Hi everyone - New to Hashimoto's and struggling... - Thyroid UK

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Hi everyone - New to Hashimoto's and struggling. Male - 35

dexterholland91 profile image
45 Replies

Hello everyone,

Will try make this as short as possible.

Have been struggling with underactive thyroid symptoms for around 2 years. I finally got a diagnosis of Hypothyroidism in September and then Hashimoto's in October after a round of blood results. I was also going through long covid at the time which delayed the diagnosis unfortunately.

I was started on a dose of 125 mcg Levothyroxine and am still on it. Been on is for around 12 weeks. Since starting the Levo, I don't really think I've been any better to be honest. The constant fatigue pains went but my tiredness and general looking and feeling ill are still there.

My TSH level before the Levo was 8-9. After my first 6 weeks of being on it, my TSH went down to 1.32 (but I think I took my LEVO the morning of the test). Only after reading this site did I realize the etiquette around taking LEVO and testing etc. So that being said, here are my latest round of blood results from last week:

TSH 3.27 mIU/L (0.30 - 4.20) 76.2%

Free T4 (fT4) 13.2 pmol/L (9.0 - 19.0) 42.0%

Free T3 (fT3) 4.1 pmol/L (3 - 5.4) 45.8%

T4:T3 Ratio 3.220 

Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPO) 528 IU/mL (≤ 35)

C-Reactive Protein (CRP) 0.2 mg/L (≤ 5)

Vitamin B12 (active) 512 nmol/L (180 - 900) 46.1%

Vitamin D 64 nmol/L (50 - 250) 7.0%

These are the only results I have right now. No Ferritin or folate I know. Getting all this done at the GP is hard enough as it is.

Since being on this site I have started the Thorne B complex and after these recent round of results I have re-started Vit D. 2000Iu a day.

Does anything stick out there? Anything new I can try?

I am vegetarian. I eat gluten. I have dairy but not very often at all. I am also an amateur cycle racer and train a lot. Around 10-12 hours a week.

Any help would be great. Thank you so much.

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Jaydee1507 profile image
Jaydee1507Administrator

Welcome to the group. Basically you're under replaced at the moment. 125mcgs Levo is a pretty low dose for a man. Your TSH needs to be under 1 so you probably have a few dose increases before you get there. Many GP's will be happy with your results if they are within the reference range but you need to be persistent with them and point out remaining symptoms and push for an increase. You need a 25mcgs increase now.

Well done doing your homework on the vitamins, they really do make a difference getting them optimal. See if GP will add ferritin and folate next test?

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91 in reply toJaydee1507

Hi Jaydee, thank you for your reply, means a lot. I shall see if the GP is willing to add these onto my blood test's next time :)

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

As a vegetarian with Hashimoto’s…..likely you have low iron/ferritin

Get full iron panel test for anaemia including ferritin via GP

Or via Medichecks

Test iron/ferritin levels early morning

Get coeliac blood test done before considering trial on strictly gluten free diet

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91 in reply toSlowDragon

Hi SlowDragon, thank you for your reply. I was checked for coeliac in some recent blood's before these bloods and it was all normal. lgA was 2.00 g/L. If that's the test you mean?

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply todexterholland91

Only 5% of Hashimoto’s patients test positive for coeliac disease but further 80% find strictly gluten free diet helps, sometimes significantly or is absolutely essential

Your antibodies are high this is Hashimoto's, (also known by medics here in UK more commonly as autoimmune thyroid disease).  

Hashimoto's affects the gut and leads to low stomach acid and then low vitamin levels 

Low vitamin levels affect Thyroid hormone working 

Poor gut function 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 test positive for coeliac, but a further 80% find strictly gluten free diet helps or is essential due to 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 and slowly lower TPO antibodies 

As test is negative you can consider trialing strictly gluten free diet 

Trying gluten free diet for 3-6 months.

If no noticeable improvement then reintroduce gluten and see if symptoms get worse

chriskresser.com/the-gluten...

amymyersmd.com/2018/04/3-re...

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

drknews.com/changing-your-d...

Non Coeliac Gluten sensitivity (NCGS) and autoimmune disease

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/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.

