hashimotos

[bluehayes]

hello I had my blood test last week dr said they were abnormal so will get paper results tues,i was wondering if anyone with hashimotos get like vertigo?i bent down yesterday and when I stood up my head went "funny"it was like it all day like my brain was shaking?many thanks for any replies

[greygoose]

Oh yes. Being hypo can make you dizzy. I was told by a very snooty ENT that it wasn't 'true vertigo', it was 'false vertigo', like that made some sort of difference to the way I felt! But, it still makes life difficult.

But, it's the hypo that causes that, low thyroid hormones, hypo due to any cause. Not specifically Hashi's.

Low B12 can have the same effect, and hypos are often low in B12. So, have you had that tested?

[bluehayes in reply to greygoose]

thankyou for your reply I don,t know whether they checked my b12 this time but I do have quarterly injections for pa,my dr said retest blood in 3 months I will post results on Tuesday.

[greygoose in reply to bluehayes]

Could be that you need more frequent injections.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Make sure you get actual results and ranges on test results

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested. Also EXTREMELY important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially as you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) diagnosed by raised Thyroid antibodies

Ask GP to test vitamin levels and coeliac blood test too...if not already on strictly gluten free diet

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 .

When you start on levothyroxine......Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)

Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or thyroid antibodies or all relevant vitamins

List of private testing options

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin

medichecks.com/products/thy...

Medichecks often have special offers, if order on Thursdays

Thriva Thyroid plus vitamins

thriva.co/tests/thyroid-test

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes vitamins

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose increase in levothyroxine

Standard starter dose of levothyroxine is 50mcg (unless over 65 years old).

The aim of Levothyroxine is to increase the dose slowly in 25mcg steps upwards until TSH is under 2 (many patients need TSH significantly under one) and most important is that FT4 is in top third of range and FT3 at least half way through range

NHS guidelines on Levothyroxine including that most patients eventually need somewhere between 100mcg and 200mcg Levothyroxine.

nhs.uk/medicines/levothyrox...

Also note what foods to avoid (eg recommended to avoid calcium rich foods at least four hours from taking Levo)

All four vitamins need to be regularly tested and frequently need supplementing to maintain optimal levels

Levothyroxine is an extremely fussy hormone and should always be taken on an empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after

Many people take Levothyroxine soon after waking, but it may be more convenient and perhaps more effective taken at bedtime

verywellhealth.com/best-tim...

markvanderpump.co.uk/blog/p...

Many people find Levothyroxine brands are not interchangeable.

Once you find a brand that suits you, best to make sure to only get that one at each prescription.

Watch out for brand change when dose is increased or at repeat prescription.

Many patients do NOT get on well with Teva brand of Levothyroxine. Teva contains mannitol as a filler, which seems to be possible cause of problems. Teva is the only brand that makes 75mcg tablet. So if avoiding Teva for 75mcg dose ask for 25mcg to add to 50mcg or just extra 50mcg tablets to cut in half

Teva and Aristo are the only lactose free tablets

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Teva poll

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

No other medication or supplements at same as Levothyroxine, leave at least 2 hour gap.

Some like iron, calcium, magnesium, HRT, omeprazole or vitamin D should be four hours away

(Time gap doesn't apply to Vitamin D mouth spray)

[Marz]

Please do not let your GP test your B12 - it will be high in the range and your GP may stop your injections. This is happening a lot due to ignorance. You have PA and injections are for life. The guidelines have been updated and injections can be given more often. Go to the PAS website and have a good read ... Are you also taking Folate ?