Just diagnosed with Hashimoto's

[Hey1975]

I'm having this feeling of swaying back and forth when I stand or walk it's like my body is being pulled down and my ears & neck are tight & it's really painful. I'm not sure if this is a thyroid issue or what. My chest hurts & it's hard to breathe as well. I just started back on 25 mcg levothyroxine. I thought maybe it was the levothyroxine making it worse. The doctors look at me like I'm crazy when I try explaining this & say it's not your thyroid doing this. Here's my latest labs from March 27, 2023 So if anyone can please help me. Thank you so much.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Did you do the test as per the protocol recommended here? Test at 9am, fasting, last levo dose 24hrs before the blood draw & no biotin containing supplements for 3-7 days?

What supplements are you taking?

25mcgs is a very small dose of Levo. It can make symptoms worse as is a long way from being enough to replace your natural production if it were working well. Your symptoms are likely as you are not taking enough Levo.

50mcgs is a standard starter dose.

The idea of treatment is to test, adjust dose upwards, retest, repeat until your TSH is at or just under 1 where most people feel well.

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? Private tests are available, see link for companies offering private blood tests & discount codes, some offer a blood draw service at an extra cost. thyroiduk.org/help-and-supp...

Many with autoimmune thyroid disease aka Hashimoto's benefit from a gluten free diet. A smaller percentage of those also need to remove dairy from their diet to feel well.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

It takes 6-8 weeks after any dose change for each dose to have full effect

Standard starter dose levothyroxine is 50mcg

Starting on only 25mcg can make symptoms worse…..so you may need to wait patiently until dose is increased after next blood test

Meanwhile get Vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 levels tested

Low vitamin levels are extremely common when hypothyroid

Improving low vitamin levels will help tolerate getting levothyroxine dose increases too

[Hey1975 in reply to SlowDragon]

I tested at 9 am I am in a MMT program. (Methadone Maintenance Therapy) so I have to dose early morning. I was instructed to take levothyroxine before bed 2-4 hours after eating. These results were without levothyroxine for over a month only my mmt. I just started back yesterday on the levothyroxine 25 mcg. I did have vit D, VIT B12, iodine, ferritin and folate tested I'm attaching. I was told I need to take vitamin D at 5000 iu & some vitamin C. I know very little about supplements & very little about thyroid or Hashimoto's. There's a billion different ideas & opinions online so I'm very overwhelmed. I was put on 50 mcg levothyroxine in October of 2022 & told to increase to 100 mcg levothyroxine in 14 days by day 16 I was in ER with HORRIBLE palpitations and chest pain, severe anxiety & it took a long time to recover from that. And so I'm really scared of taking levothyroxine & why I've been off for so long. I'm terrified of it happening again. Thank you for everything & for your time talking to me. I appreciate everything.

Vitamin D

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hey1975]

I was put on 50 mcg levothyroxine in October of 2022 & told to increase to 100 mcg levothyroxine in 14 days by day 16 I was in ER with HORRIBLE palpitations and chest pain, severe anxiety & it took a long time to recover from that.

That was too much and increased far too quickly.

Dose should have stayed at 50mcg at least 6-8 weeks before retesting. Then only increased if test showed it was necessary and even then only increased SLOWLY….initially to 75mcg daily or even to 75mcg and 50mcg alternate days ….it typically takes 6-12 months to SLOWLY increase dose

Starting again now

Stay on 25mcg and retest after 6-8 weeks

[Hey1975 in reply to SlowDragon]

I'm so thankful for your time and assistance. I really have no other to go to & I'm really sick. Thank you

[Hey1975 in reply to SlowDragon]

Here's my iodine test. Thought it might help.

Iodine level

[Hey1975 in reply to SlowDragon]

Vitamin D

Vitamin D

[Hey1975 in reply to SlowDragon]

Iron

Iron

[Hey1975 in reply to SlowDragon]

Iron 2

Iron 2

[Hey1975 in reply to SlowDragon]

Ferritin

Ferritin

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hey1975]

Ferritin looks extremely low

What’s the range on this test

[Hey1975 in reply to SlowDragon]

Ferritin range is 15-150

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hey1975]

So ferritin it extremely low

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anae...

