Which supplements

[Minnie43]

Hi I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 2 years ago and take 125mg levothyroxine but would like to take some vitamin supplements but not sure what's ok any help thanks ☺

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Minnie43

To know if you would benefit from supplementing with any vitamins you would first need to test key nutrients:

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

Recommended levels are as follows :

Vit D - 100-150nmol/L

B12 - minimum 550pg/ml, better around 900-1,000pg/ml for Total B12, for Active B12 over 100 is suggested.

Folate - at least half way through range

Ferritin - half way through range

Come back with results, reference ranges and units of measurement for Vit D and B12 and we can help further.

[Minnie43 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks I'm going to see an endo on 8th Jan as not feeling great and go just saying I have depression

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Do you always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription

Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose change or brand change in levothyroxine

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 at least once year minimum

Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially with autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto’s or Ord’s thyroiditis)

Autoimmune thyroid disease with goitre is Hashimoto’s

Autoimmune thyroid disease without goitre is Ord’s thyroiditis. Both are autoimmune and generally called Hashimoto’s.

In U.K. medics never call it Hashimoto’s, just autoimmune thyroid disease (and they usually ignore the autoimmune aspect)

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

List of private testing options

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins by DIY fingerprick test

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

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.

Link about thyroid blood tests

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Link about Hashimoto’s

thyroiduk.org/hypothyroid-b...

List of hypothyroid symptoms

thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-un...

[Minnie43 in reply to SlowDragon]

Ok I think I do get same brand but not definite will keep an eye on thatI will be having bloods again soon as going to see an endo and hopefully get some help

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Minnie43]

We ALWAYS recommend getting FULL thyroid and vitamin testing done BEFORE seeing any endocrinologist

Otherwise consultation is a waste of time (and money)

Always test as early as possible in morning before eating or drinking anything other than water and last dose Levothyroxine 24 hours before test

Important/essential to regularly retest vitamin levels and supplement to maintain OPTIMAL vitamin levels

Come back with new post once you get results

Members can advise on how to improve low vitamin levels

[Minnie43 in reply to SlowDragon]

Ok will try and sort that before I go thank you

[Alanna012 in reply to SlowDragon]

Some endos won't accept the results anyway and require you retest all over again. Not all, but some.

[Minnie43 in reply to Alanna012]

Ok I am getting a print out from gp with recent results but will see what they say

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Have you had coeliac blood test done

Request GP do coeliac test before consultation

[Minnie43 in reply to SlowDragon]

Ok will try but he's not really listening to me

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Minnie43]

Do you know if you have had thyroid antibodies tested

Vast majority of primary hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto’s

Hashimoto’s frequently starts with transient hyperthyroid results and symptoms before becoming increasingly hypothyroid

If you have high antibodies this is known by medics here in UK as autoimmune thyroid disease. Technically it’s Hashimoto's (with goitre) or Ord’s thyroiditis (no goitre). Both variants are autoimmune and more commonly 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 a 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

lloydspharmacy.com/products...

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.

chriskresser.com/the-gluten...

amymyersmd.com/2018/04/3-re...

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

drknews.com/changing-your-d...

restartmed.com/hashimotos-g...

Non Coeliac Gluten sensitivity (NCGS) and autoimmune disease

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/296...

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

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/300...

The obtained results suggest that the gluten-free diet may bring clinical benefits to women with autoimmune thyroid disease

nuclmed.gr/wp/wp-content/up...

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

restartmed.com/hashimotos-g...

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.

[Minnie43 in reply to SlowDragon]

I don't really know what they test at GPSI had hyperthyroidism about 18 years ago and then about 2 years ago had bloods and they told me I had hypothyroidism have been on levothyroxine and everything was ok until October when I started to feel weird really bad insomnia anxiety fingers tingling etc so requested bloods in November

And now you can't get to see a gp I just got a text to say thyroid levels were not in the normal range and to repeat bloods in 2 weeks that time got text to say improved slightly so continue on same dose of meds

I managed to get a call this week and all he told me was my first bloods I had low tsh and higher t3 or to and that I just had depression nothing to do with my thyroid

But to lower my dose too 100mg so I presume I'm going to high

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Minnie43]

Strongly recommend getting full thyroid and vitamin testing done before reducing dose and before consultation

About 90% of primary hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies

Depression is very very strongly linked to being inappropriately/inappropriately treated for hypothyroidism

ESSENTIAL to regularly retest vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12

[Minnie43 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks I will

[Minnie43 in reply to Minnie43]

Just got results