Where would you go for reliable info for a male age 55 who is recovering from a nasty 3 week covid 19? Prior to being ill, he had a thyroid panel done and it suggests he doesn't have Hashi's but has a TSH of over 2, low to mid T4 and T3, and high reverse T3 and hypo symptoms (thin eyebrows, fatigue, excess weight despite ok diet).
I'm asking for help from you lovely people because so many resources are female and/or Hashi focussed and I wasn't sure where to start.
My initial thoughts are to get him to take vit C, Magnesium, stress B multi vits and Selenium and stay hydrated. Any other thoughts on what to do? He normally eats well and is about 95% gluten free.
Thank you,
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Hashi-hacker
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TSH of over 2, low to mid T4 and T3, and high reverse T3
A normal healthy person will have a TSH of usually no more than 2 with FT4 about mid-range. His TSH is a smidgen higher than that at 2.05 and his FT4 is on the lowish side at 25.4% through range.
His reverse T3 is not high, it is within range. Also, rT3 is a bit of red herring because there are so many, many reasons for high rT3 and only one of which is related to thyroid, and if it was related to thyroid then it would be due to a build up of unconverted T4 which is very obviously not the case here. So other causes would need to be looked at if rT3 waqs high:
· Chronic fatigue
· Acute illness and injury
· Chronic disease
· Increased cortisol (stress)
· Low cortisol (adrenal fatigue)
· Low iron
· Lyme disease
· Chronic inflammation
Also selenium deficiency, excess physical, mental and environmental stresses. Also Beta-blocker long-term use such as propranolol, metoprolol, etc. Physical injury is a common cause of increased RT3, also illnesses like the flu. Starvation/severe calorie restriction is known to raise RT3. Diabetes when poorly treated is known to increase RT3. Cirrhosis of the liver. Fatty liver disease. Any other liver stress Renal Failure. A fever of unknown cause. Detoxing of high heavy metals.
We also have to bear in mind that none of us know where our normal levels are when healthy because we are never checked for a baseline.
Ferritin and Vit D are both high, any reason for this that you know of such as supplements? Ferritin can be raised due to infection or inflammation, I would rule out inflammation with those results as his CRP isn't raised.
For the B Complex, are you thinking about Thorne Stress B? If so I would consider the Thorne Basic B, it has more methylfolate and more methylcobalamin and less B6. For regular use it's recommended to take no more than 10mg B6.
If considering magnesium, choose the right form for his circumstances:
Thank you so much Seaside Susie, and sorry for the late reply. I've passed over your advice and he's decided to go on a Mark Sissons general vitamin pack for men until he can get himself an appointment with a functional medical person. He is feeling much better than in the immediate aftermath of the illness thankfully and can now eat and gently exercise. Onwards and upwards!
Multivitamins are generally not a good idea for a variety of reasons. I don't know this brand or what's in it, can you give a link to the supplement, or list what's in it. He could be doing more harm than good.
It's not a multi vitamin, it's a range of high end supplements tailored for gents and he will only be taking them for a short duration (they're too expensive for long term anyhow!). I can't find a link at the moment but my husband sourced them for the chap in question and he's hot on this kind of thing so I am confident they will do the job until a professional can get involved and he can get testing done.
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