My GP has raised my levothyroxine 25mcg to 125mcg. I have taken this 2 weeks & I am still feeling pretty rotten with tiredness, memory problems, brain fog, headaches, & weight gain.
I had a GP blood test a couple of weeks back, which shows TSH, vitamins, & so on, but I have ordered a basic Medicheck test to see my TSH, T3 & T4.
I am going to do test at 8.00am to get in post box for collection at 9.00am, but just to clarify, I should not take levothyroxine until test done & only drink water.
Also, I am on occasional propranolol for stress/adrenaline as and when needed, but I have not taken one since yesterday, & dont intend to until test done, so will this gap be sufficient because I understand it can interfere.
I am a newbie to all this, & have included some of the results from the previous GP tests, which were taken at 9.40am on the 19th May.
Many thanks,
Ian
Results from 19th May
TPO 383
Cortisol 592
Ferritin 101
Folate 6.9
TSH 2.09 (down from 3.89 on the 31st March)
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Ian232
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So with positive TPO antibodies you have Hashimoto's the autoimmune form of hypothyroidism and may well benefit from a strictly gluten free diet. If you find that helpful then a smaller percentage of Hashi people need to remove dairy from their diet as well. Do one thing at a time.
Your ferritin is not bad at all although if you have an inflammation it can be a falsy raised result. Be sure to be eating chicken liver occassionally.
You do really need to test D3 before starting any supplements so you know how much to take.
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...
Your B12 is quite low. The range for B12 is too wide and many people with deficiencies missed because of this. I see that you have bought Vitabiotics Ultra B complex and have checked it out. Sorry to say that it isn't a good buy and will not help you much, as it contains low doses of inactive vitamins. The ones we recommend in this group are high doses of active/methyl vitamins that are much easier and better for your body to use.
Do you have symptoms of B12 deficiency? The reference range for B12 is very wide and cut off point too low. theb12society.com/signs-and...
If you do then you should discuss this with your doctor for further tests for Pernicious Anaemia.
If not, then start with a methyl B12 sublingual spray or lozenge for a week, then add a good B complex. Once you run out of the separate B12and your level has reached 500 just continue with the B complex.
This B complex has all the right vitamins at a not unreasonable cost for 90 days supply(also contains folate). Once B12 is good you can stop the stand alone B12 and just continue with the B complex.
In march I had blood tests & a bone scan for osteoporosis. It was requested by my local hospital after I twisted my ankle, stumbled, & broke a wrist in 2 places after an incident with a swan! 🙄 (I think they think I broke wrist before without knowing, I do recollect a horrible sprain years ago)
I am still awaiting results from hospital, but I did find this blood test for D2 & D3. I am guessing sunlight a big factor, because it was 124 in July 2022, & will need a new test.
Right, I will now take a look at the tests & link about vitamins that you have sent, & thank you for your help & time.
* Book the first appointment of the morning, or with private tests at home no later than 9am. This is because TSH is highest early morning and lowers throughout the day.
In fact, 9am is the perfect time, see first graph here, it shows TSH is highest around midnight - 4am (when we can't get a blood draw), then lowers, next high is at 9am then lowers before it starts it's climb again about 9pm:
If we are looking for a diagnosis of hypothyroidism, or looking for an increase in dose or to avoid a reduction then we need TSH to be as high as possible.
* Nothing to eat or drink except water before the test - have your evening meal/supper as normal the night before but delay breakfast on the day of the test and drink water only until after the blood draw. Certain foods may lower TSH, caffeine containing drinks affect TSH.
* If taking thyroid hormone replacement, last dose of Levo should be 24 hours before blood draw. If taking NDT or T3 then last dose should be 8-12 hours before blood draw, split dose and adjust timing the day before if necessary. This avoids measuring hormone levels at their peak after ingestion of hormone replacement. Take your thyroid meds after the blood draw. Taking your dose too close to the blood draw will give false high results, leaving any longer gap will give false low results.
