This is only my second time writing on here been enjoying looking and learning about under active thyroid. I was diagnosed with thyroiditis in December 2020 and am currently taking 50 mg thyroxine . I know it’s early days and can take awhile to get the medication right but I seem to have got worse my knees in particular and my hips and wrists I feel like an old lady (54years old) they ache so much .I haven’t had a period for 2 years now. I have lost my mojo to exercise used to swim & gym every week. I have put on weight I am quite active being a cleaner sometimes cleaning 2 houses a day so do get tired . Everything seems harder though. I will post some results that I had and would like some advice on weather it could be thyroid or maybe menopause or mixture of both who knows! Thanks in advance 😊.
NOVEMBER 2020
TSH : 1.68 (range 0.27-4.20)
Free T4 13.5 (12.0-22.0)
DECEMBER 2020
TSH : 0.05 (0.27-4.20)
Free T4 38.3 (12.0-22.0)
TPO Antibodies : 11 u/ml
Serum adjusted calcium : 2.24 (2.20-2.60)
Serum Ferritin 107 ng/ml
Serum Folate 10.9 ug/l
Serum 25-HO Vit D level 69.7
Diagnosed Thyroiditis &over active thyroid was taking steroids
JANUARY 2021
Serum C reactive Protein : 27 (0-5)
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate : 66
APRIL 2021
TSH : 11.69 (0.27-4.20)
Free T4 10.2 (12.0-22.0)
Thyroid damaged now under active started taking 25mg levo
JULY 2021
TSH : 4.78 (0.27-4.20)
Free T4 12.2 (12.0-22.0)
Upped levo to 50mg
I will have another blood test done in October but do you think I should ask for my T3 to be tested ?
Sorry for long post 😊😊
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Dexter-dawg21
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I will have another blood test done in October but do you think I should ask for my T3 to be tested ?
No point in testing T3 at the moment. You still have a long way to go with increases in Levo. The aim of a treated Hypo patient on Levo only, generally, is for TSH to be 1 or below with FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of their reference ranges. So you need to get TSH much, much lower to give the highest possible FT4 and then see where your FT3 lies.
If it has been 6-8 weeks since increasing your Levo to 50mcg then you are now due another test, no point in waiting 3 months (even though this may be in the guidelines), it's just delaying the inevitable.
It's very likely you'll need a couple more increases, 25mcg each time and waiting 6-8 weeks between increase and retest, before you see your TSH coming down to anywhere near where it needs to be.
See if GP will test Vit D, B12, Folate and Ferritin, it's important that these are at optimal levels for thyroid hormone to work properly, and many Hypo patients have low levels or deficiencies.
Always advised here, when having thyroid tests:
* Blood draw no later than 9am. This is because TSH is highest early morning and lowers throughout the day. If looking for a diagnosis of hypothyroidism, an increase in dose of Levo or to avoid a reduction then we need the highest possible TSH
* Nothing to eat or drink except water before the blood draw. This is because eating can lower TSH and coffee can affect TSH.
* If taking thyroid hormone replacement, last dose of Levo should be 24 hours before blood draw, if taking NDT or T3 then last dose should be 8-12 hours before blood draw. Adjust timing the day before if necessary. This avoids measuring hormone levels at their peak after ingestion of hormone replacement. Take your thyroid meds after the blood draw. Taking your dose too close to the blood draw will give false high results, leaving any longer gap will give false low results.
* If you take Biotin or a B Complex containing Biotin (B7), leave this off for 7 days before any blood test. This is because if Biotin is used in the testing procedure it can give false results (most labs use biotin).
These are patient to patient tips which we don't discuss with phlebotomists or doctors.
Also, are you taking your Levo on an empty stomach, one hour before or two hours after food, with a glass of water only, no tea, coffee, milk, etc, and water only for an hour either side, as absorption will be affected. Also, take any other medication and supplements 2 hours away from Levo, some need 4 hours.
Thank you for replying My last blood test was 10 weeks ago so maybe I should ring and get my bloods taken ? I take my Levo early morning about 5.45am because I walk with my friend and her dog (my dog sadly passed away but still get up and walk ☺️)get back around 7am and have my coffee then . What if my doctor says I’ve got to wait another 2wks, I heard that they are only doing urgent bloods as they had run out of bottles ?? Want to get it sorted and feel like my old self again some symptoms are better ie my hair has stopped falling out it’s just the aches in the joints!
