MY FEET FEEL WARM!! But my hair is still falling out...

[Zazbag]

What sorcery is this?! I didn't realise that I didn't realise that I have consciously never felt my feet feel warm before in my entire life... I noticed a few days ago that my feet feel so toasty and warm (they are almost always freezing and have been since I was a teenager!) This is after quite a big dose increase (100 mcg to 150 mcg levo in the past two months), I've been on 150 mcg for the past 2/3 weeks. But... my hair is still falling out and has been since around March... I'm really hoping that a few more weeks on this dose will sort out the hair loss.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

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

Low vitamin levels, especially low ferritin can be linked to hair loss

Have you had vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 tested?

If not ask GP to test

all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .

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)

Come back with new post once you get results

[Zazbag in reply to SlowDragon]

All my vitamins are optimal except ferritin but I'm supplementing 420 mg ferrous fumarate a day and have been since February. I've had suboptimal ferritin for a long time though and the hair loss only started in March.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Zazbag]

Essential to do FULL IRON PANEL Test regularly, preferably monthly if supplementing iron ...you can have low ferritin and high iron

[Hashihouseman]

Levothyroxine definitely makes my feet hot. It’s so noticeable that I go by the heat in my feet to guage if I’m overmedicated On levothyroxine.

[Zazbag in reply to Hashihouseman]

They feel pleasantly warm but not hot. I'm guessing if I went any higher dose wise they might start to feel not. Maybe it means I'm at the right dose now.

[Hidden]

Several weeks ago a lady on one of the forums recommended Waterman’s shampoo for falling hair. Not cheap but worth every penny. I can now wear a black top without keeping brushing myself down. My hair is thicker too. 1st haircut since February today. Will be interested to see what hairdresser thinks. On my second bottle

[Zazbag in reply to Hidden]

A shampoo can actually combat hair loss?

[Hidden in reply to Zazbag]

Lady on here had bought it for her sister who was going to have chemo. Sister didn’t lose any here so she tried it herself and said how good it was. I’ll be interested in what my hairdresser says

[Zazbag in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[Hidden in reply to Zazbag]

Hairdresser most impressed

[Auntyp62]

I know what you are talking about with feet and heat.lol. When my hair falls out it is usually my vitamin D that’s at fault. After a few weeks supplementing my hair stops falling out and is full of body.

[Zazbag in reply to Auntyp62]

My vitamin is about 100 so definitely more than enough! It could be my ferritin as that's only about 45-50 I think but I'm already supplementing 420 mg ferrous fumarate a day and have been since February.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Zazbag]

Eating iron rich foods like liver or liver pate once a week plus other red meat, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate, plus daily orange juice or other vitamin C rich drink can help improve iron absorption

List of iron rich foods

dailyiron.net

Links about iron and ferritin

irondisorders.org/Websites/...

drhedberg.com/ferritin-hypo...

This is interesting because I have noticed that many patients with Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism, start to feel worse when their ferritin drops below 80 and usually there is hair loss when it drops below 50.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Thyroid disease is as much about optimising vitamins as thyroid hormones

Read lots of replies by humanbean on ferritin and iron

Helpful post about iron supplements and testing

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

restartmed.com/hypothyroidi...

[Zazbag in reply to SlowDragon]

I went to the gym on Sunday and since then I've felt really fatigued and my feet have been FREEZING again. I'm guessing I depleted my T3 and it's causing hypo symptoms? How can I avoid this in future? I really cut back from what I usually do exercise wise and the workout itself felt really fine and I felt so good afterwards, until I woke up the next day feeling like crap. I noticed my feet were suddenly freezing when I got home from the gym and they still are now.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Zazbag]

Why do you say 100mcg levothyroxine is definitely enough......some people need over 200mcg ..

A few people even high doses

Guidelines on dose levothyroxine by weight is 1.6mcg levothyroxine per kilo of your weight

Usually dose is increased by 25mcg steps...not 50mcg

Are you on same brand of levothyroxine at each prescription.

When were full thyroid levels last tested?

Strongly recommend getting FULL thyroid testing 6-8 weeks after this dose increase in levothyroxine

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 .