Serum ferritin level is the biochemical test, which most reliably correlates with relative total body iron stores. In all people, a serum ferritin level of less than 30 micrograms/L confirms the diagnosis of iron deficiency.

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...

Look at increasing iron rich foods in diet 

Eating iron rich foods like liver or liver pate once a week plus other red meat, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate, plus daily orange juice or other vitamin C rich drink can help improve iron absorption

List of iron rich foods

dailyiron.net

Links about iron and ferritin

An article that explains why Low ferritin and low thyroid levels are often linked 

preventmiscarriage.com/iron...

irondisorders.org/too-littl...

davidg170.sg-host.com/wp-co...

Great in-depth article on low ferritin 

oatext.com/iron-deficiency-...

drhedberg.com/ferritin-hypo...

This is interesting because I have noticed that many patients with Hashimoto’s disease and hypothyroidism, start to feel worse when their ferritin drops below 80 and usually there is hair loss when it drops below 50.

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Effective supplement 

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Thyroid disease is as much about optimising vitamins as thyroid hormones

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

restartmed.com/hypothyroidi...

Post discussing just how long it can take to raise low ferritin 

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

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...

Chicken livers if iron is good, but ferritin low

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Shellfish and Mussels are excellent source of iron 

healthline.com/nutrition/he...

Heme iron v non heme

hsph.harvard.edu/nutritions...

Ferritin over 100 to alleviate symptoms 

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Great research article discussing similar…..ferritin over 100 often necessary 

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Low Iron implicated in hypothyroidism 

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[Hey1975 in reply to SlowDragon]

I am so thankful for all of this information!! The doctor didn't want me on iron just yet she said but I'm definitely looking for iron rich foods. These links & articles are so helpful. I haven't had any appetite & I'm having bloating problems on top of not being able to stand up very long so I've been living on toast & one egg if I'm able to do it. If not then just toast. I'm doing the best I can & I'm struggling daily.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hey1975]

Bloating, indigestion and lack of appetite all extremely common hypothyroid symptoms

Low stomach acid leads to poor nutrient absorption

Gluten intolerance common too. Get coeliac blood test before considering trial on gluten free diet

Look at increasing protein and good fats in diet as your appetite improves

[Imaaan in reply to Hey1975]

Check for dysbiosis as well. Sibo and h plyori are common.

Look into B1(thiamine hcl) . It increases acid production and is important for food digestion.

Other helpful supplements that my doc suggested were ox bile, digestive enzymes and a good probiotic. Sauerkraut, kimchee and goat kefir are high in beneficial bacteria.

Regarding the ox bile I took the lowest amount because it can cause diarrhea in higher amounts for some ppl. My doc also said it also helps convert t4 to t3. Another thing I take on a daily basis is beef organs(Ancestral Supplement) which contains beef pancreas

[Hey1975 in reply to SlowDragon]

Morning, not sure if it's morning where you are. I just finished reading everything you recommended, it took me longer with so much brain fog & I just feel dumber these days. And honestly I can't tell the difference in symptoms, if it's low iron & low nutrition issues, or from my thyroid. And the doctor said my iron panel was ok... But I have to try something & I'm willing to be a human guinea pig at this point. I've had thyroid symptoms for years just didn't know it. And in 2002 about 30 minutes after delivering my 3rd baby I started hemorrhaging & they had a hard time stopping it but right as I was being rushed into surgery they were able to stop it. So I ended up having blood transfusions & an extended stay in the hospital which landed on my birthday. My nurse was so good to me I'll never forget her.. She stayed hours after she should have went home & brought me flowers & a bday cake before she did finally go home. I wasn't very alert for several days but I'll never forget her. So I never felt myself after that & I'm starting to think I've been so low for so long my body is just struggling & very stressed!!! And after reading everything you sent I bought the Three Arrows heme plus. & Several other supplements as well. I've never taken anything but B12 injections in the past but now between my thyroid & all my low levels plus I'm not eating anything of real value I feel like I'm slowly fading away. So "THANK YOU" for everything. And I'm sorry for such a long comment. Lol. And Thank you to everyone that's imparted wisdom & knowledge & given me hope. I'm 47 going on 97. My health struggles & all my limitations that seem to be piling up just don't match the person on the inside. When I do look in the mirror which isn't often (yuck) I don't see the same person anymore. I continue to read stories of others getting well & getting their life back but from where I'm at it doesn't seem possible. I pray that a day will come & I'll be able to look back & say it is "POSSIBLE" I'm trusting in the Lord to do what only He can do. God bless xoxo