Splitting dose levothyroxine and/or gluten free diet significantly improved conversion 

See my reply right at bottom of thread 

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

All thyroid patients need to avoid ALL soya including soya lecithin

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

Also

Which brand of levothyroxine are you currently taking

Do you always get same brand at each prescription

Many people find different brands are not interchangeable

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91

So, here is the next topic I wanted to talk about. I have only been an collected the LEVO 3 times now but on each occasion I have picked up a different brand for the 25 mcg tablet. Well, 2 brands but always different back to back if that makes sense. My first lot were MercuryPharma, then I was given Teva and now back on MercuryPharma. As I'm quite new to it all, I wasn't looking and didn't realize the difference between brands. BUT, this time round, I have noticed the MercuryPharma give me an increased heart rate and palpitations. This basically started as soon as I started tasking the MercuryP. BUT, I was on the MercuryP when I first started the LEVO so....I'm not sure :(

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply todexterholland91

Teva brand upsets many people, but for some it’s by far the best

Trial and error what brand suits you best

Teva contains mannitol as a filler, which seems to be possible cause of problems.

But for some people (usually if lactose intolerant, Teva is by far the best option)

Aristo (currently 100mcg only) is lactose free and mannitol free.

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

beware 25mcg Northstar is Teva

List of different brands available in U.K.

thyroiduk.org/if-you-are-hy...

Posts that mention Teva

healthunlocked.com/search/p...

Teva poll

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Once you find a brand that suits you, best to make sure to only get that one at each prescription.

Watch out for brand change when dose is increased or at repeat prescription.

Government guidelines for GP in support of patients if you find it difficult/impossible to change brands 

gov.uk/drug-safety-update/l...

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. 

academic.oup.com/jcem/artic...

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).

Netherlands (and Germany?) guidelines are for thyroid patients to always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription 

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Levothyroxine is an extremely fussy hormone and should always be taken on an empty stomach and then nothing apart from water for at least an hour after

Many people take Levothyroxine soon after waking, but it may be more convenient and perhaps more effective taken at bedtime

verywellhealth.com/best-tim...

No other medication or supplements at same as Levothyroxine, leave at least 2 hour gap.

Some like iron, calcium, magnesium, omeprazole or vitamin D should be four hours away

(Time gap doesn't apply to Vitamin D mouth spray)

If you normally take levothyroxine at bedtime/in night ...adjust timings as follows prior to blood test

If testing Monday morning, delay Saturday evening dose levothyroxine until Sunday morning. Delay Sunday evening dose levothyroxine until after blood test on Monday morning. Take Monday evening dose levothyroxine as per normal

Similarly if normally splitting your levothyroxine, take whole daily dose 24 hours before test 

Increasing number of members find it smoother/more tolerable to split levothyroxine as two smaller doses, half dose waking, half dose at bedtime. 

REMEMBER.....very important....stop taking any supplements that contain biotin a week before ALL BLOOD TESTS as biotin can falsely affect test results - eg vitamin B complex

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91 in reply toSlowDragon

so, my 100 has always been Accord. My 25 flip flops between Teva and MecuryP

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply todexterholland91

As it’s likely you need dose increase in dose to 150mcg request that you get prescription for 100mcg and 50mcg tablets and stick on Accord

You can cut 50mcg in half to get 25mcg…..initially

Especially if you get increase to 125mcg and 150mcg alternate days (average 137.5mcg per day)

Get weekly pill dispenser for cut halves and if on different dose different days

And makes it much easier to see if missed a day too

Fine tune levothyroxine dose often necessary…..so many people end up on dose that doesn’t necessarily fit with tablets available…..eg 137.5mcg daily

Or

150mcg 5 days and 137.5mcg 2 days week

Etc etc

Approx how much do you weigh in kilo

As young bloke who exercises you’re possibly going to need higher than guidelines dose

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91 in reply toSlowDragon

Great. So what I might do is, book a routine appointment at the doctors and ask to be increased to 150. Do GP’s usually kick back these sort of requests though?

