just wanted to ask opinions on my thyroid results and what to do next. These are a week or so a go, I wondered what you think I should do next because they haven’t upped my dose yet, or any vitamin suggestions. Thank you.
TSH: 3.35 (0.27-4.2)
T4: 14
Vit D: 55 (30-300)
Ferritin: 123 (30-400)
B12: 388 (130-800)
Folate: need to do again.
Dshadzz07
What is the range for FT4?
Your TSH is too high and suggests you may be undermedicated.
What thyroid meds do you take and the dose?
Did you do your test as we advise:
* No later than 9am
* Nothing but water before the test
* Last dose of Levo 24 hours before the test, if taking T3 or NDT it should be split the day before into 2 or 3 doses and last dose taken 8-12 hours before test
* No biotin, B Complex or any supplement containing biotin for 3-7 days before the test.
Your vitamins are within range so your GP will be satisfied; however, they are not optimal so it will be up to you to address these.
Vit D: 55 (30-300)
Presumably the unit of measurment is nmol/L?
You might want to check out a recent post that I wrote about Vit D and supplementing:
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
and you can check out the link to how to work out the dose you need to increase your current level to the recommended level.
Your current level of 55nmol/L = 22ng/ml
On the Vit D Council's website
web.archive.org/web/2019070...
you would scroll down to the 3rd table
My level is between20-30 ng/ml
The Vit D Council, the Vit D Society and Grassroots Health all recommend a level of 100-150nmol/L (40-60ng/ml), with a recent blog post on Grassroots Health mentioning a study which recommends over 125nmol/L (50ng/ml).
So now you look at how much is needed to reach 50ng/ml and you'll see that they suggest 3,700iu per day. Nearest you can buy is 4,000iu or you could get 5,000iu and take 6 days a week.
Once you have reached the recommended level then a maintenance dose will be needed to keep it there, which may be 2000iu daily, maybe more or less, maybe less in summer than winter, it's trial and error so it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep within the recommended range. This can be done with a private fingerprick blood spot test with an NHS lab which offers this test to the general public:
Doctors don't know, because they're not taught much about nutrients, but there are important cofactors needed when taking D3. You will have to buy these yourself.
D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and Vit K2-MK7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems such as hardening of the arteries, kidney stones, etc. 90-100mcg K2-MK7 is enough for up to 10,000iu D3.
D3 and K2 are fat soluble so should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, D3 four hours away from thyroid meds if taking D3 as tablets/capsules/softgels, no necessity if using an oral spray.
For D3 I like Doctor's Best D3 softgels, they are an oil based very small softgel which contains just two ingredients - D3 and extra virgin olive oil, a good quality, nice clean supplement which is budget friendly. Some people like BetterYou oral spray but this contains a lot of excipients and works out more expensive.
For Vit K2-MK7 my suggestions are Vitabay, Vegavero or Vitamaze brands which all contain the correct form of K2-MK7 - the "All Trans" form rather than the "Cis" form. The All Trans form is the bioactive form, a bit like methylfolate is the bioactive form of folic acid.
Vitabay and Vegavero are either tablets or capsules.
Vitabay does do an oil based liquid.
Vitamaze is an oil based liquid.
With the oil based liquids the are xx amount of K2-MK7 per drop so you just take the appropriate amount of drops.
They are all imported German brands, you can find them on Amazon although they do go out of stock from time to time. I get what I can when I need to restock. If the tablet or capsule form is only in 200mcg dose at the time I take those on alternate days.
If looking for a combined D3/K2 supplement, this one has 3,000iu D3 and 50mcg K2-MK7. The K2-MK7 is the All-Trans form
natureprovides.com/products...
It may also be available on Amazon.
One member recently gave excellent feedback on this particular product here:
Here is what she said (also read the following replies):
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Another important cofactor is Magnesium which helps the body convert D3 into it's usable form.
There are many types of magnesium so we have to check to see which one is most suitable for our own needs:
naturalnews.com/046401_magn...
explore.globalhealing.com/t...
and ignore the fact that this is a supplement company, the information is relevant:
swansonvitamins.com/blog/ar...
