Can Low Iron levels be caused by under medicati... - Thyroid UK

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Can Low Iron levels be caused by under medication for hypothyroidism

RosamundG profile image
8 Replies

I recently had a blood test for a suspected DVT which turned out to be negative but the hospital rang and left a message on my phone to say that they had found that my iron levels were low and I should see my GP asap which of course I did. The GP thought the levels were due to a internal bleeding and insisted I had a bowel cancer test before she would prescribe Iron tablets and it was clear and I was given a prescription for ferrous sulphate. I was sent to have a chest x-ray which was also clear.

GP also wanted me to have a camera down my throat (I’ve forgotten the technical term) to check on whether I was bleeding from my stomach which I’ve cancelled because I have a chest infection.

Knowing how little hypothyroidism is understood by GPs my question is could low iron levels be down to an under-medication.

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RosamundG profile image
RosamundG
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8 Replies
Jaydee1507 profile image
Jaydee1507Administrator

Absolutely low iron and other vitamins can be caused by low thyroid levels even in range results.

We get low stomach acid which means we don;t absorb vitamins well from our food. You can be eating the best diet yet still get low vitamin levels.

SlowDragon gave you a very comprehensive reply a few months back with recommendations. healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

What were your latest thyroid results?

Have you also had tests for folate, B12 & D3?

RosamundG profile image
RosamundG in reply toJaydee1507

Thank you for the reminder — I had forgotten all about that post and SlowDragon’s reply! Will do everything she suggests and report back.

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator

Serum TSH level 0.09 -- flagged up as abnormal

Serum free T4 level 17.7 -- flagged up as normal

But she's reduced the dose of my T4 from 100 mcg to 75 and kept the Liothyronine as is which I think is 20

No range on Ft4 and obviously essential to test Ft3

GP reduced dose (quite likely inappropriately) 2 months ago

That was massive dose reduction in levothyroxine

If you did need dose reduction (unlikely) then changing to 100mcg 4 days and 87.5mcg 3 days would be a realistic reduction

Very likely to have below range Ft4 at retest

strongly recommend getting FULL thyroid retest and vitamins too if not tested last time

Recommended that all thyroid blood tests early morning, ideally just before 9am, only drink water between waking and test and last dose levothyroxine 24 hours before test

This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip)

On T3 - day before test split T3 as 2 or 3 smaller doses spread through the day with last dose 8-12 hours before test

Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins

List of private testing options and money off codes

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Medichecks Thyroid plus antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes antibodies, cortisol and vitamins

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

Only do private testing early Monday or Tuesday morning.

Link about thyroid blood tests

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Link about Hashimoto’s

thyroiduk.org/hypothyroid-b...

Symptoms of hypothyroidism

thyroiduk.org/wp-content/up...

Tips on how to do DIY finger prick test

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Medichecks and BH also offer private blood draw at clinic near you, or private nurse to your own home…..for an extra fee

Just TSH, Ft4 and Ft3 test - £32

monitormyhealth.org.uk/thyr...

10% off code here

thyroiduk.org/getting-a-dia...

Monitor My Health also now offer thyroid and vitamin testing, plus cholesterol and HBA1C for £65

(Doesn’t include thyroid antibodies)

monitormyhealth.org.uk/full...

it’s arguable about whether low iron levels cause hypothyroidism or hypothyroidism causes low iron levels.

I suppose all we need to know is that we need iron levels to be optimal to achieve optimal thyroid levels

SlowDragon profile image
SlowDragonAdministrator in reply to

this research suggests iron deficiency can increase risk of developing autoimmune thyroid disease

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Iron deficiency (ID) can reduce the activities of thyroid peroxidase and 5′-deiodinase, inhibit binding of triiodothyronine to its nuclear receptor, and cause slower utilization of T3 from the serum pool. Moreover, ID can disturb the functioning of the immune system, increasing the risk of autoimmune disorders

We see many vegetarians and vegans on here with autoimmune thyroid disease

Be interesting research to ask all autoimmune hypothyroid patients if they are (or were) vegetarian or vegan and wether this would be higher % than vegetarians/vegans in overall population

in reply toSlowDragon

Thanks for that information. It would indeed be interesting to know how many AI hypothyroids were vegetarian.

Perhaps we could have a poll 🙈

Regenallotment profile image
RegenallotmentAmbassador in reply to

I was going to say the same thing, since getting my ferritin up my need for replacement appears (albeit possibly temporarily) to have gone down. 🤷🏽‍♀️

in reply toRegenallotment

Good to hear that 😉

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