I have hypo-thyroidism which is treated with lexothyroxine.
I'm also a type-1 diabetic and just been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy (although still being investigated), I've been put on duloxetine for pain, but am experiencing some not-very-pleasant side-effects and want to doctor to take me off them.
So am also looking at taking supplements that people have said that they've got great results with for neuropathy. The problem is some of these look like they might not good for hypothyroidism. Online, there is conflicting advice everywhere!
The two supplements that seem controversial are:
R-Alpha Lipoic Acid.
Acetyl L Carnitine
My questions are, do these 2 interact with hypothyroidism/levothyroxine? And if so is there a way around it or a way to take them alongside levothyroxine? Could timing make it work?
Thanks in advance,
JP619.
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mids_thyman
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how is your B12 Ferritin and Folate? If these are low for me I get numbness and tingling. I’ve had all the electric shock tests on my arms and they are 100% certain not nerves. Just a thought. I changed from Thorne Basic B to Igennus a few months ago it came back, it used to come back the week of stopping B Complex for blood tests, SD advised separate B12 and folate those days, that has helped. It’s definitely the Thorne Basic B that helps me. But it takes a few weeks to sort it.
I tried L Carnitine but didn’t notice any difference when I stopped.
I don’t know the other one, I also don’t have experience of type 1 diabetes. That sounds like an added challenge and the little I do know means neuropathy in extremities is a worry.
So just a thought maybe you have been super excellent and mainting your sugars and are low on the Bs?
Years ago, long before I started researching, testing and treating thyroid hormones and related vitamins, I had a lot of symptoms of having low levels of B vitamins. I took a daily dose of a poor quality B Complex which had very high levels of every B vitamin in it. The supplement helped and my peripheral neuropathy went away. I continued taking it, then after a few months my neuropathy started to come back again. I researched and found out that vitamin B6 was the only ingredient in the B Complex I was taking that had any common toxicity symptoms. I stopped the B Complex and the neuropathy went away. I have never taken a B Complex with high B6 ever since, and so far my neuropathy hasn't come back.
I've had various blood tests and everything has come back OK. It's confused me as my diabetic control has always been really good so not sure what's happening. My doctors are taking a "You are diabetic... so it's related to diabetes" approach (frustrating). I'm being sent for a nerve conductivity test, but not sure when it will happen yet.
In the meantime I'm looking at a range of supplements that I've found online to take as a combination, hence my original question about interactions with underachieve thyroid/levothyroxine:
Neither of the things you mentioned in your original post are mentioned in the list, but drugs.com is good for prescribed drugs, not so good on supplements.
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A couple of good links on the two substances you mentioned :
The alpha lipoic acid link doesn't mention thyroid at all but does have a lot to say about blood sugar. Whether it would affect you is something you would have to check.
The acetyl l carnitine link suggests it could suppress thyroid hormones and that it might be helpful with hyperthyroidism. Anyone with hypothyroidism should give it a wide berth just for that.
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Thiamine in several forms is considered a helpful supplement by a few sites.
Izabella Wentz mentions it - do a search on her website :
This is the best site I know of on the subject of thiamine - it has nearly 200 articles that mention it. You can poke around and see if any of them mention diabetes in the same articles.
If you decide to start taking B vitamins of any kind be aware that some forms of B vitamin are "inactive" i.e. the body has to convert it into another form to make use of it. It is always best to avoid those because people with thyroid disease are often not great at doing these conversions. It's much better to supplement the "active" versions which don't require conversion to be useful to the body.
Are you sure your hypothyroidism is being optimally treated? Looking at the post 15 days ago you are only on 50ug of levo?
The reason I ask is so many GP's treat the lab work rather than the patient and think if they drop kick you in the range job done 😱. Please read my bio - I wrote it as a case study and explain many of the misconceptions Drs have about how to read blood tests etc. Profile and bio behind my face icon.
Have you had Hashimoto's confirmed?
Vitamin D doesn't have range but still looks low - always add ranges or the '< ' where applicable you get the '<' with antibodies tests for instance.
I would agree with Regenallotment because I had nerve conduction tests in arms (before diagnosis) and they could find nothing - symptoms went away when vitamins and levo were optimal for me for my body (not just drop-kicked into the range).