Before being Hypo I was 72-73kg. I now sit between 76-78. Thank you

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply todexterholland91

78kg x 1.6mcg levothyroxine per kilo of your weight per day gives your current dose of 125mcg

However…..your male, young and an athlete and 1.6mcg per kilo is only a guideline….many people need higher dose

But suspect your iron and ferritin might need sorting out first

Gluten free diet can improve absorption of levothyroxine too

On levothyroxine TSH should be below 2 and Ft4 in top third of range (tested early morning and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test)

If GP is reluctant……trialing 125mcg and 150mcg alternate days….retest in 8 weeks

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91 in reply toSlowDragon

Nice one.

So 2 take aways…

Get iron and ferritin tested.

Ask to trial 150.

Agreed?

Both of those probably won’t be able to happen soon though. May be looking at another 5 weeks before I can get bloods.

Thank you so much for all the help you wonderful people

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply todexterholland91

look through historic blood tests done by GP

See if you can find any (especially recent ) iron and ferritin results

How long have you been vegetarian

could you test full iron panel test including ferritin via Medichecks?

Email GP now and say Mercury Pharma brand doesn’t suit you. Can they give you new prescription for 50mcg tablets so you can get Accord tablets and you will cut in half to get 25mcg dose daily

(explain Accord brand don’t make 25mcg tablets….as GP unlikely to know)

Get weekly pill dispenser for spare halves

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91 in reply toSlowDragon

I have been vegetarian since February 2019. Will look through old blood tests now

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91 in reply toSlowDragon

Just found Ferritin and Folate. Not had them done since 8th April 2019 :( this is was right after I went Vegetarian so I’ve not had any done since being vegetarian basically!

ferritin 97.2 Microg/L

Folate 11.6 Microg/L

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply todexterholland91

need range on folate….it could be 20 or 60

Ferritin range is pretty much universal

Likely to be lower now than 2019

We recommend all hypothyroid patients test folate, ferritin and B12 at least annually

Vitamin D twice year…..mid Jan and end of August

Full iron panel test before considering adding any iron supplements and if low retest 3-4 times a year

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91 in reply toSlowDragon

Okay. I think I might order a medichecks kit. Although I can’t find any that do both Folate and Ferritin. I’ll keep looking. Thank you

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply todexterholland91

Full iron panel test

Medichecks iron panel test 

medichecks.com/products/iro...

List of private testing options and money off codes

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

suggest you wait to test folate alongside thyroid and vitamins …..retest 6-8 weeks after any significant changes

Eg

if go gluten free

If change brand levothyroxine

If improve low iron/ferritin

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

If you can get GP to test vitamins 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/

Monitor My Health also now offer thyroid and vitamin testing, plus cholesterol and HBA1C for £65 

monitormyhealth.org.uk/full...

Only do private testing early Monday or Tuesday morning. 

Watch out for postal strikes, probably want to pay for guaranteed 24 hours delivery 

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply todexterholland91

I have noticed the MercuryPharma give me an increased heart rate and palpitations. This basically started as soon as I started tasking the MercuryP. BUT, I was on the MercuryP when I first started the LEVO so....I'm not sure

When was change back to Mercury Pharma?

It could be that as you’re currently under medicated…..MP was better absorbed and caused palpitations

Palpitations can be due to being under medicated…..not just over medicated

Do you wear a fitness watch ……Fitbit or Apple or similar

Many can do ECG recording on demand

Worth checking resting heart rate and peak rate …..also if getting ectopic beats

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91 in reply toSlowDragon

I have been back on Mercury for 1 week now. And the heart problems started instantly after being back on Mercury.

