Please help, I feel so rubbish

[dizzy1979]

Hi, it’s me back AGAIN like a broken record. I feel so rubbish. I have been run down on and off for months, symptoms consistent with meds not being right. Finally managed to get my bloods checked yesterday and wonder if anyone can please help. Dr has moaned that my tsh is too high, despite me reminding her that it would be as I self medicate with thyroid s. ( she is not my usual GP ) she is just concerned about my folate and has prescribed folic acid for that.

I am gaining weight rapidly, and have been for the past 18 months. My sleep has reverted to being awake at 3-4am, I have been functioning ok during the day but seem to have hit a wall and just feel exhausted all the time.

Do I decreased thyroid s dose ( I currently take 2 tablets split over two doses at 6.30 am and 10pm ) or do I address other issues and see if that helps?

[Josephineinamachine]

Hi I’m sorry you’re feeling rubbish. I’m no expert and don’t take NDT but to me your T3 looks a little too high? I know when I overmedicated I felt almost worse than when under and the symptoms are really similar. I’m sure more knowledgeable peeps will reply soon but just wanted to let you know that you’re not sounding like a broken record - you sound like you’re just trying to get your health back! Big hugs

[Alejandrita17]

It seems to me you are completely overmedicated!! Healthy people DO NOT have those levels of t3.

[JAmanda]

I tend to get low folate and when it’s as low as yours suffer lots of pains in feet, poor sleep and feeling really miserable. Supplementing with a decent folate helps pretty quickly. As to your T3, it does look high, although I know some do keep it high I’d be trying to lower it to see if it made me feel better.

[limonene7]

Unless you know that your T3 specifically needs to be that high, it looks to me like you are over medicated (unless you took medication too close to your blood test which apparently gives false high reading.) If you are having too much NDT then you may feel better reducing it. Personally, I found that when my T3 was too high for me, i started having similar symptoms to when I’m low thyroid. I now take B complex vitamins which contains methyl B12 methyl folate. Folic acid is not absorbed by everybody but taking methyl folate ‘errs’ on the side of caution. I believe increasing my folate and ferritin have really helped my thyroid and how I feel. By all accounts, these nutrients are also vital for our bodies to use thyroid medication properly too. 🙂

[dizzy1979 in reply to limonene7]

Thank you.

I take a ndt which makes it difficult to reduce t3 without reducing t4 as well. I will address my folate and ferritin abs hope that helps.

[Batty1]

Im not sure if Im seeing your results right but is your iron at 12? Thats way, way too low and your FT3 is a little over range which indicates your meds might need adjusting but Im not sure.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

dizzy1979

Ferritin: 69 (10-291)

Iron: 12 (6-35)

Transferrin: 2.4 (2-3.6)

Transferrin saturation: 20% (20-40%)

This iron panel is a problem.

Optimal iron panel levels according to rt3-adrenals.org/Iron_test_... are:

Serum iron: 55 to 70% of the range, higher end for men - yours is 20.69% through range

Saturation: optimal is 35 to 45%, higher end for men - yours is 20%

Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) or Transferrin: Low in range indicates lack of capacity for additional iron, High in range indicates body's need for supplemental iron - yours is 25% through range and would be better around 50%

Ferritin: Low level virtually always indicates need for iron supplementation - yours is 21% through range and we generally suggest half way through range is recommended and I've seen it said that for thyroid function the optimal ferritin level is 90-110ug/L.

So you have a bit of a mixed bag with your Transferrin suggesting you don't need to supplement yet your serum iron, saturation and ferritin suggest that maybe you do.

Folate: 2.4ug/L (3.4-12.2)

This is folate deficiency and you should discuss this with your GP. See:

cks.nice.org.uk/anaemia-b12...

Folate level

◦Serum folate of less than 7 nanomol/L (3 micrograms/L) is used as a guide to indicate folate deficiency.

B12: 436ng/L

This is quite low but not indicating B12 deficiency unless you have signs/symptoms which you can check here:

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

b12d.org/submit/document?id=46

If you do have any signs/symptoms then list them to discuss with your GP and ask for testing for B12 deficiency and Pernicious Anaemia. Do not take any B12 supplements or folic acid/folate/B Complex supplements before further testing of B12 as this will mask signs of B12 deficiency and skew results.

According to an extract from the book, "Could it be B12?" by Sally M. Pacholok:

"We believe that the 'normal' serum B12 threshold needs to be raised from 200 pg/ml to at least 450 pg/ml because deficiencies begin to appear in the cerebrospinal fluid below 550".

"For brain and nervous system health and prevention of disease in older adults, serum B12 levels should be maintained near or above 1000 pg/ml."

If you optimise all your nutrients then this should help, and your NDT may well work better and you may find that a reduction in dose is needed too.

[dizzy1979]

Thank you seaside Susie. This all confuses me so much.The dr has prescribed folic acid which I am waiting to arrive. I do have a pack of iron bisglycinate by Phoenix nutrition, if those would help? What else should I take? My b12 injection is due in about 10 days so my b12 level is looking ok considering it’s been 10 weeks since last injection? I have b complex to supplement it also.