Did you get your diagnosis of underactive thyroid 3 weeks ago and were started on 100mcg straight away?
In what way did you feel awful?
What brand of Levothyroxine were you given? Teva brand isn't tolerated by a lot of members, but occasionally another brand might not suit someone, it can be down to the fillers giving side effects rather than the active ingredient levothyroxine.
TPOab 124 (0-24.0) ***
Raised thyroid antibodies suggest Hashimoto's which is where the immune system attacks and gradually destroys the thyroid. Hashi's isn't treated, it's the resulting hypothyroidism that's treated although some people with Hashi's find that adopting a strict gluten free diet can help.
TSH 6.32 (0.27-4.2) ***
Your TSH is over range and coupled with your raised antibodies has led to your diagnosis. If you didn't have raised antibodies most doctors wait until TSH reaches 10 before diagnosing and prescribing Levo.
B12 488 (180-770)
What is the unit of measurement for your B12 - pmol/L or ng/L or pg/ml?
Folate 6 (4-26)
This is low. Folate is recommended to be at least half way through range. You can help improve this by eating folate rich foods and a good quality, bioavailable B Complex containing methylfolate and methylcobalamin such as Thorne Basic B. Be aware that any B Complex containing Vit C means that the Vit C keeps the body from absorbing B12, Vit C and B12 should be taken 2 hours apart.
If you take a B Complex (or Biotin supplement) then this should be left off for 7 days before any blood test as it gives false results when Biotin is used in the testing procedure (which most labs do).
HbA1 42 (20-41) ***
I imagine your GP may have discussed this with you as 42-47 is the pre-diabetes range.
Red blood RBC 6.14 10*12/L 3.8-5.8010*12/L ***
Meancorpuscular 65 (76.00-98.) ***
Haemohlibin MCH 21.2 (27-32) ***
Red blood distribute 17.2 (11-15) ***
Ferritin 278 (15-150) *****
( I have thalasseama !!!!
2) should I be alarmed at the ferritin result ? Will having thalasseama have impacted this ?
These should be discussed with your GP.
4) I have blood tests next month what tests do I need to ensure they do ?
TSH, FT4, FT3. Some labs only do TSH and only add FT4 is TSH is out of range, FT3 is rarely done although the hospital lab which my surgery's tests go to does FT3 if TSH is suppressed.
No point in retesting antibodies, you've had Hashi's confirmed and even if antibodies come back within range it doesn't change anything, antibody levels fluctuate.
Labtestsonline is a good resource to check about blood tests, it's recommended by the NHS:
It has recently been put in the guidelines that Levo can be started at the full replacement dose. However, previously Levo was started at 25mcg or 50mcg and built up gradually. I expect there are some people who can take the full replacement dose straight away but I think there are many people who still need to be started lower and build up. I'm wondering if starting at a full replacement dose was incorrect for you. You have now gone down to 50mcg so things might settle down. Dose increases generally are in 25mcg increments, no more.
However, it could still be fillers in the tablet that don't agree with you. Do you know if you have any intolerances? These are the excipients in Accord:
Since I’ve been taking the Levo I feel fatigue so much more esp after lunch ( I feel light headed, fatigued and like someone’s turned the lights off ) 😳
According to an extract from the book, "Could it be B12?" by Sally M. Pacholok:
"We believe that the 'normal' serum B12 threshold needs to be raised from 200 pg/ml to at least 450 pg/ml because deficiencies begin to appear in the cerebrospinal fluid below 550".
"For brain and nervous system health and prevention of disease in older adults, serum B12 levels should be maintained near or above 1000 pg/ml."
So your B12 could do with improving and the B Complex will help with that.
You could give the Accord a little longer to see if things settle down, or you could report your reaction to it and ask for a different brand. GP will have to issue a new prescription (unless you already have a repeat) but make sure the pharmacy knows that you can't have Accord, but also be aware that Almus and Northstar are actually Accord which have been rebranded for Boots/Lloyds Pharmacy so you need to avoid those brands as well.
If you find out that you definitely react badly to the Accord, after trying a different brand, then make a yellow card report:
Low vitamin D is extremely common with autoimmune thyroid disease (also Hashimoto’s)
Request GP do coeliac blood test BEFORE considering trial on strictly gluten free diet
Poor gut function with Hashimoto’s 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.
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Understanding blood test results
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