Yes, I wear a Garmin watch. As I am an athlete, I am very aware of my HR etc. Since being back on the Mercury, my HR has very much increased when working out and I’m getting out of breath and struggle to breathe sometimes. And also my resting HR is creeping higher. Usually sit at around 38-39. I’m currently up to 44-45.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply todexterholland91

well your very low heart rate could be increasing as you become less hypothyroid

Low heart rate might not necessarily be because you are so fit

Breathlessness is frequently low iron/ferritin

As a bloke your ferritin should be at least over 100 minimum ….and really nearer 200

How long have you been vegetarian

Ferritin over 100 to alleviate symptoms 

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Low Iron implicated in hypothyroidism 

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Ferritin range on Medichecks 

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

We have received further information the lab about ferritin reference ranges. They confirm that they are sex dependent up to the age of 60, then beyond the age of 60 the reference range is the same for both sexes: 

Males 16-60: 30-400 ug/L

Female's: 16-60: 30-150

Both >60: 30-650 

The lower limit of 30 ug/L is in accordance with the updated NICE guidance and the upper limits are in accordance with guidance from the Association of Clinical Biochemists. ‘

Have you ever tested iron and ferritin

Never supplement iron without doing full iron panel test for anaemia first and retest 3-4 times a year if self supplementing. It’s possible to have low ferritin but high iron 

Medichecks iron panel test 

medichecks.com/products/iro...

Iron and thyroid link

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Excellent article on iron and thyroid 

cambridge.org/core/journals...

Posts discussing why important to do full iron panel test

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Very difficult to maintain GOOD iron/ferritin with Hashimoto’s and vegetarian

Heme iron v non heme

Non heme is harder to absorb

hsph.harvard.edu/nutritions...

Pearlteapot profile image
Pearlteapot in reply todexterholland91

I had heart problems when I was under medicated. Palpitations and breathlessness. My then endo associated racing heart and palpitations with over medication and refused to increase my dose. I changed endo and with an increase in dose those problems went away or diminished substantially. Consider carefully before mentioning heart rate increase to the doctor. I’m on 125 now and was on 75/100 at the time

Danielj1 profile image
Danielj1

Hi, I used to do a lot of marathon training before being diagnosed but since then have cut right back - you may want to do the same until you get fully stabilise your health. Issues

Selenium/zinc/magnesium are critical for hypo blokes I would say and you may be wise to consider these alongside D/B.

Sufficient protein is also critical.

Certain foods have proved to be great hacks including daily spinach /celery /blueberries

Certain foods may not be helpful eg caffeine and dairy

Good luck - we are all different but being open to trying new ideas is key - if it works stick with it and if not drop it

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91

Vitamin wise I am currently on -

Thorne B complex

Vit D 2000IU (only just started yesterday)

3 organic Brazil nuts daily

I used to take a Feel multivitamin but was told to stop by a nutritionist? I’ll send a photo of what’s in them :

Vitamins
SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply todexterholland91

ouch

Yes….Hashimoto’s patients should never take extra iodine…can exacerbate symptoms

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

drknews.com/iodine-and-hash...

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply todexterholland91

Brazil nuts…..packet needs to say “grown in selenium rich soil “

TiggerMe profile image
TiggerMeAmbassador in reply todexterholland91

Oooh no, spirulina has a lot of iodine in it too 😕

Danielj1 profile image
Danielj1

All I will add is that if you only allowed me a single supplement and I had to drop the lot i would always choose magnesium glycinate above all the rest - it never comes to this of course but demonstrably this has the most obvious impact on daily health

I did try brazils but found over time the version of selenium that is more absorbable (not selenite) was a better option -but again if this works well for you stick with it

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply toDanielj1

Danielj1

All I will add is that if you only allowed me a single supplement and I had to drop the lot i would always choose magnesium 

My husband says exactly the same ….adding magnesium supplement was game changer for him (and he’s not even hypothyroid!)

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91

do you have any links to both of those supplements you mentioned please?

tattybogle profile image
tattybogle

Hi DexterHolland91.

2 points .

first.... keep this up your sleeve in case GP is reluctant to increase dose ... some of them (most) think that once your TSH is anywhere in range ,you're fixed, but healthy people commonly have TSH around 1 ... not 3. Most of these recommendations telling GP's to keep TSH lower than 2ish are from sources they will recognise as sound. healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Second .... i can feel a difference when i take mercury after taking other brands... feels like it's a bit 'faster' somehow , like "a small whisky" ... but i'm ok with it once i've been taking it for a week . Most other brands eg Accord and Wochhardt, feel a bit more like "2 pints of beer" to me.

