Hello, I am 5 months postpartum and struggling with fatigue, brain fog, cold, anxiety, weight gain. Obviously sleep deprivation will be having an impact but I also feel like something is missing physically. I am also breastfeeding. T4 has been low since second trimester of pregnancy, we added 50mcg of levothyroxine in my last trimester but I was instructed to stop this 2 weeks postpartum as my levels should return to relatively normal. Any advice prior to my endo appointment on Friday would be appreciated.
Dose: 3 grains Armour thyroid.
Bloods March 2023 (last 1grain dose of Armour 12 hours before test)
TSH: <0.01mU/L (0.35-5.5)
Free T4- 8.9 (7-17)
Free T3- 5.5 (3.5-6.5)
Serum folate >23.5 ug/l (>3)
Serum ferritin 20ug/L (15-300)
Serum B12 470ng/L (150-900)
Serum total 25OH vit d level 34 nmol/l (no range given, blood results printout advises to supplement, 400iu prescribed by gp)
Supplementing with spatone iron once daily and 3000iu vit d spray since blood test. I haven’t been able to take my usual supplements (b complex etc) as they say not to use when breastfeeding.
I have been strictly gluten free for several years. I am currently also dairy, soya and egg free as my son appears to have allergies to these….I haven’t found this has made any improvement to my energy.
Any thoughts greatly appreciated!
Written by
Hj101
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With people on NDT FT4 often is low but some people do benefot from adding a small amount of Levo to top that up.
I think your biggest issue are the low vitamin levels, especially ferritin.
NICE state that a ferritin of 30 or under is a deficiency and your GP/Endo should be prescribing iron. You should also get a full iron panel done, post results here.
Spatone is really very weak and unlikely to raise your levels. Do also focus on iron rich diet - chicken livers, pate, red meat several times a week.
Vitamin D should be around 100 - 150. Buy one that includes vit K2 to help it go to your bones. Some are available in oil or you can take it with an oily meal for better absorption. Use this calculator to work out how much to take to get your level to 100-150. wildatlantichealth.com/vita...
Thanks, I think I’m going to restart the breastfeeding supplement that I was taking previously and then top this up with the things I’m short of…..everything other than these seems to say not suitable when pregnant or breastfeeding, probably a clever marketing ploy but I don’t want to mess up and take doses that are too high etc. I am currently transitioning little one onto formula so in a few weeks I should be able to take anything I need to.
I'm not qualified to answer that, it wasn't a thing (taking any supplements) when I had my babies over 50 years ago. Best ask your doctor or perhaps you can still contact your midwife or health visitor (or whoever/whatever they do these days).
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
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
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.
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. ‘
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