No, my hypothyroidism isn't treated optimally as far as I can work out. I'm pretty new to taking an interest in this. I haven't had the chance to see anyone since my last post, but from there the gist was that my although my levels were all in-range, FT3 and FT4 levels are fine, but my TSH is too high at 2.39. I have a phone appointment with my doctor tomorrow, and I'm going to try and convince him to up my Levo.
My thyroid levels were:
TSH level: Your result is 2.39 mu/L (normal range 0.27 - 4.2 mU/L)
FT3 level: Your result is 4.8 pmol/L (normal range 3.1 - 6.8 pmol/L)
FT4 level: Your result is 19.4 pmol/L (normal range 12 - 22 pmol/L)
Other results:
Haemoglobin: Your result is 144 g/L
Ferritin: Your result is 135 ug/L
TSAT: Your result is 44 %
Active B12: Your result is >300 pmol/L (Serum B12 was 476 pool/L when tested by the doctor, normal range 133-675)
Folate: Your result is 12.3 ug/L (Folate was 9 ug/L when tested by the doctor, RANGE 3.10-19.90)
Vitamin D: Your result is 51 nmol/L
I understand the B12 result is academic as I was supplementing, and it doesn't necessarily mean that my body is processing it in the gut. So I've switched to a sublingual spray a few days ago, just in case.
I think it is imperitive to discuss symptoms in relation to tests - because if you don't they certainly won't. I think most Drs presume a blood test is there to save them from having to think about symptoms WRONG! When I was going through dose increases, I noted the alleviation of symptoms as dose increase kicked in and the symptoms returning as the dose increase benefits wore off and I needed the dose upping. I am pretty sure I discuss this in my bio (if not there should be a post). 😉👍
Duloxetine is a nightmare medication. It blocks both thyroid function and uptake of thyroid meds. I was on it for several months for neuropathic pain and it made me extremely ill.
I take low dose Naltexone (LDN) now for my pain and that’s working really well for me.
Thanks Maggie. That's really interesting. I had no idea about an interaction with thyroid medication. Is that well recognised, or something you personally found (or both)?
Thanks Batty. I believe you all. I'm also a bit annoyed that doctors have put me on it as well. Are your comments based on personal experience, or is it generally accepted?
I checked on various drug interaction websites and found nothing. But I'm finding it increasingly complex working out which websites you can believe! The users on here seem much more knowledgable than elsewhere.
Personal experience I took it a couple of years ago for my psoriatic arthritis and it messed up my thyroid levels even though I took it hours from my meds.
When I was taking it I found I was sleeping neatly all the time, just couldn’t keep my eyes open. Put loads of weight on. I felt like I was dragging myself through treacle when I was trying to walk. I had a thyroid test after 2 months and my TSH had shot up, t4 was rock bottom.
At the time (2012), the online PIL acknowledged that duloxetine affected thyroid function and medication uptake. I’ve been searching for it but can’t find it now. I did download it.
When I came off it, I had the most horrendous withdrawal symptoms that went on for over a year even though I only took the duloxetine for 3 months.
My thyroid med absorption recovered after a few months.
I’ll keep looking for the info and add the links if I can find them.
Hi Maggie, Thanks, that's really interesting. My doctor has agreed to me stopping duloxetine, so that's what I'll be doing. Can I ask, what dose were you on before you stopped, and did you taper, and for how long? I'm trying very hard to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Just a quick note for if you decide to try LDN - it doesn't suit everyone - I felt seriously suicidal taking it, even a tiny dose, so I had to stop. Also, a friend independently felt the same way.
Obviously, it does work for some people, like Maggie0652 , so we all have to try things for ourselves. It sounds like you're pretty good at monitoring & taking things slowly, so just wanted to mention to look carefully at your mood if you do try it.
probably about 6 months. I was already having 3-monthly capsaicin patch treatment which had maybe given me a 40-50% improvement in pain levels. Taking the LDN made a massive difference though it was gradual so it’s difficult really to pinpoint when it became obvious
I am currently finding Imipramine working well for neuropathy which diagnosed some years back. I am also prescribed co codamol to boost if it’s really grim. I find this better than Pregabalin which I was on previously. Hope you get an accurate diagnosis and some relief soon.
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