My last thyroid test results seem to be pretty good but I'd appreciate any feedback about my other test results.
My cholesterol was high and also creatinine very high. I did read that this can be linked to Hypo and after medication should return to normal. I've been on 150mcg for about 3 months which appears to be just right. Any ideas about how long I should to see if the levels drop. I will add that I train heavy weights 4/5 times a week and use creatine and protein supplements.
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Charlyboy
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Hi again. I weigh around 103 kg. Virtually today I've changed pharmacy because not only were they giving me different brands month to month they were also giving me 100mcg and 50mcg different brands. I complained every month to no avail.I've always tested in the morning before my dose or eating/drinking.
I'll retest as you suggested and hopefully cholesterol and creatinine levels will improve, maybe it takes a number of months to normalise.
Consider starting levothyroxine at a dosage of 1.6 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day (rounded to the nearest 25 micrograms) for adults under 65 with primary hypothyroidism and no history of cardiovascular disease.
Traditionally we have tended to start patients on a low dose of levothyroxine and titrate it up over a period of months. RCT evidence suggests that for the majority of patients this is not necessary and may waste resources.
For patients aged >60y or with ischaemic heart disease, start levothyroxine at 25–50μg daily and titrate up every 3 to 6 weeks as tolerated.
For ALL other patients start at full replacement dose. For most this will equate to 1.6 μg/kg/day (approximately 100μg for a 60kg woman and 125μg for a 75kg man).
If you are starting treatment for subclinical hypothyroidism, this article advises starting at a dose close to the full treatment dose on the basis that it is difficult to assess symptom response unless a therapeutic dose has been trialled.
If a patient reports persistent symptoms when switching between different levothyroxine tablet formulations, consider consistently prescribing a specific product known to be well tolerated by the patient. If symptoms or poor control of thyroid function persist (despite adhering to a specific product), consider prescribing levothyroxine in an oral solution formulation.
Give to GP and pharmacy
Get ahead on prescriptions by requesting 2 prescriptions. That way, you have a prescription “in hand” to give time to source brand levothyroxine you need
Often requires ringing around several pharmacies
Small independent pharmacies are often more helpful
Which brand of levothyroxine do you prefer
You can request GP either specify a particular brand to be prescribed…..or that you must not be prescribed a particular brand (eg No Teva brand)
I've been taking 150 mcg for about 3 months and my last blood test whilst slowly increasing dosage to that level was 10 months ago.my TSH was 5.44 mlU/L
FT4 - 15 pmol/L
FT3 - 5.81 pmol/L
Advice from the clever people on this site was that I'm 85% through the range for FT3 and FT4 hence my comment about my results appear to be just right. I did put it out there that I still suffer with getting a full breath and I'm concerned about a high cholesterol and creatinine result I just got.
Well, you appear to be a super converter, which is one good thing! But, your FT3 level doesn't explain your high cholesterol. So, I'm stumped! Although it could just be that you're one of those people that need your FT3 high to get enough into the cells. A blood test is just that: it tells you what you've got in your blood, it doesn't tell you how much is getting into the cells. And hormone in the blood doesn't do anything.
But, you shouldn't be too concerned about cholesterol, it's not going to give you a heart attack or a stroke. And, they do say that those with higher levels live longer. If that's any consolation.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply, I've said it many times that without the advice I've had from people on here I really don't know what I would have done. Probably carried on listening to doctors telling me I'm fine and suffering.
I'm afraid we all have to learn the hard way that doctors know nothing about thyroid, and care even less! I remember vividly the day that particular lightbulb went on in my head.
"creatinine very high""I will add that I train heavy weights 4/5 times a week and use creatine and protein supplements."
It might be a good idea to ask about this on the Kidney Forum here on Health Unlocked, but I think the answer is that protein is hard on the kidneys. You need to discuss with your GP too asap.
Both high cholesterol & raised creatinine can be the result of slowed kidney function due to inadequate thyroid hormone. Even with good biochemistry symptoms can often lag behind as other bodily symptoms struggle to catch up with the increase in metabolism caused by thyroid hormone replacement meds.
Protein can be difficult for the kidneys to metabolise if already suffering & creatinine is the waste form of creatine. It could be you are supplementing more than your hypothyroid body can metabolise at this moment in time. GFR is generally worked out when creatinine is tested. Do you have the result?
I presume the reference to a’ full breath’ is the inability to draw breath (also known as air hunger) during exercise. You might find my second answer on this members post interesting.
Creatinine is raised after a heavy workout (as advised in your result notes) and because GFR is often estimated using calculations from specific test results that include creatinine , both readings could be skewed. However because they are coupled with high cholesterol, it would be prudent to ask your GP for a kidney function test because a GFR less than 60 ≥3 months indicates CKD.
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The site keeps takung the hyper out of our links 🙄. Here is the air hunger link again.
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