I am taking 75 mcg levothyroxine and only since May 30, 5mcg Liothyronine. I decided to add the T3 because I felt so ill. I don't know if it was worth including the April NHS results as I was taking B complex vitamins till 3 days before the test. Forgot to stop them a week before, so they may not be valid. I haven't resumed B vits because I wasn't tolerating them. Tried changing brands but still reacting with pains in the side of my head and migraine type visual disturbance. Also could not tolerate iron - pains everywhere I have always had this problem: When pregnant got terrible pains in my feet which was diagnosed as gouty arthritis but years later when being treated for anaemia,( and not pregnant ) had the same problem, Plus pain in the forehead, travel sickness-like symptoms, disoriented. Thought about trying to supplement iron again because of low NHS result , after I had seen Spatone recommended on this site. I am feeling very ill despite good improvement in other vitamin levels. Exhausted, almost comatose at times, pain everywhere, unable to keep up walking or exercise regime. Feel dithery a lot of the time which tends to lessen as the day goes on as I get more drowsy have had stabbing pains in my eyes, blurred vision, tinnitus, a feeling that i am not in normal control of my body, Also I,ve been having strange sensations in my neck as if someone has their hands round it or that I am wearing a restrictive collar and sometimes the left side aches. I have plenty of hypo symptoms, such as constipation dry eyes and skin etc so I don,t want to go to GP and get my thyroid meds reduced. I have discovered that my lodine (etodolac) anti inflammatory is responsible for some of the tiredness. I have been on it 10 years for my arthritis and have always known that it causes tiredness and fuzzy head but never to the extent I have now. I have stopped it for the last 3 days and my head is clearer but far from o.k. So now struggling with arthritis pain. I have problems with interactions between drugs such as aspirin and penicillin which I can take separately but not together and wondered if I am getting a reaction between lodine and thyroid meds.
I would like advice as to whether I need to reduce dosage to maintain improved levels of supplements.
This is an awful lot for you to get to grips with, I know, which is why most doctors see me as a nightmare. I always appreciate your efforts for that reason. Best wishes to you all, Mugs19.
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Medicheck clinicians are not thyroid disease experts. I would ignore what they have said because they haven't physically examined you. Every time I do a blood test with them I will get remarks which are not relevant to me like "you have normal thyroid function" I actually have very high antibodies and a multi-nodular goitre and my thyroid function is far from normal.
Looking at your results I notice you ferritin is low and that can give you symptoms.
The reason the Medichecks doctor is saying to reduce your levo, is that your TSH is below range. That's all doctors look at, all they know about. And Medichecks' doctors are the same.
What would appear to be the problem is that you don't convert very well. Your FT4 is right at the top of the range, but the FT3 is not even mid-range, even though you're taking T3. So, what I would do is reduce the levo, and increase the T3. Your conversion might even improve a little if you reduce the levo by 25 mcg. But, I doubt it would be by enough for you to be able to stop the T3.
Your ferritin is very low in the NHS test. I would think that merits further investigation, like a full iron panel. I don't understand the Medichecks result.
Your folate could be higher.
Vit B12 124.000pmol/L 557n/l(?) (211-911)
You do realise these are two different tests, don't you, so you can't compare them. The Medichecks test is an active B12, whereas the NHS test is just a serum test. But, your B12 would appear to be ok.
No point in testing magnesium. The fact that it's high in range doesn't mean you're not deficient, because the body will take magnesium out of the cells to maintain the blood level. Most people just take magnesium without bothering to test because most of us are deficient due to depleted soils. Excess is excreted.
As you have Hashimoto’s are you on strictly gluten free diet diet or tried it?
Hashimoto's frequently affects the gut and leads to low stomach acid and then low vitamin levels
Low vitamin levels affect Thyroid hormone working
Poor gut function can lead leaky gut (literally holes in gut wall) this can cause food intolerances. Most common by far is gluten. Dairy is second most common.
