Could I please get feedback on my latest blood tests?

[JUUJOO]

Could I please get feedback on my latest blood tests? So I'm currently struggling on 125mcg levothyroxine. I was increased from 100 daily to 100/125, then to 125 daily. (graves /Rai) Since the increase I feel very hypo and very hyper at the same time. Anxiety spiked, I felt hot at times, shakey and on edge, constantly waking through the night and generally just rubbish, along with feeling tired, dry skin plus more. My brain is functioning better however, brain fog is less and my aches and pains are definitely less, yay!

My Endo won't Re rest bloods till I see him in June, hence the medichecks, but suggested I lower my dose to between 125 daily and 100 alternate. I'm not sure on that.

So, what should I do next? I feel like I should stick to the 125 daily and hope the symptoms go away.. Then in June discuss T3? Thoughts?

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Free T4 (fT4) 17.9 pmol/L (12 - 22) 59.0%

Free T3 (fT3) 4.02 pmol/L (3.1 - 6.8) 24.9%

So your conversion rate isn't good but you still have a lot of room to increase. TSH not below 1 yet where it should be.

What are you supplementing with?

Your folate needs to be around 20.

Ferritin needs to be 90-100 for best use of thyroid hormone. Focus on irn rich diet - chicken livers, pate etc

Anxiety is a hypo symptom if doctors did but know it so I would say you need to increase the levo.

[JUUJOO in reply to Jaydee1507]

Thanks Jaydee. I'm glad my d3 and B12 have increased atleast and my inflammation is finally lower. I'm taking vit d3/mk, selenium & vit c, magnesium, Thorne basic B complex, omega 3's. Also taking Ferrous Fumerate 210mcg daily. Should I be adding anything extra in supplement wise?

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to JUUJOO]

You've done well with D3 & B12, keep that up now.

Try drinking orange juice with the ferrous fumerate. Helps it absorb better.

Thorne Basic B contains 400mcgs methylfolate which is enough for some but not everyone. Buy some separate 400mcgs methylfolate, Jarrows do one but its a bit pricey, several other cheaper brands would be fine. Add that to your daily supplements.

Getting vitamins right brought my pretty high inflammation down. Was so relieved!

[JUUJOO in reply to Jaydee1507]

Thankyou, I'll get some extra and will add in the orange juice. Should I continue with the 6000 d3 dose that I'm currently taking?

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to JUUJOO]

Your vit D is great at the moment. Be aware that as soon as you stop or reduce your dose then so will your blood levels reduce. You should really retest D3 in the summer as possibly requirements reduce then slightly and you may be able to drop the dose a very small amount then.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Which brand is 100mcg tablets

Which brand is 25mcg tablets

Many people find different brands are not interchangeable

Are you on gluten free or dairy free diet?

Cold symptoms like …Excess mucus and post nasal drip can suggest dairy intolerance

[JUUJOO in reply to SlowDragon]

Hey, I'm on mercury for both 100 & 25. I'm not on any type of diet.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to JUUJOO]

Suggest you consider trying dairy free

It’s much easier these days with loads of non dairy alternatives

[JUUJOO in reply to SlowDragon]

No cheese.....?! 😬

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to JUUJOO]

I am astonished to say I really don’t miss it

I do use grated vegan Parmesan “cheese” on spag Bol (with GFree spaghetti) and on shep pie ….but you wouldn’t eat vegan cheese in a sandwich!

[pennyannie]

Hey there again :

I remember writing to you when you first posted on the forum :

Your ferritin is still dire and everywhere I researched suggested no thyroid hormone works well until ferritin is up and maintained at over 70:

I now aim to have my ferritin at around 100: folate at 20 : active B12 75 ++ and vitamin D at around 100.

RAI is a slow burn and can trigger further hyper symptoms and antibodies as it slowly burns through the gland rendering you fully hypothyroid.

You are likely to feel some extremes of symptoms but ultimately you will have no thyroid function of your own and totally reliant on daily thyroid hormone replacement.

We generally feel at our best when our T4 is in the top quadrant of the range as this then should convert to a decent level of T3 at around a 1/4 balanced ratio of 1/4 - T3/T4.

Currently your T4 is at just 57% with your T3 tracking behind at around 25% and you need to be slowly building up your T4 into the top quadrant - but this may well be difficult with your ferritin being so low.

I did list in my previous reply all the treatment options that you my wish to consider and if you go back to your profile page you cam reread my detailed reply again.

[JUUJOO in reply to pennyannie]

Yes thankyou, I remember. I will read through everything again.I'm so pale at the moment and my eyes are shadowy.. I do look unwell. I wish raising ferritin was as easy as raising vit D levels! I might ask my pharmacy/gp if I can increase my Ferrous Fumerate dose, see if that helps. Thankyou for all the advice.

[pennyannie in reply to JUUJOO]

You can do this for yourself - I had to - as the NHS iron tablets upset my stomach and an alternative wasn't offered.

Any iron bisglycinate - commonly marketed as an OTC Gentle Iron preparation will be more easily tolerated and I also ate liver twice a week when my ferritin was down at 22:

It does take time to build but once my ferritin rose to over 50 I wasn't so anxious and shaky and now I just need to supplement through food to keep myself topped up at around 100: