Biotin

[D9d9]

Recently had thyroid blood test and forgot to stop multi vitamin. It has 14 ug in it. How will this skew my results please? Do I need to do another blood test. Usually my TSH is very low. Sometimes T4 is just over range. So was checking these.

[PurpleNails Administrator]

Sometimes biotin is used in testing process and so having prior supplements can causes it to skew the results in a unexpected manner. 

So it doesn’t apply to every test, only the ones where it’s used in process. 

 Its also dependant on how high a biotin dose is and its more applicable to very high doses so it may not be a issue at all. 

In cases where it’s known a high biotin dose has been taken and & has affected results the margin of error can’t be predicted & corrected. It’s just known it’s wrong. 

So as a precaution it’s recommended to avoid biotin prior to all blood tests.  

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

D9d9

14mcg is a very small amount. We usually suggest leaving off for 3-7 days, 7 days for the high amounts found in a stand alone supplement or a hair/nail supplement, typically 5mg or 10mg. In a B Complex it's usually around 400mcg-500mcg and in that case 3 days should be enough. So although it's not guaranteed that it wont make a difference my guess is that it's probably not enough to worry about.

However, we don't recommend multivitamin supplements here for a variety of reasons. They usually contain not enough of anything to help low levels or deficiencies, they tend to contain the cheapest, least absorbable and wrong forms of active ingredients, they often contain things that we should test first and only supplement if found to be low or deficient eg

Vit D

iron

calcium

iodine

Most contain iron and this affects the absorption of everything else, iron needs to be taken 2 hours away from other supplements and medication (and 4 hours away from thyroid meds).

[D9d9 in reply to SeasideSusie]

They have a small amount of Iron- 2mg. No Calcium. 40ug vit D and 150ug Iodine. They are a very good make, not the cheap stuff. Do you think that any if the above could be a problem for me?

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to D9d9]

D9d9

Do you think that any if the above could be a problem for me?

Yes, the iodine. Needs to be tested and only supplemented if found to be deficient and then under the guidance of an experienced practioner.

Iodine solution used to be used to treat hypERthyroidism before the current radioactive iodine treatment, it can cause hypOthyroidism or make hypothyroidism worse.

The recommended daily amount of iodine is 150mcg. This is easily obtained in the UK from diet, eg milk, yogurt, cod, haddock, scampi, etc.

If you are taking thyroid hormone replacement there is approx 65mcg iodine in 100mcg Levo, it occurs naturally through deiodinationof the thyroid hormone, ie T4 to T3, T3 to T2, etc, it's not an added ingredient.

So to be taking 150mcg in a supplement on top of what you are taking through diet, plus any that you may be taking in thyroid hormone replacement, would mean that you could likely be taking far more than is needed and recommended.

To know if you are iodine deficient you should do a non-loading urine test and that can be done by Genova Diagnostics, the non-loading test measures existing level:

thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...

Click on Read the list of available tests and the iodine test is on page 3 of the pdf - Urine Iodine Test END 25

As for Vit D - 40ug D3 = 1,600iu

Vit D should be measured before supplementing to know if you need to take it and, if so, at what dose. There are also important cofactors needed when taking D3 - magnesium and Vit K2-MK7. Magnesium helps the body convert D3 into it's usable form and the Vit K2-MK7 ensures that the extra uptake of calcium from food (which happens when taking D3) is directed to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems like calcification of arteries and kidney stones, etc.

If you haven't had Vit D tested there is an NHS lab who offers a dried blood spot fingerprick test that can be done at home, cost is £29:

vitamindtest.org.uk/

Come back with Vit D result for help with interpretation and suggestions if supplementation is needed.

The small amount of iron may affect the absorption of the other ingredients.

If it contains B12 and Vit C then the Vit C will affect the absorption of B12, these two vitamins need to be taken 2 hours apart.

It really is much better to test key nutrients

Vit D

B12

Folate

Ferritin

and then supplement where necessary with the appropriate dose of the correct form.

[D9d9 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks for the reply. I am not Hypothyroid but do seem to be hyperthyroid?I do not take any thyroid medication. Could the iodine help then? The multis also have Vit K in them.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to D9d9]

D9d9

Could the iodine help then?

You only need to supplement iodine if tested and found to be deficient. As I explained above it can cause hypothyroidism.

The multis also have Vit K in them.

Is it Vit K2 or Vit K1?

When taking Vit D we need Vit K2 because taking D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and K2 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 like calcification of arteries, kidney stones etc.

Most multis tend to use K1 but this is the blood clotting form.

But multis aren't recommended anyway.

[D9d9 in reply to SeasideSusie]

I will try and get these tested. My Vit D level when tested some time ago was Ok. The K is K2. I have just had my latest blood results back. TSH is still quite suppressed but my T4 is within range at 14.1. Top of the range is 17. The Endo and Dr still want me to restart Carbimazole? Unfortunately they didnt test T3 this time. In the past its been within range. If T4 is Ok then I presume T3 should be but not sure about this? Its a battle to get Drs to test for anything other than TSH and T4.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to D9d9]

D9d9

My Vit D level when tested some time ago was Ok.

What does "OK" mean. We need to see numbers because if you are 51nmol/L you are in the "adequate" category (which is >50) but that is far too low, the Vit D Council, Vit D Society and Grassroots Health all recommend a level between 100-150nmol/L with a recent blog post on Grassroots Health recommending at least 125nmol/L.

I now supplement with B12 sublingual daily which means a blood test for B12 would now be skewed.

When supplementing like that testing will tell you what that dose of supplement is achieving. If you want a baseline, to see what you are holding on to, you would leave the supplement off for 4-5 months before testing.

Are you taking a B Complex alongside your B12? This is needed to balance all the B vitamins.

I know you say you take a multivitamin but looking back at all your previous posts it's been mentioned quite a few times that these are not recommended.

The Endo and Dr still want me to restart Carbimazole?

Looking at the post linked to below it would seem you may not have needed Carbimazole in the first place, I agree with greygoose 's comments in response:

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

What exactly is your endo and doctor basing their decision to restart Carbimazole on because your FT4 certainly does not suggest it.

[D9d9 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Correction-*T4 recent test is 14.8 so gone up very slightly from last test which was 14.4.

[D9d9 in reply to SeasideSusie]

My B12 has been low but I now supplement with B12 sublingual daily which means a blood test for B12 would now be skewed. Do you know how B12 affects thyroid function?

[greygoose]

Just because doctors want you to take something, doesn't mean you have to take it. There is no law that says you have to take what doctors prescribe. Taking carbi is going to make you worse, not better. This bunch of clowns you have for doctors should be shot because they have no clue what they're doing! If you were hyper and in need of carbi, your FT4 would be about ten times the top of the range, not just 75% through the range. Frankly, what they're doing/did is malpractice and you could sue their wotsists off!