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)

[Zazbag in reply to SlowDragon]

I'm on 150. Was on 100 then they increased to 125 and I still felt awful so now 150. It hasn't yet been 6 weeks so too early to test. I assumed the 1.6 mcg / kg meant that 150 (I'm 69-70kg) meant I'm on a very high dose now. All my vitamins are optimal except for ferritin but I'm actively taking 420 mg ferrous fumarate per day. Have been since February. Last ferritin test was 1st June and I was about 47 I think so still a long way to go. Do you really think this is because my ferritin is t optimal? I think it's more likely to be T3, this feels like thyroid fatigue rather than anaemic fatigue.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Zazbag]

Are you making sure iron supplements are four hours away from levothyroxine

Are you lactose intolerant?

Ever tried dairy free diet

You would need lactose free levothyroxine too

[Zazbag in reply to SlowDragon]

I take my levo at night and my iron in the morning with vitamin C.

I'm gluten and dairy free.

I've always used the same brand of levothyroxine, which is lactose free. (Teva).

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Zazbag]

When lactose intolerant higher dose than average of levothyroxine frequently necessary

[Zazbag in reply to SlowDragon]

I'm not lactose intolerant.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Zazbag]

Well you don’t know that for certain....you may be

Lactose intolerance is very common with Hashimoto's

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/240...

Lactose intolerance was diagnosed in 75.9 % of the patients with HT

read.qxmd.com/read/24796930...

These findings show that lactose intolerance significantly increased the need for oral T4 in hypothyroid patients.

You could try introducing dairy see if symptoms get worse

[Zazbag in reply to SlowDragon]

I have never had problems with lactose even when I tried reintroducing dairy after I did AIP, but I was advised not to continue eating it because it can increase your antibodies even if you don't notice symptoms due to the casein. I don't take anything with lactose anyway so it shouldn't cause me a problem, surely?

[Zazbag in reply to SlowDragon]

I'm not actually lactose intolerant but I cut out dairy when I found out I had Hashimoto's because I read it's as much of a problem as gluten even if you don't notice symptoms, and I figured out years ago that gluten causes me health problems and was already avoiding it.

[Zazbag]

I forgot to mention this but all my vitamins (B12, folate, vitamin D) are optimal except my ferritin, I've been taking 420 mg ferrous fumarate a day but it's taking a long time to increase. A month or two ago it was about 45. No idea what it is now. But it's been low for a long time and the hair loss only started in March.

[humanbean in reply to Zazbag]

So you're taking two tablets of Ferrous Fumarate 210mg (FF210) per day? How long have you been taking them for?

People differ in how quickly they raise their ferritin levels. Personally, with a ferritin level bumping along the bottom of the reference range it took me nearly two years to get my ferritin to mid-range. My serum iron was still low in range even then. I was taking three FF210 tablets per day. I now take a maintenance dose to stop my levels dropping like a stone. I take one tablet four or five days a week now.

Since I was struggling to raise my iron and ferritin several years ago there has been new research come out which I haven't tested personally, but it's worth knowing about it. It seems that people can absorb iron more easily by taking it on alternate days. Note that this research hasn't been replicated yet (as far as I know), but I'm sure further research on this will be done.

thelancet.com/journals/lanh...

If you do a search for "iron alternate day dosing" there are lots of results but they all appear to refer to the above research paper.

sci-hub.tw/http://dx.doi.or...

Note in the above link the Lancet research paper is referred to as a "small" study.

But it is worth trying it for a couple of months and then re-testing, just in case it helps you. I am not aware of any research replicating the research in the first link but I'm sure it will happen eventually.

If you don't do so already, take vitamin C to help your body to absorb iron. Also make sure that you do an iron panel fairly regularly - the last thing you want is to end up with sky high iron or ferritin levels unexpectedly because iron is poisonous in overdose and the body has no means of excreting excess iron. This link gives more info :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

If you want to try eating more foods which contain iron then this website is worth browsing :

dailyiron.net/

Good luck.

[Jodypody]

Does the hair that comes out snap easily?

[Zazbag in reply to Jodypody]

I haven't checked but I'll try next time I wash my hair. What would it mean if it does?

[Jodypody]

Just damage from heat and or colour. You could’ve had a reaction to a colour. I had hair nearly to my waist long thick and curly and it all snapped off last October and it is still coming out

[Zazbag in reply to Jodypody]

I've never coloured my hair, I don't use much heat on it either. Haven't changed my hair habits at all.

[Jodypody]

Ah ok.