Vitamins procrastinating!

[HashisKate]

Hi all

I just wondered if any of you experts can help with some questions I had over vitamin levels.

I recently got my vitamins tested privately (see previous post) and vitamin D and B12, whilst normal, were in the low end. I was really surprised by this with both results. I have an excellent, varied diet and have never been so tanned after having spent much of lockdown in the garden & recently having been on holiday to sunny Cornwall.

My question is, does anyone have any clues why hashimotos may cause these low levels? I had my vitamin d done privately around 5 or so years ago, and my levels were excellent (the company called me to enquire whether I’d recently been on holiday, in fact!) so it’s clearly not always been a problem for me (this was before I was hypothyroid).

I understand that with other vitamins gut issues associated with hashimotos are likely to play a part in not absorbing properly, but with vitamin d, I’m really puzzled as so much of that is via the skin!

Does anyone have any ideas? Or am I just looking into this far too much? My conversion is poor too, so I guess I’m just worried there could be something wrong elsewhere (like the liver?!) that may be causing all of this, rather than hashimotos. I did have my liver function tested in January along with a lot of other things, but was told it was normal.

Thanks if you made it this far!!

[bookish]

Hi. It is always a good idea to get hold of copies of results so you can see progress. I know you have given the others, but liver 'normal' may be far from optimal, and it may be needing some support. Re Vit D, it may be that you have a genetic requirement for more D, due to poor processing. This is common with Hashi's and may mean blood levels show adequate but it isn't getting into the cells. Being low in D is associated with many autoimmune conditions so, although you don't want it too high, you do need to be maintaining it at a good level. The older we get the harder it is to produce D and some may not have enough cholesterol to produce it well in the skin. Being very tanned can actually make it harder to produce D. You want a good D3, ideally with vit K2 and magnesium as co-factors. As far as B12 goes, the same can apply. There are genetic variants which may make it harder for you to use your folate and B12 (MTHFR for example), so it may not be getting into cells. Low stomach acid is a possible consequence of Hashi's, which will make it hard for you to access ingested B12. Bear in mind that genetic SNPs only show a predisposition - they may not have 'expressed' and may not be affecting your health at all. Even if they do express, the relationship between them is complex and varies, so none of it is set in stone, it will change and you can change it. You might find Datis Kharrazian's book 'Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms' useful - lots about Hashi's and other things that may be affecting your thyroid's function (liver and gut, oestrogen, blood-sugar etc). Cheers

[HashisKate in reply to bookish]

Thanks, some interesting stuff. Not sure the genetic component can apply as I’ve had such good levels in the past, but I’m definitely no expert. Generally I’m not tanned, in fact I’m covered in freckles, but I’m tanned at the moment, which was the irony I was indicating I suppose. There’s probably no answer I’ll find 🙃 I’ve begun supplementing with the better you vitamin D spray, which includes the k2. Hopefully a retest in 3 months along with some lifestyle changes will show a good improvement!!

I usually get a print out of my thyroid results when done by my GP, but didn’t get print outs of my other bloods as sometimes when they say it’s normal I’d like to just put it to bed as I can become very anxious about my health! However If my results in 3 months are still pretty poor hopefully I’ll be in a position to seek help (my GP are still not considering routine requests, and with normal results they’ll barely consider it routine!!)

Thanks for replying 😊

[bookish in reply to HashisKate]

Yes, the genetics can still apply - you need the right triggers to make a genetic weakness take effect, and that could be stress, another health condition, virus etc, etc. But retesting after treating is definitely the best way. I had to go gluten and dairy free to get my vitamin levels to improve. Hope you can make some head way x

[HashisKate in reply to bookish]

I’m going gluten free too! Fingers crossed it works I can’t bare the thought of saying goodbye to cheese 😭 I have oat milk in my smoothies and coffees though, so cutting back where I can 👍🏻

Thanks for the info re: genes. Really interesting. My mum, dad, brother & myself all have a different autoimmune disease!!! So I’ve got those genes both barrels 😬

Glad you got your vitamins to improve - all these stories give me hope ☺️

[grumpyold in reply to HashisKate]

I went lactose free rather than dairy free, so I still have "real" cheese but without the lactose. Same with milk. And yoghurt.

Dunno if it's coincidence but my joint aches have improved. I will be buying a test soon to see what my vitamin levels are cos I too was at the low end for B12 and D last time I tested. I'm also gluten free and have Hashi's.

x

[HashisKate in reply to grumpyold]

There’s a lot of trial and error with hashis isn’t there. I have problems with severe anxiety so the ‘wait and see’ approach is awful for me mentally to deal with. I’m trying my best though. Glad you’ve found something that’s working for you x

[liaratsoni]

Hi Kate,

As far as I am aware hypothyroidism causes low vitamins due to absorption problems caused as a result of low stomach acid that hypothyroidism induces due to the whole body slowing down. B12 and Iron are particularly tricky for the body to absorb and so are very affected by hypothyroidism. I was diagnosed last year and since the age of 17 (as far back as I have test results and I am now 23) my b12 was bottom of the range around 198-204 and my ferritin was low - always in the 20s and dropping to 3 at one point! When in March my thyroid levels were optimal my ferritin SHOT up to 83 for the first time in my life - my diet hadn't changed and I wasn't even eating much meat!

Like you I also have a great diet full of lots of veg but my levels are abysmal when I am hypo. I had to start supplementing B12, Vit D and working on my ferritin again as they all dropped alongside my thyroid levels and its also a had a huge impact on my conversion by improving them to optimal not just in range levels - to put it into perspective its improved so much that my last blood test showed my FT3 level hadn't dropped at all despite having decreased my T3 dose by 5mcg! Previously when I dropped by 5mcg and wasn't working on my vitamins my FT3 fell from 4.9 to 4.3! So my advice is definitely to work on those vits and mins because they really do have a HUGE impact! When you get to your optimal dose your body should be able to absorb much better and you hopefully won't need to supplement/supplement much less going forward! Hope this helps!

[HashisKate in reply to liaratsoni]

That’s a really encouraging post, thanks for sharing ☺️ X

[liaratsoni in reply to HashisKate]

Ah I am glad! Wish you all the best! x