Husband needs advice

[Decisions]

Hi. After many years of misdiagnosis he takes NDT bought privately as no one will prescribe it as his blood tests were in range. He is much improved from what he was but is still very fatigued and tearful. He Has gone from sleeping for England to now not sleeping long enough and wakes up still tired. Any suggestions please so that after so many years he can have a better quality of life. He is now 67. The thyroid problem began 30 yes ago. First he was told nothing wrong, then ME. Finally Dr. Gordon Skinner diagnosed him in minutes. His temperature is extremely low - today 34.9 but he feels hot most of the time. Please help!

[Lalatoot]

To help we need to know the:

dose he is on

latest blood test results - TSH, FT4 and FT3 along with the ranges.

Has he had vitamins tested recently? B12, Vit D, folate and ferritin all need to be over half way through their ranges for the hormones to work efficiently.

[Decisions in reply to Lalatoot]

Thank you for your quick response. I will certainly implement suggestions. I would mention that Ian takes 10,000 IU vit D3 and K2. Also, dhea, high dose vit C, selenium, l-tyrosine, Ashwagandha, tumeric and mornings. Can you suggest any additions/deletions?

[Lalatoot in reply to Decisions]

Ashwagandha, is not recommended as it lowers cortisol. Low cortisol can cause problems.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Decisions]

Decisions

Ian takes 10,000 IU vit D3 and K2. Also, dhea, high dose vit C, selenium, l-tyrosine, Ashwagandha, tumeric and mornings. Can you suggest any additions/deletions?

That is a very large dose of D3 to take if he takes that amount daily and it's not a dose that would be prescribed by a GP. It's more than a prescribed loading dose for someone with severe Vit D deficiency. Just to illustrate, I had severe Vit D deficiency and addressed this myself and I took 10,000iu D3 daily for one week only, then reduced to 5,000iu daily until I reached the recommended level of 100-150nmol/L.

* How long has he been taking this dose?

* Has he been testing his Vit D level at least twice a year - something that needs to be done when supplementing with D3.

* Does he also take Magnesium? This is another important cofactor needed when taking D3 (as well as K2). Magnesium is needed for the body to convert D3 into it's usable form.

I would urge him to urgently do a Vit D test. If all he wants to test is Vit D then this can be done with a private fingerprick blood spot test with an NHS lab which offers this test to the general public:

vitamindtest.org.uk/

If he wants to test the other nutrients then test bundles including all of them are available.

* Why is he taking DHEA? Is it prescribed? Has he done a 24 hour saliva cortisol/DHEA test? If not then he should do this test with one of the labs I mentioned in my other reply.

* How much selenium does he take? Is it selenium l-selenomethionine or a yeast bound selenium? Those are the recommended forms. Hopefully he's not taking selenite or selenate forms.

As Lalatoot says, Ashwaghand is know to lower cortisol, another reason he should do the 24 hour saliva adrenal test.

Nothing should be added until further testing has been carried out - B12, Folate and Ferritin tests are needed to see if any of those need supplementing. And, of course, Vit D to check his level considering the large dose of D3 he's taking.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Decisions

I would be inclined to do a 24 hour saliva adrenal test with either Regenerus or Genova Diagnostics

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

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

and test the vitamins that Lalatoot has mentioned.

[humanbean]

If he has had untreated or under-treated thyroid problems for 30 years then his vitamin and mineral levels are probably very low. Improving the levels with supplements will help lots of symptoms.

Also, his adrenal function may be very poor after all this time. The adrenals try to take up the slack when thyroid hormone levels are too low. Firstly, cortisol (from the adrenal glands) is a poor replacement for thyroid hormones, but it keeps you alive. Eventually the adrenals may suffer from producing cortisol at such high levels for such a long time and adrenal function starts to deteriorate.

I would suggest your husband gets his nutrient levels tested and optimised, and gets his TSH, Free T4, Free T3, and thyroid antibodies tested. Worry about cortisol later.

The following link is a good option which can be ordered as a finger-prick test or as a test requiring phlebotomy. (Phlebotomy usually costs money, although if you know someone who can do it for you that will cut the cost.)

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

You can get a 30% discount off the price with the discount code given on this page :

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

There are other cheaper (but less complete) options :

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

For example :

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

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

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Once you get some results, post the results and reference ranges in a new thread and ask for feedback.

[Decisions in reply to humanbean]

Hi. Help again please. We have ordered D3 test as advised, but unsure which thyroid test is best. Geneva has told us to speak to Dr. Alesha burns-hill for advice. Please could you let us have her contact details. Thanks

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Decisions]

Decisions

You don't need to use Genova for a thyroid test.

Blue Horizon or Medichecks for the full thyroid plus vitamin panel. For just TSH, FT4 and FT3 then Monitor My Health.