Just to give you a brief history, I was diagnosed with Graces Disease in 2007, I had RAI treatment in 2008. Since then I have had a yearly blood test which have always been within the normal range. I don’t take thyroxine, I’m 67years of age. The symptoms I’ve got now is tiredness, constipation, itchy dry skin I also seen to be stumbling when I walk which has resulted in a fractured shoulder. I don’t know if it’s just an age thing?
My blood result on April 2022 where
TSH 4.2 (0.2-4.0)
T4 14.1 (10.0- 20.0)
Just wondered if anyone could give me any information and advice, having a blood test at the end of September. Thank you
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55lindylou
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25 mcg vit D, and an awful lot of calcium! Do you need calcium? Did they even test it before prescribing this supplement? Calcium supplements are not a good idea unless you absolutely need them because they are badly absorbed and tend to build up in the blood causing problems. Also, taking vit D increases absorption of calcium from food so you could be over-dosing on calcium.
Did they also prescribe vit K2-MK7? You need to take that with vit D to make sure that extra calcium - from food - gets into the teeth and bones and doesn't build up in the arteries and soft tissues. You should also be taking magnesium because vit D and magnesium work together and the vit D won't do much without it.
No they didn’t test my calcium level, they prescribed it when I fractured my shoulder, I have not been prescribed any other supplement to go with it. Thank you for your advise
Calcium won't help a fractured shoulder! Did they check for osteoporosis? Most doctors think calcium is some sort of cure for osteoporosis but it isn't, and can make things worse. If I were you, I'd insist they test calcium straight away.
In any case, taking calcium is not going to help, and could make matters a lot worse. I suggest you buy your own vit D - just vit D - and take it with its co-factors.
Each tablet contains 2.5 grams calcium carbonate (equivalent to 1000 mg or 1 gram of calcium) and 1000 iU colecalciferol (Vitamin D3).
That is a high dose of calcium to be taking daily. Has your doctor ever tested your level of calcium? If you have a good level of calcium already then taking more is not going to strengthen bones (if that is what it was prescribed for), it is actually more likely to end up lining your arteries which is where people really shouldn't have it.
The bones are not just made of calcium carbonate (also known as chalk), and chalk isn't very strong, so why doctors prescribe that and not much else absolutely baffles me. Bones are made of lots of things and hoping to strengthen them with just one of the ingredients isn't helpful.
Every medical professional thinks women need more chalk for their bones - I don't understand why.
The vitamin D3 your Calci-D includes at 1000 iu per tablet is actually a LOW dose for someone with low vitamin D. Vitamin D3 actually encourages the absorption of calcium from the diet.
Ask your doctor to test your calcium levels and then make sure to ask for a copy of the result including reference ranges.
If your diet includes sufficient calcium and your level is good, then I would suggest you take just vitamin D3 bought online, not the tablet your doctor has prescribed.
If your kidneys are functional then I would suggest you take magnesium supplements - magnesium citrate is a popular and cheap(ish) option. (The kidneys excrete excess magnesium via the urine, as long as the kidneys work.)
Note : magnesium citrate is a laxative often used in large quantities to clear people out for colonoscopies. Such high doses are not required for ordinary magnesium supplementation, but it can help to reduce or prevent constipation.
Thank you for that information, no I have never had my Calcium checked. They started me on it after I fractured my shoulder from a fall, and because I am aged 67. That’s what I was told
Low vitamin B12 can cause staggering. There are probably some other nutrients that do the same, possibly because we become weaker generally with thyroid problems and low vitamins and minerals.
Getting B12, folate, vitamin D, and iron/ferritin optimised will help.
Your TSH is suggesting that your thyroid hormone levels are low and they will cause general fatigue and weakness, and increase the risk of staggering, tripping and falling over, as well as many other possible symptoms. However it can be difficult to get a diagnosis of hypothyroidism and this is particularly true once people reach their 60s or older. (I'm in that age group too.)
Fixing low levels of nutrients can improve your health and all of us with thyroid disease have to do that to have any hope of feeling any better. And once nutrient levels have been optimised they need to be maintained for life.
I have Graves Disease and had RAI thyroid ablation in 2005 and immediately prescribed 100 mci understand things g x T4 - thyroid hormone replacement.
As I understand it - after RAI you will ultimately become hypothyroid - quite how long it takes -I presume - depends on the dose of RAI given.
RAI is a toxic substance that slowly burns out the thyroid in situ rather than the NHS proceeding with a thyroidectomy which is a much more expensive option.
After RAI - the HPT axis - the Hypothalamus - Pituitary - Thyroid feedback loop - on which the TSH relies on as being intact and working properly - is broken -
and the TSH is not a reliable measure of anything and you must be dosed and monitored of your Free T3 and Free T4 readings with a view that they are in the ranges and balanced at around a 1/4 ratio T3/T4.
We generally feel best when the T4 is up in the top quadrant of it range as this should convert to a good level of T3 at around a 1/4 ratio - eg - with a T4 at 20/22 and T3 at 5/5.50.
No thyroid hormone replacement works well until your core strength vitamins and minerals are optimal so you also need to get your ferritin, folate, B12 and vitamin D tested and we can advise where these need to be to optimise any thyroid hormone replacement prescribe.
I was originally diagnosed with Graves Disease in 2007, I was prescribed Carbimazole for a year then had the RAI treatment in 2008. I have not been prescribed Thyroxine at all. Thank you
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