Magnesium should be taken 4 hours away from thyroid meds and as it tends to be calming it's best taken in the evening. Vit D should also be taken 4 hours away from thyroid meds. Vit K2-MK7 should be taken 2 hours away from thyroid meds. Don't take D3 and K2 at the same time unless both are oil based supplements, they both are fat soluble vitamins which require their own fat to be absorbed otherwise they will compete for the fat.
Don't start all supplements at once. Start with one, give it a week or two and if no adverse reaction then add the next one. Again, wait a week or two and if no adverse reaction add the next one. Continue like this. If you do have any adverse reaction then you will know what caused it.
Ferritin: 123 (30-400)
Ferritin is recommended to be half way through range so that would be 215 with your range.
You can help raise your level by eating liver regularly, maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content, also liver pate, black pudding, and including lots of iron rich foods in your diet
bda.uk.com/resource/iron-ri...
everydayhealth.com/pictures...
Don't consider taking an iron supplement unless you do an iron panel, if you already have a decent level of serum iron and a good saturation percentage then taking iron tablets can push your iron level even higher, too much iron is as bad as too little.
B12: 388 (130-800)
Is the unit of measurement ng/L or pg/ml or pmol/L? It's important to know this.
I did all the stuff for the Thyroid tests bar the test being at 10am as that was the earliest I could get. The FT4 I believe was 9-21.
I’ll have a look at the supplements suggests for the vitamin D, hope it’ll help me.
The B12 level is ng/L.
I also believe I’m being under medicated at only 75mg levo a day, but the doctors haven’t spoke to me to get a higher dose so I don’t know what to do.
make an appointment and request 25mcg dose increase in levothyroxine
Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose increase
Dshadzz07
The FT4 I believe was 9-21.
Was this a private test? If so which company did you use? Or was it a GP test? The NHS ranges vary considerably so we need the reference range, please check to clarify.
The B12 level is ng/L.
B12: 388 (130-800)
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."
Do you have any signs of B12 deficiency – check here:
b12deficiency.info/signs-an...
b12d.org/submit/document?id=46
If you do 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 and if you have B12 deficiency is not detected and treated then this could affect your nervous system. B12 deficiency should be treated before starting folic acid because folic acid can sometimes improve your symptoms so much that is masks B12 deficiency.
If you don't then you could supplement with B12 sublingual methylcobalamin, along with a good quality, bioavailable B Complex to balance all the B vitamins. One bottle of B12 should be enough to raise your level to around 550 then you can continue with just the B Complex to continue to raise and then maintain your level.
Suggestions for B12 supplements which include two forms of bioactive B12 - methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin which you might want to check out:
Cytoplan sublingual B12 lozenges
cytoplan.co.uk/vitamin-b12-...
Nature Provides sublingual liquid
amazon.co.uk/Bioactive-METH...
Note that the Nature Provides supplement contains a much higher dose than the Cytoplan one.
For B Complex I have used Thorne Basic B for a long time and always been happy.
If you look at different brands then look for the words "bioavailable" or "bioactive" and ensure they contain methylcobalamin (not cyanocobalamin) and methylfolate (not folic acid). Avoid any that contain Vit C as this stops the body from using the B12. Vit C and B12 need to be taken 2 hours apart.
When taking a B Complex we should leave this off for 3-7 days before any blood test because it contains biotin and this gives false results when biotin is used in the testing procedure (which most labs do).
I also believe I’m being under medicated at only 75mg levo a day, but the doctors haven’t spoke to me to get a higher dose so I don’t know what to do.
I can give more information when you give the FT4 range so we can see where your result lies within the range, but as I said your TSH is suggesting you may be undermedicated. Because it's within range this will satisfy your GP so he may not contact you, in which case you will need to arrange to speak to your GP and mention any symptoms you may still be experiencing and requesting an increase in dose.
Plenty of references to demonstrate TSH should be lower
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Which brand of levothyroxine are you currently taking
Vitamin D and B12 need improvement
Have you had thyroid antibodies tested for autoimmune thyroid disease?
Have you had coeliac blood test done
Are you now on strictly gluten free diet
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