could this be levo problems

[Judyrabbit]

I have been having problems with chest pain , weight gain , tremors , no energy. I just saw on a prescription I should have had my bloods done in February. I usually take 100 Levo but my blood result in August was over 9.6 so he put me up to 125. Next time the result was 0..63 which was fine. Do you think the symptoms I am getting could be due to taking too much Levi now? Any answers would be most welcome.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Yoyo dosing is not a good idea which seems to be what your GP is doing.

Did you ever get your key vitamin levels checked? You say you have had lowB12 before, how low was it please? See response to previous post.

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When hypo we get low stomach acid which means we cannot absorb vitamins well from our food, regardless of a great diet. For thyroid hormone to work well we need OPTIMAL levels of vitamins. Have you recently or could you ask your GP to test levels of ferritin, folate, B12 & D3?

What were your latest blood results with range for each level - number in brackets?

[Judyrabbit in reply to Jaydee1507]

I can never see a dr and when you ask for bloods the receptionist wants to know who has asked for them. I will give you my last results but some are very old

TSH…0.63mU/L Dec 2022

Vitamin D….59.0nmol/L Nov 2022

Folate ….8.3 ug/L

Ferritin … 269ug/L March 22

Free T4 ….20.8 pmol/L March 22

Free T3 ….5.3 pmol/L 2021

B12……. Lowest 342 ng/L then after taking tablets went to 950ng/L so told me to stop taking them in 2021

I have to ask for everything to be done and they take no notice of things if TSH is ok

Sorry can’t give you anything else

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to Judyrabbit]

Firstly, when you quote a test result you do need to include the reference range - number in brackets after your result as this varies from lab to lab.

Ar you vegan or vegetarian? Have you had your B12 retested since March 22 and stopping the supplement?

B12 being above reference range really isn't an issue as it is water soluble so any excess your body will get rid of by peeing it out.

Hypo people need to continuously supplement to keep their vitamin levels OPTIMAL and for their thyroid hormone to work properly.

Your folate looks on the low side according to most reference ranges.

Vit D should be at around 100. You can buy vit D + K2 which helps it go to your bones. People often like the Better You range. Use this calculator to work out how much to take to get you to that level. grassrootshealth.net/projec...

People in this group have to do a lot of the work themselves to get well and be very proactive in getting bloods done and supplementing. Thats what it takes to be well with hypothyroidism. Obviously use NHS/GPservices as much as possible but there are private tests available. It would be good to see your complete thyroid panel. Taking odd numbers from various years and a random TSH isn't going to tell us how well your levo & or vitamins are doing for you. This link has a list of companies offering private tests. Most popular are Monitor my Health, Medichecks & Blue Horizons. Discount codes are on it too. thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...

I suspect you have low vitamin levels affecting your TSH. You need to get on top of the vitamin levels to get them OPTIMAL. You could then avoid the yoyo dosing and begin to lose weight.

[Judyrabbit]

Thanks for the information. I’m having thyroid tested on the 12 th April so I will ask then if they will do tge other tests. Our drs are in a very bad state our 5 surgeries have combined into 1 surgery with part time drs and locums. The last time I wanted a dr I had to line up outside at 7.30am and even though I was third in line I still just got a phone app. When I asked to see a consultant she would t see me because my TSH was fine. I have just had private consultations for other things so I might have to go down that route

[Judyrabbit in reply to Judyrabbit]

sorry forgot to say that my drs do not add tge reference range so I just have to look at the nhs ranges

[tattybogle in reply to Judyrabbit]

i will tag Jaydee1507 so she is notified of your reply judyrabbit . (to alert a member that you have replied to them , you need to use the blue reply box directly underneath their reply )

p.s NHS labs use lots of different ranges ( there are no NSH ranges) , you need to know the ref range that came with the test result .

when you are asking for results from reception.. if they ask who has asked for them or what you want them for ,...say " for my own records"

you do have legal right to have a copy of the results (and the ranges ) .. as long as a GP has already sen them first).

Ask reception for a printout of results from 'date'

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to Judyrabbit]

If you are in England you can get the NHS app and some GP surgeries can give permission to see your results on that. Ask at GP reception.

Yu may find that if you follow advice here, perhaps get the odd private blood test and take supplements you dont need to see a private doctor.

Are you vegetarian or vegan?

[Judyrabbit in reply to Jaydee1507]

no I’m neither of those. I do have the nhs website and can see my results on there and that’s where I have been looking at the range.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to Judyrabbit]

If they are ranges that are presented alongside your test then they will be correct.

Strongly suggest you retest B12 with the GP. Your low vitamin levels are likely the cause of many of your symptoms.

Did GP test you for pernicious anaemia?

I do sympathise about GPs being inaccessable. The other day I needed to speak to a GP about a referral. Waited 3 times for over half an hour each in the phone queue, ended up emailing, then got a text reply which was not acceptable as I really did need to speak to GP to explain the situation. Emailed GP again and finally got a phone call next day. This from a GP surgery thats usually pretty good. Its not good enough.

[Judyrabbit in reply to Jaydee1507]

your advice has been great but I have just had another thought. When I got my last tablets they gave me Teva 25 but said tgey could t get Teva 100 so gave me Accord 100. Do you think that might be the problem mixing the two types of Levo as they probably have different fillers?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Judyrabbit]

If there are two levothyroxine products (whatever their excipients/other ingredients), and you are OK with them individually, then taking them together should be fine.

It isn't mixing in itself that is the issue.

But if you do not tolerate either make, then that is an issue.

Or if either make is in any way faulty - such as being sub-potent - that would be an issue.

There have been several recent posts suggesting questions over some Accord levothyroxine tablets.

Accord Levothyroxine 100mcg Batch N0 ATC54 Query

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Accord 50mcg tablets - sub potency - anyone else?

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