[Hey1975 in reply to SlowDragon]

I had this Paloma thyroid test which you do at home on March 14, 2023. I took it at 9:15 am without any medications. I withheld my methadone dose as well which was the only medication I was taking at the time. The TSH was very different than all my other TSH labs. I've tried researching how pain meds affect labs & it's difficult for me to understand everything. But also most of my TSH labs were always with my methadone & usually they did my blood draws in the late afternoon & told me it didn't matter about meds & time of day. I have nobody in my doctor's office that seems to know very much about thyroid issues. And on this test (Paloma) I look completely normal only my antibodies are abnormal. Could that possibly mean that I don't require T4 medication? The 2 thyroid panels I've posted were 2 weeks apart. This test was taken without my methadone for 29 hours & the other test was with methadone. And that's why I had 2 tests done bc I've never had a TSH so low before. But I've also never had early morning blood draws before or without the methadone. At this point I don't have a doctor that can actually answer ANY of these questions & I don't like taking levothyroxine so if I actually don't need to that would be fine with me. Thanks again!! I wanted to give as much info as possible.

Paloma thyroid test

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hey1975]

With autoimmune thyroid disease levels change rapidly day by day….hour by hour even

What’s the range on Ft4 and Ft3

[Hey1975 in reply to SlowDragon]

Here's the actual labs from the Paloma test.

Paloma thyroid test

[Imaaan]

As SlowDragon has mentioned your ferratin is low. When mine dip below midway I have a hard time with a racing heart, insomnia, breathlessness and things moving whilst my body is still (vertigo) . More importantly I have a hard time tolerating my meds and a few supplements.

[Hey1975 in reply to Imaaan]

I'm definitely having all of those symptoms right now. I'm not sure about vertigo but I feel like I'm swaying when I walk. It's like I'm walking on a boat all the time, I don't feel steady at all my balance is not good. If you have any more suggestions please let me know. I'm desperately trying to get better. Thank you so much.

[Imaaan in reply to Hey1975]

The boat analogy is a good one. I have the whole earth moving while I was still. Also want to mention that ear infections are a cause of imbalance and dizziness as well.

I've never been as low as you and you might want to look into the cause. That said, my protocol is to load up on lamb liver. I get it fresh from the local halal store and basically would cook the whole liver with the kidneys.

I portion out the whole lamb and kidneys and eat it everday for 5 days. Then stop for 7 days and repeat the cycle the following week. I'd do this for 2 months or so. It's the fastest way to get my levels up . Liver is a powerhouse and nutritionally dense . Through the Grace of God, I always feel better around 2 months or so

The days I wasnt eating liver I was having beef at lunch.

*****Liver is high in vitamin A and can lead to toxicity. There is a recommended amount but clearly I would go over it. It ain't wise but that's what I do.******

Also I would take 3 tablets of heme iron(optifera) everyday and take a good b complex(Thorne basic B) . Add in vit C supplement and from food sources as well to your regimen.

[Hey1975 in reply to Imaaan]

I pray I can get to a better place. There's times just getting through a day seems impossible. I wish there was a short cut to some of this just to get me on my feet again. My neck muscles stay so tight I feel like I'm unable to relax at all I just don't understand why. I get no relief lying down, sitting or standing. I'm pulling my hair out. This has been nonstop for months & I'm losing it. Thank you for everything! Have a good day 😊

[Imaaan in reply to Hey1975]

Hope you find relief and improve quickly

[Hey1975 in reply to Imaaan]

Thank you 😊

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hey1975]

Walking on a boat symptom common with low B12 too

[Hey1975 in reply to SlowDragon]

If my T4 & T3 are in the ranges why would I need to take the T4 levothyroxine? And if my TSH was 2.8 what would happen by taking levothyroxine? Thank you 😊