Constantly changing brands every prescription can really mess some of us up , makes it too hard to know what is causing what ... I eventually realised TEVA makes me feel really naff after about a week / 10 days on it .. so i now make sure i don't get that brand anymore and have been much better since. ( find a helpful chemist and ask hem to put a note on computer to not dispense a brand if you have problems with it , and check what's in the bag before leaving the counter.... some of them are distinctly unhelpful, but helpful ones do exist)

keep a good diary of what brand you get , and how you feel on it .. (pay attention to contents of 'Northstar' boxes , as their 25mcg size are actually TEVA but 50/100mcg are Accord).... Good records will help you figure out if you feel better on some than others..... bear in mind it sometimes takes 7-10 days to begin to feel the effect of a different brand.

Most chemists/ Doctors will say "rubbish, they are all the same ... " but some of us really can tell a difference, and recent advice from the MHRA now tells them to give us consistent brands if we have problems.

Danielj1 profile image
Danielj1

some fascinating comments about different brands of T4 - mine seem to change every time and I have not even thought of a difference - perhaps I should be aware now of the possibility and sense check and changes

Dexter - my GP “signed me off “ once TSH dropped to 3 and I have spent a couple of years fine tuning everything to improve T3 conversion to get down to below 2

I worry if you simply keep adding more Levo you can lose focus on the thyroid efficiency hacks - I suspect I am now around 1 but will test shortly

It has taken 2 years and perhaps ever increasing Levo doses would have sorted things sooner - but it has forced me chuck dairy as it is a natural disruptor for keeping TSH higher for longer

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91 in reply toDanielj1

Hi Daniel, thank you for so much for taking the time to reply and help me. In a brief summary, would you mind laying out what the efficiency hacks are please? So far, I’m going to get some magnesium glcinate and order a full iron screening.

Danielj1 profile image
Danielj1

pretty much as I suggested above really - we are all different so what works for me may not for you but in terms order of max bang for your buck

1.Magnesium glycinate

2.Give up milk entirely - other dairy if you possibly can and don’t mix milk with coffee

3. Ton of spinach (plus handful of dried prunes ) each day for iron and vit K (helps D absorption)

4. Blueberries /celery juice and daily bananas smoothies

5. Prawns, fish and 2-3 eggs a day

6. Low levels of caffeine if you can and low added sugar

7. OJ can be invaluable if you need to raise potassium levels regularly

What you won’t see on my list is gluten free as I have never found gluten free bread enjoyable at all - this may be vital though if you don’t tolerate it

In one line load up of nitrate, potassium and iron rich foods as best you can. Google high nitrate foods eg beetroot etc

This may not work for everyone so take every caution etc and good luck

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91 in reply toDanielj1

Wow, thank you so much for all your time and help. I really appreciate it and can’t wait to start trying new things :)

Pearlteapot profile image
Pearlteapot

High cortisol levels can impede conversion of T4 to T3. Given that you were presumably training hard before you started thyroid supplementation with T4 your adrenals might have been compensating for low thyroid levels by the over production of cortisol with the result that your cortisol is now out of whack, too high or too low. See Chris kesser free downloadable ebook on how high cortisol impedes conversion. I’m on a train about to arrive at destination so this post is link light but that could be an avenue worth exploring. Then consider doing a cortisol saliva test from Regenerus labs. A search here will bring up a lot of discussion on cortisol tests and the interaction with hypothyroidism.

Litatamon profile image
Litatamon

I know you supplement with the b complex but have you had a b12 reading before that time?

Recently?

dexterholland91 profile image
dexterholland91 in reply toLitatamon

These are the only B12 results I have. I went vegetarian/vegan Feb 2019. So naturally my B12 has fallen since then.

B12
Docu20 profile image
Docu20

Hi

I started with underactive years ago, wouldn't take the Levothyroxine at first but it helped enormously, it took ages for it to settle, so bear with it, I have not had any other help with it other than 6 monthly blood tests but it does affect all of your functions in the body, and the fact that you do so much exercise, there is obviously something that perhaps needs checking as soon as possible, if the tablets are not helping.

