Sounds daft but I’m quite disappointed with such good results! Haha I was sure something was amiss as I’ve been so unwell with all the common symptoms. Mainly depression and mood swings though - I now have to delve into the world of sex hormones. Test done in November showed my SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin) was below range, which is common with hypothyroid.
One thing this test has showed me is that I obviously have the autoimmune kind, Hashimoto. So now I can concentrate on lifestyle changes and supplements to improve this the best I can.
Any further advice on anything mentioned is appreciated, as always xx
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HollieBerry
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This is recommended to be half way through range. You can help raise your level by eating liver regularly, maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content, also liver pate, black pudding, and including lots of iron rich foods in your diet
This is low. Where there is a proper range with a bottom and top limit then it's recommended to be at least half way through. These "ranges" where it just says >XX aren't much help, but if that was my result I would want it in double figures. I have recently had folate tested with my GP and with Blue Horizon. The GP one was 23.9 (>3.00) in July and the BH one was 14.6 (8.83-60.8) in December and as that BH level was roughly half the level it was 12 months ago (with the same range) I have increased my B Complex as I had recently reduced the dose.
My suggestion would be for you to supplement with a good bioavailable B Complex such as Thorne Basic B or Igennus Super B.
Active B12: 83.3 (>37.5)
Their range used to be 37.5-188.0. Anything below 70 is suggested to test for B12 deficiency. You obviously don't fall into that category but I would want my Active B12 over 100. One of the B Complex brands mentioned, at the dose suggested on the bottle, will help raise your B12 as well as folate level.
Vit D: 71nmol/L
The Vit D Council recommends a level of 125nmol/L and the Vit D Society recommends a level of 100-150nmol/L so you may want to improve this level. To reach the recommended level you could supplement with 3,000iu D3 daily then retest in 3 months.
Once you've reached the recommended level 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:
There are important cofactors needed when supplementing with D3. D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and Vit 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.
Your actual thyroid results currently show undermedication. The aim of a hypo patient generally, when on Levo, is for TSH to be 1 or below or wherever it needs to be for FT4 and FT3 to be in the upper part of their reference ranges, if that is where you feel well. So your TSH is too high, your FT4 is only 40% through it's range and FT3 is 42% through range. Your FT4/FT3 are well balanced but too low. You need an increase in your dose of Levo.
Your raised thyroid peroxidase antibodies suggest autoimmune thyroid disease, aka Hashimoto's - did you already know this? This is where the immune system attacks and gradually destroys the thyroid. This causes fluctuations in symptoms and test results and you can swing from hypo to hyper and back again.
Some members have found that adopting a strict gluten free diet can help, although there is no guarantee.
Gluten contains gliadin (a protein) which is thought to trigger autoimmune attacks so eliminating gluten can help reduce these attacks.
You don't need to be gluten sensitive or have Coeliac disease for a gluten free diet to help.
Supplementing with selenium l-selenomethionine 200mcg daily can also help reduce the antibodies, as can keeping TSH suppressed.
Don't start all supplements at once. Start with one, give it a week or two and if no adverse reaction then add the next one. Again, wait a week or two and if no adverse reaction add the next one. Continue like this. If you do have any adverse reaction then you will know what caused it.
Ok so now my symptoms make more sense! Just because they’re ‘normal range’ doesn’t mean I can’t still be unwell as they are. Thank you.
No I didn’t know I had Hashimoto’s - when I’d asked the doc about this over a year ago he said ‘it didn’t matter, I didn’t need to know as it’d be treated the same anyway’
Thank you for all the fantastic info and advice, I feel like my spare time is becoming completely consumed with trying to make my body function properly! 😔x
As SeasideSusie says...your results show you are under treated
Ask your GP for 25mcg dose increase in Levothyroxine
Work on improving low vitamin levels
Get FULL Thyroid and vitamin testing again in 2-3 months
Dr Toft, past president of the British Thyroid Association and leading endocrinologist, states in Pulse Magazine,
"The appropriate dose of levothyroxine is that which restores euthyroidism and serum TSH to the lower part of the reference range - 0.2-0.5mU/l.
In this case, free thyroxine is likely to be in the upper part of its reference range or even slightly elevated – 18-22pmol/l.
Most patients will feel well in that circumstance. But some need a higher dose of levothyroxine to suppress serum TSH and then the serum-free T4 concentration will be elevated at around 24-28pmol/l.
This 'exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism' is not dangerous as long as serum T3 is unequivocally normal – that is, serum total around T3 1.7nmol/l (reference range 1.0-2.2nmol/l)."
You can obtain a copy of the articles from Thyroid UK email print it and highlight question 6 to show your docto
please email Dionne at
tukadmin@thyroiduk.org
T3 can be prescribed by consultant psychologist...
100mcg currently- The brand of Levo does switch between two different ones, but I can’t say I’ve ever noticed a difference. I will pay more attention to that though.
Thank you for the links and advice, you’re amazing x
Your TSH is too high and should be around 1 or lower and your T4 and T3 could be higher as well. My own daughter has a TSH of 2.4 and her thyroid is struggling imho but she won't get help and I am beyond frustrated because I am now going to have to watch her become sicker. She already has low iron and one of her liver enzymes is high which I have had in the past all which is because of my thyroid. Sorry to ramble on but I wish I could make her see what is wrong with her.
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High TSH, increasing TPO antibodies, latest results!
High Antibodies - Hashimotos
High antibodies results.
NHS TSH test 1 week apart from Medichecks test
