hello i was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 10 years ago...with insulin-dependent diabetes....my smtoms at that time when i went to A&E was rapid heartbeat which felt like i was about to have a heart attack. i visited my GP after the diagnosis at emergency they told me i would be prescribed levothyroxine
i read about the condition and found out i could hasve a natural form called Armour
the GP point blank refused to prescribe that, and at that time i just meekly went home and started taking the symthetic, 10 years later i am still havimg persistent side effects....rapid heartbeat can start aqny time, mostly at bed time which will keep me awake for hours as i cannot get into sleep mode i learned to cope somewhat, with magnesium to calm the heart and variou sleeping aids like melatonon aaand valeriab.....i would also get mind fog, and difficulty in remembering, my insulin did not seem to do it's job so high blood sugars and all in all i could have some good days but all in all a struggle, why i went on for this long i do not know. since i had cobid in may rhe exaustion when i came out after 3 weeks was awful, i went along to my homeopath as i practice inegrated approach she told me my thyroid was flooreda and gave me support for it. imn the meantime my hair fell out....at the end of my tether i asked my herbalist to get me natural thyroid soutced from New Zealanf it is bovine....my question is, can i transition straight away, stopping the synthetic and next dat starting the natural or do i need to get the GP involved, thank you so much
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Would STRONGLY recommend you get FULL thyroid and vitamin testing done BEFORE considering changing
How much levothyroxine are you currently taking
Do you always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription
Many people find different brands are not interchangeable
What vitamin supplements are you currently taking
When were vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 last tested
Do you have Type 1 or type 2 diabetes?
Have you had thyroid antibodies tested to confirm autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto’s?
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested.
Very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially with autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s or Ord’s thyroiditis)
Low vitamin levels common as we get older too
Please add most recent thyroid and vitamin results and ranges
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins
If TPO or TG thyroid antibodies are high this is usually due to Hashimoto’s (commonly known in UK as autoimmune thyroid disease). Ord’s is autoimmune without goitre.
About 90% of all primary hypothyroidism in Uk is due to Hashimoto’s. Low vitamin levels are particularly common with Hashimoto’s. Gluten intolerance is often a hidden issue too
Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose change or brand change in levothyroxine or changing to any other options
Important
On any NDT, T3 or glandulars On day before blood test, split daily dose into 3 smaller doses, at roughly equal 8 hour intervals, taking last 1/3rd of daily dose approx 8-12 hours before test
first of all thank you for such a detailed response, i gfeel over my head already i get easily flusterred i was sick with covid in may came home after 3 weeks then my husband died and i find it hard to cope right now, i am supposed to take 125 mcg. when my heart was racing i thought it was the medication so i would cut to 100 mcg i am not always taken the same brand i don't even know the difference one box to the other because my symptoms have persisted throughout the 10 years with little peacefulness...i am currently taking magnesium 300mg once or twice a day depending on my heart rate i take D3 probiotic zzinc anti-oxidant herval liquid mix gingko liquid turmeric for inflammation since i have been told there is some residual inflammatiion on my lungs, ....when my hair came out i started florisene i also took B12 ....that's all i rememberright now i get tired in the evening thank you so much i will reread in the morning cos i am not taking it in right now
So presumably you have autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto’s diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies
Are you already on strictly gluten free diet
If not, get coeliac blood test done BEFORE trialing cutting gluten out completely
Technically it’s Hashimoto's (with goitre) or Ord’s thyroiditis (no goitre). Both variants are autoimmune and more commonly both are just called Hashimoto’s
Hashimoto's frequently affects the gut and leads to low stomach acid and then low vitamin levels
Low vitamin levels affect Thyroid hormone working
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 further 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
Before considering trial on gluten free diet get coeliac blood test done FIRST just to rule it out
If you test positive for coeliac, will need to remain on gluten rich diet until endoscopy (officially 6 weeks wait)
If result is negative can consider trialing strictly gluten free diet for 3-6 months. Likely to see benefits. Can take many months for brain fog to lift.
If no obvious improvement, reintroduce gluten see if symptoms get worse.
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.
Eliminate Gluten. Even if you don’t have Hashimoto’s. Even if you have “no adverse reactions”. Eliminate gluten. There are no universal rules except this one.
thank you for the response tbh i really don't know but she is a long-time practitioner and i just trust her also with my poor memory retention i forget stuff, i feel i am over my head right now thank you i feel a bit sick actually
it was a throis detox in liquis drops and also thyroid support in homeopathic form you sound rather attacking i am here for help....my thyroid condition has not been right for too lomg and i need to get to the bottom of itm thanks
At least some products like that are various iodine supplements.
There are good reasons to be careful of any iodine supplements in the context of thyroid disorders.
I don't think greygoose was attacking you but those who have been around for a while are all too aware of the need to check everything. Too many have found what they had been taking is either of no benefit or deleterious. That goes for everything - prescription medicines, supplements, etc.
For example, lactose intolerance is pretty common, more in some parts of the world than others but very widespread. Yet many will take homeopathic remedies without realising they are often diluted with lactose.
We all make typos. But I wanted to be sure I was correctly interpreting.
And it is possibly surprising how many who have never previously been lactose-intolerant find that lactose in, for example, levothyroxine, causes problems. Some can even consume modest quantities of milk. Though that was just one example of the possible consequences of consuming things of unknown compositon.