I am an ex nurse and can only wish you the best of luck, it is horrible at first just stick with it you will start to feel better eventually, vitamins not sure about, I take cod liver oil and multivitamins but not heard of the others, are your joints aching if so glucosamine, I have them every day. Its a minefield everyone is different so go and see your GP if possible.

Good luck.

tattybogle profile image
tattybogle

i copied this from a reply i found written years ago by Achilles_Pain . but it's very true.

"The way my new GP described it was ..."You know how your body is continually breaking down and rebuilding itself? Well, the thyroid controls the rebuilding, so if it isn't working you carry on breaking down but don't rebuild properly. Your body now has a lot of catching up to do, which will take a minimum of 12 months, probably a lot longer...." or words to that effect. He also said it would be a saw tooth recovery (get better, go backwards a bit, get better, go backwards a bit) and he's been right so far.

in reply totattybogle

What a brilliant GP that was.

Vasiliki99 profile image
Vasiliki99

U have the hashimotos u can see that although 513 isn't that bad. I had 10,000 antibodies acting against my thyroid. I suppose I have low t4 as someone said that t4 shud be above 19. I would say get rest and just get used to it. It's tougher in winter. I think there r 200 functions of thyroid so testing by no means shows everything. But d very sensible to take. C .

tattybogle profile image
tattybogle in reply toVasiliki99

Vasiliki99 ....just to clarify a couple of things in your reply that might confuse people.

TPOab (thyroid peroxidase antibodies) don't "act against the thyroid" .... these antibodies are not what does the damage ..the immune system does the damage .. TPOab are part of the clean up process after the immune system has damaged it .

So when levels of TPOab are high, that is how we know it has been damaged.

A TPOab level of around 500 is considered a 'strong positive' indication of Autoimmune thyroid disease , but ... but as you say some people do have much more .. i had TPOab 2499 (0-50) at diagnosis, and then >3000 (0-50) a few months later. ( "> "means the test method used could not count higher than 3000)

I;m just curious ..... When you say you had 10,000 .. are you referring to TPOab , or TGab ? ... i've seen result of ">6000" before for TPOab ... presumably because that test method could not count higher than 6000.

Did your get an actual number for your 10,000 result or was it a "> " ? and do you remember what the lab range was ?

Also . "someone said T4 should be above 19 " .. we always need to know the reference range for fT4 results . There are several different reference ranges (used by different testing machines).. and the result you get ie "19" ONLY applies to the range that was used by that machine.

Some machines reference ranges for fT4 are eg [12-22] so on that range, a result of 19 shows an fT4 level which is about 70% of the way through "the range of 95% of healthy people"... ie "good" .

But other machines have lab ranges for fT4 of eg [7.9-14] and on that range, a result of 19 shows the person has an fT4 level that is much higher than is usual for 95% of healthy people. ie. 'High'

So to know if your 19 is ok or not, you need to know the lab range used.

Vasiliki99 profile image
Vasiliki99 in reply totattybogle

Yes the 19 was for 12-22 and I have never achieved beyond 14. Tried T3 T4 etc. No luck. I had no idea the TPO was a clean up job cleaning the damage of s mad immune system attacking the thyroid as if it was a baffie thus exhausting the body and not having a good system ready for real germs and bad things so this how doc explained it so we r immune suppressed and in danger. We can't fight things off easily the immune system is involved in hunting the thyroid gland.

These immune system come inflammation that causes more wear n tear viruses n bacteria proliferation in unwanted places biofilms leaky gut. Particles going up to our grain even and wrong things in our blood weak WBC count and slow clotting even our blood is weird.

The car body doesn't even work like a car with poor gears and systems the heat does not pump the blood well less oxygenated blood. This is what I've learnt over the years about deadly hashimotos thyroiditis. A scan revealed liaisons in the gland from immune attack.

I have had lower level TPO and TG thingy maybe the highest I ever had was 10,000 but it cud been thr TG thing doctor told me it was acute exhaustion of body with hashimotos

I ray healthy detox read work a bit but not the body functioning like it could of, still I have had happiness I was diagnosed 2001 20 years later n counting xxxxxxx

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