I posted my bloods and symptoms a while back and said I was going to get my Thyroid bloods done privately. Well I finally did and the results are attached.
My GP is unconcerned and my TSH has elevated from my previous blood test in May from 1.99 to 2.71, however my TPO has reduced a bit from 324 to 267 as I’ve been taking supplements of Selenium, Zinc, Methyl B12, ACV, Berberine, as I’m also on Metformin for Type 2 Diabetes and my dose has just been increased to 1000mg per day. The GP wants to see me in 3 months to check my blood sugars.
I’m exhausted, I’m dizzy, have puffy itchy eyes, dry skin, intolerance to cold, constipation, heavy legs, tingling toes and arms, . I’ve no idea what diet to follow, I try and reduce my gluten but it’s in everything! As for dairy, as I have to watch my blood sugars I have relied on cheese as a snack so I’ve no idea where to start. I’ve got a million books on reversing diabetes, intermittent fasting, low GI etc I’ve never managed to read as I find it all so overwhelming and there’s so much conflicting advice. I joined a gym but just want to nap and have no energy.
Really struggling to know what to do now. I want to hire a professional functional Health specialist but not sure what to focus on first. The Type 2 Diabetes I believe is as a result of having undiagnosed Hashimotos for years. I’ve had all the hypothyroid symptoms since I had my son 10 years ago! I follow Isabella Wentz and Dr Sarah Myhill which are helping in terms of research and supplements but I need an eating plan, meal prep advice, recipes and somebody to check in with and monitor my levels. I work full time too so it’s a lot to take on.
Any advice on where I can go from here would be appreciated.
Sorry for the long post. Look forward to hearing from you! Thanks x
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KateJS
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Well, you have Hashi's for certain, but you aren't hypo yet. Your thyroid is struggling and your Frees are low, but not low enough to interest a doctor. And they're not at all interested in antibodies because they don't really know what they are.
my TPO has reduced a bit from 324 to 267 as I’ve been taking supplements of Selenium, Zinc, Methyl B12, ACV, Berberine
I very much doubt there's any connection. Antibodies fluctuate all the time, and can easily rise again. Besides, it doesn't mean anything. Antibodies are not any sort of gauge as to the severity - or otherwise - of the disease. Even if, by some miracle, you got rid of all of them, you would still have Hashi's, and your thyroid would still be slowly destroyed.
Antibodies have a job to do. Basically, during and after an immune system on your thyroid, they come along and clean up the mess left in the blood - i.e. traces of TPO and Tg in the blood, where they shouldn't be. So, that's when they're highest. Once that is done, they reduce in number again. I wouldn't pay them any attention, if I were you.
Thanks for your replies. I followed all advice on here and have all my bloods done at 9am, fasting. I’ve only been on Metformin for 3 months, before that Linagliptin for 6 months. Only had high blood sugars this last year. Not on any thyroid meds. Do I need to be? GP won’t refer me to an endocrinologist either.
I’m sure I’ve shared my most recent bloods in previous posts… see attached.
Still looking for recommendations for Functional Health specialists too if anyone can recommend someone to help with the nutritional and and supplements elements ?
I feel like I’ve come to a dead end re my GP but still don’t feel well and it’s affecting my daily life 😔
I can’t seem to post more than one image so will share all my recent tests separately
Ask GP to to recheck TSH in 3 months time .. to see if there is a continuous rising trend . They should be willing to keep an annual check on TSH due to you having positive Thyroid Peroxidase antibodies (TPOab).
if NHS don't have a record of your positive TPOab , show them this private result .
NHS guidelines are a bit catch 22 ... they don't tell GP's to check TPOab unless TSH is over range .... but they don't tell them to keep an eye on TSH annually to check for developing hypothyroidism unless they have positive TPOab
But if you show them private evidence of positive TPOab they can't say they don't know you are at increaed risk of becoming hypothyroid in future,, so it's worth pushing them to do their own TPOab if they dispute the private TPOab results.
the rise in your TSH does fit with developing hypothyroidism .. so one way or another keep an eye on it every few months , and as soon as either TSH goes over range or fT4 goes under range . start pushing GP for trial of levo ..... they will need a 2nd over range TSH test to confirm it's not just a one off high TSH before they can prescribe .. but if they have a clear record of a rising trend in TSH and also a record of positive TPOab , this helps them have confidence to prescribe when TSH is not much over range.
re. the antibodies.. they indicate you have autoimmune thyroid disease .. they wil help you get a prescription of levo sooner than if you didn't have any .
if you got the TPOab to go down to within normal levels, it might mean your thyroid hadn't been attacked recently , but that wouldn't do anything to fix the bits of your thyroid that have already been damaged by your immune system ( it's unlikely the TPOab will ever go down to within normal range ~ people with significantly over range TPOab will usually be over range forever to some degree or other, the amount of TPOab will vary , and will usually go lower over a very long time, but they'll usually stay over range )
TPOab themselves are not what attack and damage the thyroid gland in autoimmune thyroid disease ....... it is infiltrated by lymphocytes ,and they cause it to become fibrosed .. this results in some thyroid peroxidase spilling from the damaged thyroid , and THEN the thyroid peroxidase antibodies appear and fasten onto that spilled thyroid peroxidase , like labels saying "clean this up , it shouldn't be here"
pragmatically , by the time you have enough damage to your thyroid to get symptoms of hypothyroidism , it doesn't matter if you manage to stop any further autoimmune damage happening to it .. because you can't undo the damage already done to the thyroid .... if you need thyroid hormone replacement to fix those symptoms , you would still need it even if you somehow managed to halt the autoimmune process so that the thyroid was never damaged again .
One of the things you really wanted was dietary advice, and another was a recommendation for professional help. I haven’t seen many posts on here about either, but to increase the chances of replies along these lines I would write a new post with a heading something along the lines of “diabetic/hashi dietary advice”.
You wouldn’t have to repeat everything from this post if you didn’t want to; some people are very good at looking at your previous post before replying, (although others won’t.)
I hope you find some good advice. Have you tried diabetic forums/Facebook groups?
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