Hello .... I have just had my blood test results from Medichecks and the results are below. Can anyone help me understand what is going on. I am currently taking 175mg thyroxine.
I suffer from all the usual symptoms of hypothyroidism even though I am supplementing with thyroxine ... tiredness, depression, insomnia, weight gain, dry skin
Any help appreciated.
Many thanks
Welcome to the forum.
Your T4 is much higher through range than your T3, suggesting a conversion problem. I don't know where you are, but if you can possibly get your GP to let you see an endo who will prescribe lio (alongside levo) you will probably feel much better. Suggest you email DIonne for a list of T3-friendly endo's,
Thank you for the welcome. I have only started to investigate my thyroid problem as I am fed up of feeling unwell and my GP's advice is to just keep taking Levothyroxine.
Thank you for you reply and advice.
What vitamin supplements are you currently taking?
Presumably you knew you have Hashimoto’s, confirmed by high TPO antibodies
Are you on strictly gluten free diet?
Or tried it?
Like many Hashimoto’s patients you have very poor conversion of Ft4 to Ft3
Many thanks for your reply:
What vitamin supplements are you currently taking?
Vegan Society - VEG1:
(I am vegan)
•Vitamin B2 (1.6mg - 114%)
•Vitamin B6 (2mg - 143%)
•Vitamin B12 (25µg - 1,000%)
•Vitamin D3 (20µg - 400%)
•Folic Acid (200µg - 100%)
•Iodine (150µg - 100%)
•Selenium (60µg - 109%)
Future You Cambridge - Turmeric+:
•500mg Curcuma Phospholipid Complex of which 100mg Curcumin
Healthspan Super20 Pro Probiotic
Nothingfishy
•400mg omega 3 DHA
Presumably you knew you have Hashimoto’s, confirmed by high TPO antibodies
No, it has never been mentioned to me.
Are you on strictly gluten free diet?
No, I didn’t know it would help.
Should I go back to my GP with these results?
Thank you again
Suggest you read up as much as possible about Hashimoto’s (GP will call it autoimmune thyroid disease)
As there’s no medical treatment for the autoimmune aspect of Hashimoto’s medics think it irrelevant to test or tell patients....but there is much patients can do to help themselves
First all four vitamins need to be optimal
Vitamin D at least around 80nmol and around 100nmol maybe better
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/218...
vitamindsociety.org/pdf/Vit...
Once you Improve level, very likely you will need on going maintenance dose to keep it there.
Test twice yearly via vitamindtest.org.uk
Vitamin D mouth spray by Better You is very effective as it avoids poor gut function. There’s a version made that also contains vitamin K2 Mk7
It’s trial and error what dose we need, with hashimoto’s we frequently need higher dose than average
Also read up on importance of magnesium and vitamin K2 Mk7 supplements when taking vitamins
betterbones.com/bone-nutrit...
medicalnewstoday.com/articl...
livescience.com/61866-magne...
sciencedaily.com/releases/2...
Vitamin K2 mk7
betterbones.com/bone-nutrit...
healthline.com/nutrition/vi...
If vitamin D is low, B vitamins may be too. As explained by Dr Gominack
drgominak.com/sleep/vitamin...
Good video on vitamin D and insomnia
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
B vitamins
Supplementing a good quality daily vitamin B complex, one with folate in not folic acid may be beneficial.
chriskresser.com/folate-vs-...
B vitamins best taken in the morning after breakfast
Igennus Super B complex are 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
endo.confex.com/endo/2016en...
endocrinenews.endocrine.org...
Low B12 symptoms
b12deficiency.info/signs-an...
academic.oup.com/nutritionr...
The present review of the literature regarding B12 status among vegetarians shows that the rates of B12 depletion and deficiency are high. It is, therefore, recommended that health professionals alert vegetarians about the risk of developing subnormal B12 status. Vegetarians should also take preventive measures to ensure adequate intake of this vitamin, including the regular intake of B12 supplements to prevent deficiency. Considering the low absorption rate of B12 from supplements, a dose of at least 250 μg should be ingested for the best results.3
Iodine
There’s plenty of iodine in your levothyroxine. Iodine with hashimoto’s is very controversial...suggest you read as much as possible....being vegan, obviously diet is missing iodine, but you are getting it in levothyroxine
drknews.com/iodine-and-hash...
thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...
Only make one change at a time...either adding or taking away one supplement and wait at least 10 days to assess results
Gluten intolerance and Hashimoto’s ....GP will very likely be unaware
Hashimoto's frequently affects the gut and leads to low stomach acid and then low vitamin levels
Poor gut function can lead leaky gut (literally holes in gut wall) this can cause food intolerances. Most common by far is gluten intolerance. Second most common is lactose intolerance
According to Izabella Wentz the Thyroid Pharmacist approx 5% with Hashimoto's are coeliac, but over 80% find strictly gluten free diet reduces symptoms, sometimes significantly. Either due to gluten intolerance (no test available) or due to leaky gut and gluten causing molecular mimicry (see Amy Myers link)
Changing to a strictly gluten free diet may help reduce symptoms, help gut heal and slowly lower TPO antibodies
While still eating high gluten diet ask GP for coeliac blood test first or buy test online for under £20, just to rule it out first
Assuming test is negative you can immediately go on strictly gluten free diet
(If test is positive you will need to remain on high gluten diet until endoscopy, maximum 6 weeks wait officially)
Trying strictly gluten free diet for 3-6 months
If no noticeable improvement, reintroduce gluten and see if symptoms get worse
chriskresser.com/the-gluten...
amymyersmd.com/2018/04/3-re...
thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...
drknews.com/changing-your-d...
restartmed.com/hashimotos-g...
Non Coeliac Gluten sensitivity (NCGS) and autoimmune disease
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/296...
The predominance of Hashimoto thyroiditis represents an interesting finding, since it has been indirectly confirmed by an Italian study, showing that autoimmune thyroid disease is a risk factor for the evolution towards NCGS in a group of patients with minimal duodenal inflammation. On these bases, an autoimmune stigma in NCGS is strongly supported
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/300...
The obtained results suggest that the gluten-free diet may bring clinical benefits to women with autoimmune thyroid disease
nuclmed.gr/wp/wp-content/up...
In summary, whereas it is not yet clear whether a gluten free diet can prevent autoimmune diseases, it is worth mentioning that HT patients with or without CD benefit from a diet low in gluten as far as the progression and the potential disease complications are concerned
All thyroid patients should avoid all soya too
thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...
OMG SlowDragon thank you so much for all this information. It will take a long time to digest and start making changes. As a vegan I eat and drink a lot of soya and gluten.
Thank you again
We see an incredibly high number of vegan and vegetarian hashimoto’s patients on here
Very difficult to maintain optimal nutrient levels when gut function can be so poor
Medichecks results
Medichecks results.
Blood test results
Blood test results - odd ?!? 
Blood test results
