make sure to take last dose 8-12 hours prior to test, even if this means adjusting time or splitting of dose day before test. Taking 5mcg at 8-12 hours prior to blood test
B vitamins best taken in the morning after breakfast
I prefer Igennus Super B complex. Nice small tablets. Often only need one tablet per day, not two. Certainly only start with one tablet per day after breakfast. Retesting levels in 6-8 weeks
Or Thorne Basic B or jarrow B-right are other options that contain folate, but both are large capsules
If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 7 days before any blood tests, as biotin can falsely affect test results
Thanks so much for your reply . I have constant ear infections swollen lymph nodes also for last year off and on . My gp didn’t prescribe t3 it was my consultant as gp doesn’t understand t3 as she admitted that ... I split them in half I did try splitting into five mg but it had no effect at all .
I did get tests done on empty stomach . My gp doesn’t test vitamin d.
I bought multi vitamins by well woman on Friday I haven’t taken them yet as scared of side effects, they have selenium lots of vitamins in them in high doses !
I stopped taking b vitamins though was only taking b12 b1 and b5.
Someone asked me who’s a kinesiologist could I have Lyme disease or lupus as was never tested for these .
Thank you so much I appreciate all your advice so much .
Thanks so much for your reply I appreciate it . I just use salt when I cook though don’t take it on my food as well I just thought it was bad for your heart .
Thanks
just my two cents. Some people need to reduce their t4 more when adding t3 to feel better. mine needs to be mid-range or below for me add safely more t3. I am warm, shaky and anxious/depressed with these results, but everyone is different. just because you are high in range, but not over, doesn't mean you don't experience over symptoms. It's not what's in blood matters, but what's in cells. Trial and error I'm afraid
Thanks so much for your reply it is very kind of you .
I never thought of that as I have constant migraines dizzy and extreme fatigue . I am seeing my consultant in two months so might suggest that to him .i am on 100 mg levothyroxine a year now .
I have a terrible fatigue, when my ft4 or/and ft3 are high, worst than hypo fatigue. I can't do anything. it's worth checking. I think diogenes said that we do have different thresholds for ft4 and ft3 in our bodies. take care!
yeah no way! My consultant says I get not as much benefit from t4 as I do from t3, so keep increasing t3 slowly and decreasing t4 a bit. I think there is a reason why on NDT ft4 tends to go lower to accommodate for higher ft3, it's a balancing act. I'm getting there, it's going okay, but I need to keep increasing t3!
keep taking what you feel good on. I have made a mistake of changing to different brands before and got really bad on one NDT. now hopefully it will all work out
My first nhs endo got it checked and it was really low at 21 (range50-199).
They gave me liquid capsules to take (3,200ius each one)to boost the level.
It made a huge difference to my fatigue and made my migraines less frequent and less severe.
I was then told to take 1500iu a day (have to buy my own now). But tablets don’t have much effect on me. It needs to be a sublingual spray (BetterYou) or liquid capsules.
I find that if my level drops the migraines increase again.
Lots of places will do a vitD finger prick test. Approx £30
(BetterYou, medichecks, Thriva, blue horizon)
If you can afford it, maybe go for it as to wait another 2 months to see your consultant is a long time.
You could put the result on here and someone wise will suggest a dose to take.
Thanks so much for your reply it means a lot . Gosh your levels were very low that’s awful you must have had weakness and other symptoms with that result .
I haven’t had my vitamin D tested in over a year so you might be right as I get migraines every other day I live on paramax tablets and when it’s so bad they don’t work either !
I’m improving, certainly on the migraine front. I take Imigran if one is brewing, which hopefully is not more than 6 times a month as the doctor will get twitchy. 🙄
Gosh I feel your pain as they are hard to live with migraines .. someone on this site told me to take b complex and sea salt so might look into that anything that will help 😊
I must get the b complex as I bought the wellness vitamins took one and felt so unwell so need to get a good brand . I know everyone on here is so supportive as I would be lost without the advice . I think u might be right about vitamin D as I have constant ear infections and swollen lymph glands .
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