I'm sorry if you thought I was attacking you, I really wasn't. I was worried about what you were taking. If you read through my story on my profile, you'll see that you just cannot trust anyone, no matter how long-term practicising they are. None of them know enough about thyroid to avoid these pit-falls in what they prescribe. I was prescribed iodine at one point, and it made me much, much worse. I now know that that is the last thing I should have been given.
I know you're here for help, and I was trying to help. I was trying to warn you that things called 'thyroid support' are usually a bad idea, and often just hasten the demise of your thyroid. Once a thyroid has started to fail, there's nothing you can do about it, despite what doctors think.
As for getting to the bottom of it, it's highly unlikely that you will ever do that. And, even if you do, by some extraordinary chance, find out what caused it, there's not much chance that you can reverse it. The best thing you can possibly do is concentrate on optimising your thyroid hormone replacement. And, 'thyroid support' concoctions won't help with that.
i have only just begun investigating because i cannot suffer these side effects anymore
when i came out of hospital after covid on 1st June the exhaustion was unbelivable then clumps of hair were falling out so immediately my homeopath said thyroid, therefore covid made everything worse, i need to do testing obviously and i need to make sure i am on the correct medication but i would prefer natural thank you
By 'natural' I take it you mean NDT? Well, why not. But, be aware that NDT doesn't suit everyone. It's not just a case of what you prefer, but what your body can tolerate. NDT made me far sicker than levo - and that was bad enough. For me, the only way to go is synthetic T3.
However, don't confuse 'synthetic' with 'unnatural', of 'fake', or whatever. Synthetic hormones are exactly the same as the hormones made by your body, exactly the same chemical make-up. And the trouble with bovine glandulars from New Zealand is that we don't always know it's exact hormonal content. Does yours say on the packet/bottle how much T4 and T3 it contains? It's important to know that before you decide how to transition for levo to the glandular.
You should also be aware that having had COVID can make you sick for a long, long time - and being hypo could make that worse. So, is this really the right time to change your thyroid hormone replacement? Because you won't really know what is due to your exogenous hormone and what is due to long COVID.
just copy/pasted...this is how i'ts been for me for a long time;
last night, and this is not unusual,
i went to bed around 12.30...i had taken heart support and a valerian tablet, i fell asleep even though heart beat was rapid but not too much''''by 3.30 am i woke up very hot had to throw off the duvet because my heart rate had made me so hot. i went to check my blood pressure which was 150/73 i took a magnesium went nack to bed but i could not sleep the rest of the night....this happens regularly
Well, levo is just T4 - 100 mcg T4. There's no T3 in it.
But, with a glandular you just cannot know. Your practitioner cannot know how much hormone it contains, if any. And very oftent here isn't any. It's just another form of 'thyroid support'. Why don't you source real NDT - Erfa, Armour, or something? That way you will know exactly what you're taking - it says on the bottle, and it's usually something like 68 mcg T4 and 9 mcg T3. And one grain - 60 mg - would be roughly equal to 100 mcg levo. With the bovine glandular, you're dabbling in the unknown.
i went to bed around 12.30...i had taken heart support and a valerian tablet, i fell asleep even though heart beat was rapid but not too much''''by 3.30 am i woke up very hot had to throw off the duvet because my heart rate had made me so hot. i went to check my blood pressure which was 150/73 i took a magnesium went nack to bed but i could not sleep the rest of the night....this happens regularly
I’d be tempted to stop the homeopathic things for a bit and just take the prescribed meds eg levothyroxine and liothyronine then test your tsh t4 and T3 in six weeks to see where you are. Sorry you’re struggling but it’s hard to know what’s going on till you can get clear test results.
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We are admins to ensure the forum operates as smoothly as possible - not because we are trained. Other members might well know as much or more than admins.
Members are expected to contribute as they can, but none should be viewed as medically qualified.
recently i heard about the Basal Temperature test, so i took my temperature last few days and it is consistently 35 morning and evening, when i have rapid heart beat while trying to sleep it goes up to 36
anyone have any comments on this temperature test?
That depends on where you are taking your temperature. Under the tongue or point and shoot. Due to our usual sedentary lifestyles and living in climate controlled residences, the average
temperature of people has been going down from what was accepted as 'average' at 37C.
Range is 36.1 to 37.2. There has been research done to compare average body temperature
from the past based on records (the mercury thermometers were accurate) and today and
average body temperature is lower today than it was.
In your case since you are not well post-Covid, it's highly likely that your body temperature won't be what you'd consider 'normal' because you are still unwell and probably not as physically active as you would be otherwise.
Grief, depression, insulin dependent diabetes, overweight/fatty liver all have an adverse effect on the body's ability to utilize Levothyroxine.
Your doctor needs to order a full panel for thyroid: TSH, fT4 and fT3 to see what's going on.
You also need to get Vitamin D3, B12, folate tested and also ferritin to check for low iron.
If these are low which can happen especially during trying periods of life when a person may not be eating as nutritious a diet as they should, then the Levothyroxine is not utilized well by the body. Grief, depression, and post illnesss recovery can have a deleterious effect on digestion.
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Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Please can you help with confusing test results?
Can you help please 
New here and wonder if you can help?
Can you help
Can you help me interpret my lab results?
