Hi all. I’ve got my blood tests back if anyone has any advice. Medichecks Dr advised all well with thyroid but folate serum is low which could be contributing to symptoms including fatigue, all over body pain like I have poison running through veins, headaches, neck and shoulder pain, and food intolerances.
Tsh 1.29 mu/l
Free T3 4.01 pmol/l
Free Thyroxine 18.7pmol/L
Does this mean my thyroid and medication is working as it should or could I still benefit from trying an alternative to thyroxine?
Thyroglobulin antibodies 80.9iu/ml
Thyroid peroxidase antibodies 9.96 iu/ml
Inflammation 1.04 mg/l
Ferritin 108ug/l
Vit d 71.4 nmol/l
Vit b12 118 pmol/l
Folate serum 3.15ug/l
I’ve got an NHS endo appointment on Thursday. Would appreciate your advice on what I should ask him for.
Thank you as always.
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Tabbycat76
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Looks like you're a poor converter, your FT3 is low. So all is not well.
Quite honestly, the comments from the Medichecks doctor are not worth having. They are just common or garden GPs, not thyroid experts. They don't know anymore about thyroid than any other GP. He's probably just looking at your TSH, which is a bit high for someone on thyroid hormone replacement (levo).
What do you mean by "an alternative to thyroxine"?
Yes I followed all your previous advice re taking the test. Plus I stopped taking everything but thyroxine and Hrt 3 weeks before blood test. (I was aiming for 2 weeks but I was ill with a cold the third week so thought it best not to have the blood test then)
The following give me migraines - chocolate, pineapple, nuts, cheese and berries. The following give me increased body pain - eggs, oats, citrus, coconut, tomatoes, bananas, quinoa, sugar and alcohol (to the extent that I feel bruised). And anything with yeast extract gives me severe diarrhoea and excruciating stomach pain.
Thyroxine brands are 100mcg - Teva
50mcg - Mercury Pharma
Not sure if these are same every month
I take Cytoplan vitamins: 50+, Aller-G Formula, calcium, vitamin D liquid and Fos-a-dophilus.
Many people find Levothyroxine brands are not interchangeable.
Many patients do NOT get on well with Teva brand of Levothyroxine.
Teva contains mannitol as a filler, which seems to be possible cause of problems.
Teva is the only brand that makes 75mcg tablet. So if avoiding Teva for 75mcg dose ask for 25mcg to add to 50mcg or just extra 50mcg tablets to cut in half
But for some people (usually if lactose intolerant, Teva is by far the best option)
Teva, or Aristo (100mcg only) are the only lactose free tablets
Most easily available (and often most easily tolerated) are Mercury Pharma or Accord
Mercury Pharma make 25mcg, 50mcg and 100mcg tablets
Accord only make 50mcg and 100mcg tablets
Accord is also boxed as Almus via Boots, and Northstar 50mcg and 100mcg via Lloyds ....but Accord doesn’t make 25mcg tablets
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.
Physicians should: 1) alert patients that preparations may be switched at the pharmacy; 2) encourage patients to ask to remain on the same preparation at every pharmacy refill; and 3) make sure patients understand the need to have their TSH retested and the potential for dosing readjusted every time their LT4 preparation is switched (18).
Is there a particular reason that you are taking this multivitamin/mineral? Multi's aren't recommended here as they tend to contain too little of anything to help low levels of nutrients or deficiencies, the ingredients can compete with each other for absorption, eg if they contain iron then this affects the absorption of everything else as iron should be taken 2 hours away from other supplements, they also often contain ingredients that we should test for first and only supplement if found to be deficient. This one contains 150mcg iodine which is 100% of the daily recommended amount. In the UK we can get plenty of iodine from our diet if we consume milk, yogurt, cod, haddock, etc. Also, there is 65mcg iodine in 100mcg levothyroxine, not as an added ingredient but by deiodination. I once used a "hormone specialist" who advised that I take this supplement and when I told her that my iodine level had shot up from 150 (100-199) to 250 in a very short time she wasn't concerned. Iodine solution used to be used to treat overactive thyroid and can make hypothyroidism worse.
Are you taking prescribed calcium? Have you tested to know that you need it.
As you are taking Vit D, are you also taking it's important cofactors - magnesium and Vit K2-mk7?
Did you do a 24 hour saliva adrenal test that suggested you need to supplement with Adrenotone?
Vitamins were recommended by a homeopath to help with my symptoms. I take them in the morning and my thyroxine at night.
I was prescribed Adcal d3 by GP for low bone density but couldn’t tolerate all additives in it so take this more natural version from Cytoplan.
Yes had private 24 saliva test which said ‘AM cortisol level appears adequate, although the suboptimal diurnal cortisol pattern is suggestive of early (Phase 1) HPA axis (adrenal gland) dysfunction.’ This was in March 2021.
A more recent nhs 24 urine cortisol test was ‘satisfactory’.
Ferritin --- If the top of the range is 150ug/L then your result is very good. But it is best if you can confirm the ranges for your results when asking for interpretation.
Vitamin D --- An optimal result for vitamin D does vary a bit according to source, and yours appears to be a bit low. Optimal is considered to be 100 - 150 nmol/L or 125 nmol/L.
Personally, I keep mine as close to 100 nmol/L as I can because I don't feel that I get any benefit from it being higher. Just remember that levels for any test always need to be where you feel best.
Vitamin B12 --- I'm assuming that the vitamin B12 result is an Active B12 result. If it is then it is optimal already.
Folate --- Your result is too low. Without an upper limit on the reference range it is usually suggested that people get their result up into double figures. To improve folate levels it is NOT a good idea to supplement folic acid. For reasons why and what you should be supplementing instead see this article :
The recommended folate supplements mentioned in that link can usually be bought in doses of 400 mcg, 1000 mcg or 5000 mcg from Amazon, and no doubt plenty of other supplements sites to. I take 1000 mcg about four days per week plus a daily B Complex with activated B Vitamins.
Note that folate is important for allowing your body to make use of your B12.
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