B12 tests

[Crookedeyeboy]

Does anyone know how long it would take for vitamin supplements to come out of your system? I want to get my B12 checked but I’ve been taking Quest once a day multivitamins.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Welcome to the forum

It takes many months for B12 levels to drop to pre supplement levels

We never recommend multivitamins on here

Too little of what we we need on levothyroxine, often cheap poorly absorbed ingredients and must be minimum 4 hours away from levothyroxine

Stop any supplements that contain biotin a week before getting FULL thyroid and vitamin testing done

Which brand of levothyroxine are you currently taking

Many people find different brands are not interchangeable

Presumably you have autoimmune thyroid disease as you have other autoimmune diseases

Have you had coeliac blood test done yet

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 you can get GP to test vitamins and antibodies then cheapest option for just TSH, FT4 and FT3

£29 (via NHS private service ) and 10% off down to £26.10 if go on thyroid uk for code

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

monitormyhealth.org.uk/

NHS easy postal kit vitamin D test £29 via

vitamindtest.org.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.

Gluten intolerance is often a hidden issue too.

Request coeliac blood test BEFORE considering trial on strictly gluten free diet

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...

[Crookedeyeboy in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you so much for such an informative reply. I have definitely found gluten to be an issue. I shall sort out some tests ASAP. I’ll post results once I get them.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Crookedeyeboy]

Presumably you have high thyroid antibodies

This confirms 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

U.K. medics only call it autoimmune thyroid disease, and frequently ignore the autoimmune aspect

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

Ideally….Before considering trial on gluten free diet get coeliac blood test done via GP FIRST just to rule it out while still on high gluten rich diet

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

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.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Crookedeyeboy

If you want a baseline B12 measurement to see what you are holding on to then you need to be off B12 supplements for 4-5 months. If you want to know what your supplement is achieving with regard to your B12 level then continue taking it until the day before the test.

Are you taking Quest B12 1,000mcg or a multivitamin containing B12? The multi's often have very small amounts, eg 25mcg.

[Crookedeyeboy in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks Susie. Good idea about taking it until my test hasn’t thought about that. I’m taking the multivitamin version. Can’t remember of there top of my head how much B12 is in it.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Crookedeyeboy]

Vast majority of multivitamins contain iodine not recommended for anyone with Hashimoto’s unless tested and found deficient

Unlikely deficient unless vegan

We will usual get all the iodine we need in levothyroxine