I take b12 and vit D 3+ K2
I also take menopause plus which I have just looked and it contains biotin 30 ug do you think I should stop it was helping with my flushes but they seem to have come back 🙄blimey I sound a right mess !! 🤣
Flushes are caused by falling oestrogen. The only successful way to treat that is HRT. However, I suggest that you put up with that a bit longer and get thyroid sorted first because it’s really hard trying to do both at once. Your joint pains could be menopause, but also could be thyroid. The two go hand in hand. Read up all about HRT and the menopause at www,menopausedoctor.co.U.K. Brilliant up to date information by a leading U.K. menopause expert. The site is packed with info. Written, podcasts and video.
So going back to testing, book the earliest appointment you can, definitely before 9am. The day before take your Levo at whatever time your appointment is booked for the following day. Then on the day take it after the blood test (I take mine with me and have water in the car). This will give you your 24hr break between last dose and blood test. The following day go back to your preferred time for taking it. Always do this. Get print outs from every test and write on the amount of Levo you were taking at the time and the fact that you took the last dose 24hrs before. Keep them in a file. They are very useful going forward.
As for the vitamins, leave them off for a week before the blood test and restart after.
Hi yes I had read on here not to take levo if having an early blood test which is great advice as I’m new to all this . I follow the menopause doctor on social media and watched Davina McCall ‘s programme very informative 👍 like you advised though I’m trying to get my thyroid sorted first. When I had thyroiditis my knees were awful 😞 and I was on steroids it was wonderful every pain joint went away !!! Obviously can’t stay on those . Anyway my knees are awful again . So thinking thyroid??? 🤷🏻♀️ But like you say it’s hard to know . My menopause isn’t to bad flushes are the worst mostly the night ones but apart from a little brain fog and tiredness, which could be thyroid I’m not to bad
Yes, ring your surgery now and see what the situation is about blood tests. I wouldn't call yours routine, it is part of the titration process after starting Levo so it's important to know your results to see how you're doing on your last increase and whether or not you should increase again. Hopefully you'll get a test.
I've given you advice above about how to do tests and you don't need to leave off any vitamins except Biotin or a B Complex (as this contains biotin) or any other supplement containing biotin. As your Menopause supplement contains 30ug biotin, this is a low dose and leaving off for 3 days should be enough, it's only high dose eg 5,000ug that needs to be left off for 7 days.. Even if you were having vitamins tested the only one you would leave off is iron supplements if you were having an iron panel or ferritin test then you'd leave iron supplements off for 7 days.
I take b12 and vit D 3+ K2
Are you taking these because you were tested and they were low or deficient?
How much B12 and how much D3?
When taking B12 we should also take a B Complex to keep all the B vitamins balanced.
When taking D3, as well as K2 another important cofactor is magnesium. Do you also take this? It helps the body convert D3 into it's usable form.
As for your Menopause Plus, is this Menopace Plus by Vitabiotics? This contains a lot of things you shouldn't be taking. If it's not this can you say what it is and I'll check it out and let you know if and why you shouldn't be taking it.
Yes it is vitabiotics (menopace plus ) I was taking a combined Vit D , magnesium and calcium tablet but thought I’d read on here that you shouldn’t take magnesium and calcium together because of the absorption?
I take 500 ug B12
D3 4000 ug
K2 100 ug this is one tablet D3&K2
I wasn’t tested for low vit D or b12 I don’t think so anyway but will check on my NHS app there were a lot of tests when I had thyroiditis. 🤔
What B complex do you suggest?
I also take turmeric and marine collagen , cod liver oil and one 14mg iron tablet and glucosamine and chondroitin ! I rattle ha ha 🤣
I was taking a combined Vit D , magnesium and calcium tablet but thought I’d read on here that you shouldn’t take magnesium and calcium together because of the absorption?
Yes, that's right. Calcium should not be taken at the same time as iron, zinc or magnesium.
Was that Osteocare, or something like that? Areyou worried about osteoporosis?
Have you had calcium tested?
We shouldn't take calcium unless we've tested and know that we need it.
I wasn’t tested for low vit D or b12 I don’t think so anyway but will check on my NHS app there were a lot of tests when I had thyroiditis.
So I gather you weren't told by your GP to supplement these? If that's correct then why take them and how did you arrive at those doses?