* If you take Biotin or a B Complex containing Biotin (B7), leave this off for 3-7 days before any blood test. This is because if Biotin is used in the testing procedure it can give false results (most labs use biotin).
These are patient to patient tips which we don't discuss with phlebotomists or doctors.
I have taken this 2 weeks & I am still feeling pretty rotten with tiredness, memory problems, brain fog, headaches, & weight gain.
It can take up to 6 weeks to feel the full benefit of a dose increase.
There really is no point in testing at this stage, we suggest waiting 6-8 weeks after a dose change before retesting to allow time for levels to settle. If you've only been on the increased dose of 2 weeks then testing now wont be much help, you really should wait longer.
Also, I am on occasional propranolol for stress/adrenaline as and when needed, but I have not taken one since yesterday, & dont intend to until test done, so will this gap be sufficient because I understand it can interfere.
Propranolol interferes with conversion of t4 to T3. I don't know how taking it occasionally affects this or how long you'd have to not take it for it not to affect this.
From the results you've posted we can see that your TPO antibodies are elevated confirming autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) but it's not possible to comment on the others without the reference ranges. Ranges vary from lab to lab so we need to see the ranges that come with your results to interpret them properly.
You do still have a way to go with your TSH though, the aim of a treated hypo patient on Levo only, generally, is for TSH to be 1 or below with FT4 and FT3 in the upper part of their reference ranges. If your GP increased your dose of Levo based on that TSH then it was only 8 days ago that test was done and you need to wait for that 25mcg dose increase to do it's work for the next few weeks before retesting.
Hi Jaydee1507 & SeasideSusie I will postpone doing test until 6-8 weeks. I increased levothyroxine from 100mcg to 125 mcg on the 10th May & my GP asked me to have blood test done to look into something else & so checked thyroid again too at same time.
I am just feeling very odd & stressed, depressed & anxious, but kind of a different stressed, depressed & anxious to what I normally have with really bad brain fog and apathy, hence being a little impatient.
Awww so sorry to hear this Ian. Thyroid replacement can be a bit of a long process tbh. And there isn't a quick fix. The thyroid hormone takes time because when your thyroid hormones are low (hypothyroidism) your body effectively goes into a hybernation state, running slow or inefficiently. Introducing the thyroid hormones slowly allows your body to wake up.... It can't do this quickly unfortunately hence the 6-8 week period between each dose increase. Secondly everyone has a sweet spot. That is when the thyroid hormones are at their optimum for you. If you rush the process it's easy to miss that spot and you then have to start again. It really is a case of the tortoise wins the race. Incredibly frustrating!!In the meantime what you can do is optimise your B12. Vit D, folate & ferritin. These are commonly low in hypothyroidism and optomised they do help with making best use of your thyroid hormones and/, or bring their their own symptoms when low.
It's worth reading up as GPs are not often very knowledgeable on hypothyroidism. Living with your Thyroid by Barry Durrant Peatfield is a good book to start with.
I certainly couldn’t cope with an increase in 100mcg Levo in one go, as increasing more than 12.5mcg spikes my anxiety levels. I need to increase very slowly over time… more of a tortoise than a hare & I’ve become quite adept with a pill cutter.
Definitely postpone your test until 6-8 you have been on a consistent dose. Do watch the Medichecks video on how to do the finger draw test. What works for me is a few minutes of vigorous exercise prior to the draw and soaking my hands in warm water.
I have actually purchased Vitabiotics ultra vitamin D & Vitabiotics ultra vit B complex, & have them here. I read they can be helpful with lifting mood, but never got round to taking them, so I will give that a go starting today. I will look into getting that book too!
I am sorry I was not very clear with my original post Buddy195 but to clarify, I have been on 100mcg of levothyroxine for years, & I had the dosage increased recently with 25mcg, so I am now taking 125mcg.
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