Presumably test was done as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking anything other than water and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
Did you stop vitamin B complex a week before blood test
Ft4 is only 49% through range
Ft3 is dire at 7.84%
All vitamins too low as under medicated and poor converter
Getting vitamin levels optimal and dose increase in levothyroxine
Meanwhile
Email Dionne at Thyroid UK for list of recommend thyroid specialist endocrinologists...NHS and Private
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Yes likely to need addition of small doses of T3 prescribed alongside levothyroxine
Getting vitamin levels optimal while waiting
And, ideally getting 25mcg dose increase in levothyroxine. But Gp will only look at low TSH and likely refuse
High thyroid antibodies confirms autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto’s
Are you already on strictly gluten free diet
If not
Hashimoto's 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
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.
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
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.
Thyroid disease is as much about optimising vitamins as thyroid hormones
How long have you been taking vitamin B complex and B12
taking a B12 supplement as well as a B Complex (to balance all the B vitamins) initially for first 2-4 months, then once your serum B12 is over 500 (or Active B12 level has reached 70), stop the B12 and just carry on with the B Complex.
Yes I did the tests first thing in the morning 24 hours after last Levothyroxine dose and on empty stomach.
I currently take 100mg of Levothyroxine. Brand has changed 3 times in last 6 months. I feel pretty bad for a week each time there is a change. Currently North Star (Accord). Previously Accord (different packaging) and before that Teva. I seem to remember last year Mercury being better.
I first contacted you 23 October 2020 and started vitamins then - but I had to come off methyl B complex B12 for 3 weeks to get 3 sets of blood tests done. (So only taken one week of methyl B complex and B12).
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