Results please

[Geegee777]

Im taking teva levothyroxine 75mcg and t3, 5mcg at morning with levo then 10mcg afternoon.My symptoms have greatly improved with the addition of t3, but having increasing problems with low stomach acid. Any advice will be most welcome 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

[SlowDragon Administrator]

was last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test and last 5mcg dose T3 approx 8-12 hours before test

Your Ft4 is very low

Perhaps try 75mcg and 100mcg levothyroxine alternate days? (Or 87.5mcg daily)

Have you tried splitting T3 as 3 x 5mcg doses at roughly 8 hour intervals

Only change one thing at a time

[Geegee777 in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi, splitting t3 into 3 doses was difficult fitting it in my schedule, but if itll make a difference then ill give it a go. At the moment I take it 6am and 12noon.Yes I last levo 24hours before and split my t3 into 3 doses last one 12 hours before test.

I think I may increase my levo to 100mcg every other day to start. Would increasing levo improve my T4?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Geegee777]

many of us on levothyroxine plus small doses of T3 find we need both Ft4 and Ft3 at least 60-70% through range

Personally I take Half dose levothyroxine and 5mcg T3 at 6.30am (alarm wakes me and then go back to sleep) 5mcg at 3pm approx (timing can vary to fit around food/drink) and remainder of levothyroxine and 5mcg T3 at 11pm

[Geegee777 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks for that, sometimes all it takes is a bit of advice to see things clearer. Ill try increase in levo first, retest in 8 weeks, would that be long enough?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Geegee777]

yes

[Geegee777 in reply to SlowDragon]

Hi, is ft4 the same as free thyroxine? I was looking through my results and couldnt see it as ft4. When i increase my levothyroxine, I will need to consult my gp first. So need to be prepared 🌸🌸🌸🌸

[tattybogle in reply to Geegee777]

yes geegee . T4 is thyroxine .

'Free' thyroxine/ fT4 is the T4 that is freely available for your cells to use (as opposed to 'Total' T4 /TT4 which is the 'free' T4 plus the 'bound' T4, which is fastened to carrier proteins in the blood) .

Levothyroxine is made of synthetic T4/ thyroxine

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Geegee777]

GP highly likely to look at low TSH and want to reduce levothyroxine

So you may have a battle

On levothyroxine plus T3 TSH is almost always extremely low/suppressed

Most important results are always Ft3 followed by Ft4

[joey82]

Glad you are feeling the improvement of the introduction of t3. I have no knowledge of low stomach acid, all I can suggest is looking into leaky gut and SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) as that is a symptom of gut issues.

[Geegee777 in reply to joey82]

Low stomach acid has become more frequent, im dealing with it by taking apple cider vinegar, which works a treat, but I need to find out the root cause.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

What symptoms are you getting from low stomach acid?

[Geegee777 in reply to Jaydee1507]

Hi, bloated, nauseous, headache and when I take apple cider vinegar i belch quite a lot and need the loo.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to Geegee777]

These sound more like IBS. Have you tried gluten and dairy free diet. You could also do a low FODMAP elimination diet.

[Geegee777 in reply to Jaydee1507]

Hi, I have eliminated gluten and all dairy except in tea, i allow myself no more than 2 cups, im struggling to find a replacement. However I have been extremely stressed, caring for 2 siblings, which might be or part of the reason. Ill definitely look into low fodmap diet🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Geegee777]

oat milk in tea is good…..once you get use to it

Someone said rice milk good….not tried it yet

[EllsBells591 in reply to SlowDragon]

if you use oat milk go for something like oatly or rude health as they don’t curdle. Alternatively alpro cuppa is very good.

[crimple in reply to SlowDragon]

SlowDragon , oat milk is not gluten free.

Geegee777 I use lactose free milk as I don't like tea with milk substitutes.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to crimple]

oat milk is gluten free

Ideally you would use certified gluten free brand

Eg Plenish oat milk

Also check ingredients lists.

Some “non milks” have iodine added.

Oatly brand. They make several versions, some contain iodine, some don’t.

Lactose Free milk is still milk. Thyroid patients often react to the proteins in milk not the lactose

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

Cow’s milk contains proteins (primarily casein and whey) that are different from the proteins found in human milk. A person with intestinal permeability (which is always a precursor to autoimmune disease) is likely to recognize these proteins as a foreign invader and make antibodies to the proteins. 

[ColdBanana]

i have no suggestion for the low stomach acid, but i would of thought it would resolve its self if you are not hypo, or having adrenal issues with a lot of good food. do you supplement d3 by the way?

[Geegee777 in reply to ColdBanana]

Hi, yes d3, k2, m7 with magnesium glycinate.

[ColdBanana in reply to Geegee777]

do you take it every day, and if so how much? yeah the glycinate is a good magnesium source

[Geegee777 in reply to ColdBanana]

I started with 15,oooiu for first week, then 10,000ius. When tested i was 126, I was aiming for 150,which my last test was 156.Now 5,000 as maintenence dose. Made a huge difference

[ColdBanana in reply to Geegee777]

10-15k per day is a lot. Looks like it worked out for you though. My recent d3 test came back as 47nmol which is apparently in mmh's normal ranges lol. I started on 5k a few weeks ago. Hope it works

[Geegee777 in reply to ColdBanana]

Theres a lot of research regarding the benefits of high dosage vit d. I felt so rubbishy, had nothing to lose. I hope you achieve results you need🌸🌸🌸🌸

[Yervaud]

Hi Geegee777. Not sure if this is useful if you have IBS, but Betaine Hydrochloride works for my low stomach acid, taken just before a meal. (I have Pernicious Anaemia as well as low thyroid). I also have acid reflux caused by faulty valve, and find slippery elm powder very soothing. Keeping as clear as I can from Protein Pump Inhibitors.

[Geegee777 in reply to Yervaud]

Im researching my gut health and may look into trying Betaine, thanks 🌸🌸🌸🌸

[Kimkat in reply to Geegee777]

have a look at a gadget called IQoro, I’ve ordered one as I have a hiatus hernia and was told I had low stomach acid, there’s a lot to read but I found it really interesting. They’re not cheap at £145 but I’ll try anything .

[Venicefan]

I use HCL Betaine with pepsin for the low stomach acid - it works well for me. I take it before lunch and dinner.

[Yervaud]

for some reason the added Pepsin doesn’t work for me.

[Yervaud]

What’s also helped is a good source of replenishable probiotics in wildly fermenting goat kefir. The one I buy is expensive (called Chuckling Goat). I imagine there are cheaper options. The helpful Zoe podcasts are very encouraging about fermentation and gut health and do it yourself.

[Geegee777]

I like kefir, but goat kefir might take some getting used to

[buddy99 in reply to Geegee777]

It's always worth trying. I tried goat milk kefir and was not well. Just to be on the safe side (it could have been something else that made me feel lousy) I tried it again 3 weeks later with the same result. So it did not work well for me, but I've heard from others that it worked just fine. It also is an acquired taste.🐐

[Kimkat in reply to Geegee777]

I’ve been taking kefir for over a year and it’s reduced my acid problem so much that I no longer need gaviscon advance, I only use it if I’ve OD’d on spicy food, which I tend not to eat too often.