I have been taking levothyroxine for 20 years now. Currently on alternating 100mg and 125mg every other day.
I have continued to have symptoms which have been put down to other conditions such as anxiety and depression. Currently on 100mg of sertraline.
I keep going for months till I get overwhelmed with feeling that how I feel just can’t be right and go back to GP who often adjusts my dose slightly. Early this year they have now referred me to the CFS clinic as my thyroid labs are ‘normal’ I am still convinced it’s to do with my thyroid.
I didn’t question it for years as my Mum and Nana have autoimmune hypothyroidism and seem to think that if you take Levo you’ll be fine. But I’ve just read Stop the Thyroid Madness and done some online research and am now questioning wether changing some things could help.
I have attached my most recent results below- since these I am having B12 injections and taking vitamin D daily. I feel a bit better straight after injection but most of the time I feel utterly exhausted and no brain power whatsoever.
It might be worth doing more up to date tests as these are now 4 months old.
Are you taking your Sertraline well away from your Levo? Opposite ends of the day is probably best. It's often necessary to increase Levo dose when taking Sertraline.
Did you do your test as we advise:
* No later than 9am
* Nothing to eat or drink except water before test (some foods and drinks can affect TSH)
* Last dose of Levo 24 hours before test
* No biotin, B Complex or any supplement containing biotin for 3-7 days before test
Comments below based on test being done as above.
TSH- 3.17 Range - 0.270-4.2
FT3- 3.6 Range-3.1-6.8
FT4- 14.7 Range- 12-27 (should this range be 12-22?)
These results show that you are undermedicated and need an increase in your dose of Levo. TSH is too high, most people on Levo are best when TSH is 1 or below. FT3 is close to the bottom of it's range and FT4 is very low, most people are best when they are in the upper part of their ranges.
You should request GP to increase your dose, an extra 25mcg daily now and retest in 6-8 weeks. Check out this post, take what information you need to show your GP that your TSH should be much lower:
As your hypothyroidism is autoimmune, have you tried a gluten free diet, it helps some people with Hashi's.
What supplements, and dose, are you taking?
Vit D-42nmol/L (low) = 16.8ng/ml
What dose of D3 are you taking? This result suggests you should be taking 4,900iu (nearest to buy is 5,000iu). Also important cofactors magnesium and Vit K2-MK7 should be taken when supplementing with D3, do you take these?
See Vit D Council's website to see recommendations for dose to raise your lelvel from 16.8ng/ml to their recommended level of 50ng/ml (125nmol/L):
Presumably unit of measurement is pmol/L, which equates to 321pg/ml.
According to an extract from the book, "Could it be B12?" by Sally M. Pacholok:
"We believe that the 'normal' serum B12 threshold needs to be raised from 200 pg/ml to at least 450 pg/ml because deficiencies begin to appear in the cerebrospinal fluid below 550".
"For brain and nervous system health and prevention of disease in older adults, serum B12 levels should be maintained near or above 1000 pg/ml."
You may want to consider supplementing with B12 sublingual methylcobalamin, along with a good quality B Complex to keep all B vitamins balanced. One bottle of B12 might be enough to raise your level to 550pg/ml and then continue with just the B Complex.
Folate- 14.3 Range- 8.83-60.8
This is very low, folate is recommended to be at least half way through range. A good quality B Complex will help raise your level. Consider these good quality brands
Thorne Basic B
Vitablossom Liposomal B Complex (from hempoutlet.co.uk)
Pink Tribe Liposomal B Complex (from Amazon)
Yipmai Liposomal B Complex (from Amazon when it's in stock)
When taking B Complex this should be left off for 3-7 days before any blood tests as it can give false results due to the biotin it contains.
Ferritin- 84 Range - 13-150
Not too bad as long as there is no inflammation. Did you have CRP tested, that is an inflammation marker.
allimac_ccc Following these recommendations on vitamin supplements has made an astounishing difference on how I feel. My vit D and B12 levels were very similar to yours at the beginning of this year. I now supplement. I sleep better. Have loads more energy. Can actually keep a normal pace while walking. Feel joy. Feel less irritated. Stopped any constipation. My nails are stronger. Don’t feel overwhelmed as easily. And my brain actually seems to work again. It’s well worth looking into to see if this could help you, too.
so nice to hear this- it gives me hope that I don’t have to feel this way. I am looking into following all the above recommendations and hope I get some of the results you have!
Thanks so much for such an in depth reply- I really appreciate it.
I will try to get a new set of labs and follow those guidelines and will post them.
I take my sertraline and Vit d at the end of the day and my levothyroxine in the morning .
I will ask my GP to increase my dose (have an appointment in a week or so) thanks for the info hopefully that will help convince them to up my dose.
I have gone gluten free since these results as they confirmed Hashimotos and I do feel better GF but it’s not life changing yet. Maybe it takes longer to repair from years of gluten?
The only supplement I take is Vit D - I take 4000iu but it doesn’t contain K2-MK7 so I have looked into that since you suggested it and will change to one that does and will add a magnesium as well.
I looked at the 5000iu as suggested and they all seem to say you can only take these every 5 days?
I am having B12 injections every two weeks but have now on your recommendation looked at a B- Complex and will start that. Thanks for all the recommendations
I have never had CRP checked, not really sure what that is? But I will ask for it this time
Ignore the suggestion that you can only take 1 x 5,000iu D3 every 5 days, we need what we need. My maintenance dose to keep between 100-150nmol is 5,000iu daily and I've been taking that for years.
CRP = C Reactive Protein which is an inflammation marker. If this is raised it shows inflammation amd ferritin rises with inflammation so if CRP is also tested with ferritin and CRP is low you'll know the ferritin result is a true level.
I’d feel awful with those results too. Well done reading up and getting sorted yourself. Just goes to show how a ‘normal range’ result is meaningless when compared to symptoms.
ooh not normal labs at all.. those might be normal for someone not taking thyroid meds.. for someone taking thyroid meds your tsh would be expected to be 1 or lower as it shouldn’t need to be producing much tsh at all. Get a dose increase and I’m sure you’ll start feeling better. Trust your symptoms to tell you worthy you’re taking enough meds really.
Thanks, that is very reassuring that you agree with me. Nice to know under 1 is where to aim for . I will ask for an increase next week when I see the GP.
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Blood tests 'normal' but still feeling awful
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Reducing Levothyroxine and now feel awful - bloods are all normal