According to Izabella Wentz the Thyroid Pharmacist approx 5% with Hashimoto's are coeliac, but over 80% find gluten free diet helps, sometimes significantly. Either due to direct 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 gluten free diet for 3-6 months. If no noticeable improvement then reintroduce gluten and see if symptoms get worse
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
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
Despite the fact that 5-10% of patients have Celiac disease, in my experience and in the experience of many other physicians, at least 80% + of patients with Hashimoto's who go gluten-free notice a reduction in their symptoms almost immediately.
Thankyou for your reply. I need to reconsider my diet. I went gluten free many years ago and was thought to have a leaky gut and candida. I took acidopholus for years. Eventually after losing weight and reversing my diabetes, I gradually reintroduced a lot of things but avoided bread which I knew didn't do me much good (and apples). I have again been eliminating most gluten free foods but to keep my sugar levels stable I eat a snack 3 hourly between meals and am used to eating a ryvita with hummous, not knowing that rye contains gluten, because it is one of the few crispbreads that didn't have yeast extract in it. It is also difficult to avoid all gluten if eating out at family occasions. I was tested for coeliac disease in my fifties but was already eliminating gluten so it was negative. The other concern I have is that I react badly to most medicines. I get side effects to everything I take. I am getting concerned that this is what is happening with my thyroid medication. I have felt worse and worse and worse ever since I started on it. Thankyou for the link. I will read all of it more carefully later. Best wishes for youself,
You may need to reduce levothyroxine by 25mcg and increase T3 by 5mcg (as second dose later in day)
Retest in 6-8 weeks
Make sure to get blood test as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking anything other than water and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before and last 5mcg dose T3 8-12 hours before test
Stop taking any supplements that contain biotin a week before ANY Blood tests
I have eaten a low carb diet for almost 7 years, so 150gr+ of carbs a day wasn't going to be happening. The Endo agreed it would be bonkers to up it, just a for a test, in a falsely carbed up state.
I'm considering asking for an Endoscopy as I definitely have gluten issues, but also I do have other bowel challenges.
At £20, I might want to give a test another go, before mounting my case with the medics. I guess the fact this is a binary, Positive/Negative result is less helpful to me than an antibody count.
Apologies for the delay replying. My binary statement relates to the test you linked to. It appears to return a result by which the appearance of a line means positive and absence therefore negative.
Of course, one could take a view on feint, "maybe a line there" results, but that's exceptionally inexact.
I am already strictly GF, and have been for almost 2 years now.
There’s zero point doing a coeliac test if haven’t been eating gluten for minimum of 6 weeks before test ....and eaten gluten at least two or three times a day
That’s interesting. I have just had a thyroid test with medichecks and my results were similar to yours. The medic also suggested reduce levo. I ignored his comments but its worrying that even their medics don’t understand hypothyroidism and blood test results.
😩 WTF!! You’re FT3 is only 37% through range but your FT4 is 96% through range so you’re not a great convertor. Reign in the Levo and increase the T3 and forget anything the Medichecks whore says 😬😂
Thank you. Yes I know I don’t convert well. I am heterozygous. I have increased my liothyronine by 5 mcg and reducedlevo by 25mcg. The problem is I will run out of T3 med and don’t know how to get another prescription as my regular Endo has no outpatient clinics because he has been put on ward duty for covid19 patients. I am on a waiting list for an appointment with him when he restarts outpatient clinic which will only start again in August (unless it doesn’t if infections spike again.) pointless going to my gps as they are clueless on this and can’t prescribe or test t3. Difficult to get to see them anyway.
Have you emailed the Endos Secretary? He won’t be completely unavailable. I probably wouldn’t reduce the Levo too quickly if it’s going to be difficult to get more T3 atm. Perhaps every other day drop the 25.
Thank you so much for the speedy reply. I value the help I get from you all greatly. Yes I am going to have to do something. Just figuring out how to do it at the moment . the trouble is his secretary is now working for the designated member of the Endo team, ,covering all thyroid cases because he is the thyroid specialist. He is the man who told me that t3 can give you a heart attack. She has to run everything past him. I told him in April I felt like I was dying and his response was to say I didn’t need further treatment as my test results were all normal. Giving it time to see if altering dosage improves things.
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