Vit D is a fat soluble vitamin and any excess gets stored and can lead to toxicity. It's very important to test Vit D to know if you need it, and if so then to supplement at an appropriate dose.
Excess B12 tends to be excreted as it's a water soluble vitamin, but again why supplement if you don't know you need it? You could be just making expensive urine.
What B complex do you suggest?
Honestly, I wouldn't suggest anything at the moment other than getting the following tests:
Vit D
B12
Folate
Ferritin
post your results, with reference ranges, plus units of measurement for Vit D (which will probably be nmol/L) and B12 (which will be pmol/L or ng/L or pg/ml) then we can let you know if you need to supplement, what dose and make suggestions for brands if you wish.
I also take ......... cod liver oil and one 14mg iron tablet .........
Have either of these been suggested by a practioner?
Are you taking cod liver oil for it's Vit D? If so there's more Vit A in cod liver oil than Vit D and we have to be careful because again too much Vit A is toxic.
Why the iron? Again this needs to be tested. An iron panel and full blood count will tell you if you need to take iron, low ferritin on it's own doesn't necessarily mean you need to supplement with iron.
Also, all of this on top of your Menopace Plus which in itself is a dreadful supplement. It's a multivitamin and these are never recommended here, they contain too little of anything to help low levels or deficiencies, they usually contain the cheapest, wrong form and least absorbable form of active ingredients, and they often tend to contain things we should test for first before supplementing, eg iron, calcium, iodine, Vit D, etc.
The first thing that's wrong with Menopace is that it contains soya, and we Hypos should avoid all forms of soya (except perhaps fermented soya).
The magnesium it contains is the oxide form, the least absorbable, cheap and usually used as a laxative.
The B12 it contains is cyanocobalamin and the recommended form is methylcobalamin.
It contains folic acid and the recommended form is methylfolate.
It contains iodine and we should be tested for this first and only supplement if found to be deficient and then under the guidance of a qualified practioner. It contains the full RDA of iodine and iodine deficiency is uncommon in the UK, there is iodine in milk, yogurt, white fish, etc, and there is also iodine in Levothyroxine.
It contains the selenate form of selenium which again is the cheapest and wrong form, better forms are selenium l-selenomethionine or yeast bound selenium.
Plus it contains iron and this will affect the absorption of everything else, iron should be taken 2 hours away from all supplements and medication except Vit C, (and 4 hours away from Levo).
Best place for this multi is in the bin I'm afraid.
Sorry if it sounds like I'm scolding you, honestly I'm not, but you say on your profile page that you want to understand about supplements so you need to go back to basics, test the key nutrients I've mentioned above and take it from there.
Hey I don’t think I was tested for calcium and the reason I started taking vit D was because again I heard that it was good to take because of Covid? B12 I have only just started taking because someone said it helped with hair loss which was something that was happening to me , my hair became very thin
I took the iron tablet because before my thyroid diagnosis I was very tired and my red blood cells were low .
The cod liver oil and other ones I listed I took because of aching joints this was pre thyroid . I suffered aching elbows , wrists and thought they might help .
I really appreciate your help and don’t feel like your scolding me 😁like you say you could save me a fortune!!!
Thanks again I will ask the dr if I can have the tests you mentioned and post the results 🙏🏼
Hey yeah all I can say is I do get tired and my knees like I’ve said above are awful. I used to be quite into my fitness nothing like a muscle woman but i felt good , swimming sometimes felt like I was swimming through treacle. I have put on weight and can’t seem to lose it . I have noticed that sometimes I crave sugary things which is not like me at all. Overall I don’t eat a bad diet . My job is quite active (cleaning) so I’m not sitting on me bum , it’s hard because of the lock down situation we all had and gyms closing etc I just can’t seem to get my mind back to the exercise, is it my thyroid 🤷🏻♀️My metabolism…… all I know is I don’t feel unwell I just don’t feel good if that makes sense 🙂
Ok so I will ask dr to test T3 and vit D , B12 , Folate & Fertin 👍 as I say am new to this and as I read from other members the drs don’t always test everything. If not like you say I will do it myself 🙂 thank you. Will report back with the results!
Do feel a bit better still achy but am putting it down to menopause. Any comments on my results should I be taking any vitamins. I had stopped everything so didn’t know if I need vit D or B12 ?
Thanks in advance 😊
Also I’m on my original post so am I just replying to you JAmanda or will this post be seen by everyone who answered me before ? 😀
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