So I'm currently on 150mcg of levo and 30mcg T3 and my latest results were still only 65% and 62% respectively.
I've just started HRT so I may well continue to see improvements but I'm curious about my dosing. I'm 6'1" and roughly 65kg so I'm on the cusp of underweight.
I know we need what we need and I guess this more a theoretical question but I'm wondering if there is an absorption issue perhaps?
My gut health is almost certainly shoddy; I was born 2.5 months early and I had Necrotising enterocolitis a few days after I was born and undoubtedly pumped full of antibiotics. I was then formula fed so any good gut health I may have had was decimated and never replaced. My diet wasn't veg heavy growing up and is sporadic now.
I AM gluten free though.
I'm happy to make dietary adjustments as necessary and experiment but I'd love just to chew the cud here and expand my knowledge a little bit.
Witchy 🧹
Edit: TiggerMe did you have something a while ago about becoming lactose intolerant on levo? 🤔
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Had to share this video - it is doing the rounds and I have to say it’s good. Worth a watch and the take home message is cookie cutter medicine doesn’t work. I think those who land here are already on page, but the understanding of this statement only grows the more we read.
How are you feeling? The blood work is meaningless without considering your symptoms or lack thereof.
You are right to discuss your early life - it will undoubtedly have impacted you.
“My gut health is almost certainly shoddy; I was born 2.5 months early and I had Necrotising enterocolitis a few days after I was born and undoubtedly pumped full of antibiotics.”
You sound insightful as to your own body. We should all be, after all we are the ones who inhabit it.
A balanced diet is beneficial, but what is balanced for one may not be for another. I would expect you will need to supplement to get and keep nutrients (vits and minerals) well in the range. SlowDragon has made many replies on this and you can see her profile if you use the search function. It is amazing what is out there on the forum. SeasideSusie was also an amazing contributor in this subject and her profile has been memorialised to keep her wisdom accessible.
Us hypos often have low stomach acid so this can impact absorption as well, causing vitamin and mineral deficiency.
Don’t know if you have ever used them but PPI’s prescribed for heartburn can make things worse. High and low stomach acid can both present as heartburn, but the underlying mechanisms that cause this are different.
I noted results from a while back and you did seem to be low in range for some vitamins and minerals. Have you had an iron panel done at all? I’m trying to rack my brains- there is someone quite knowledgeable on iron 🤔 radd ! Are you about at all? If not you can access radd’s profile as mentioned before.
Certainly if you focus on optimising your vitamins and minerals this will help utilisation and conversion of thyroid hormones. Very much a functional approach 😊👍
But I say again- how do you feel? I read somewhere HRT affects thyroid hormones too so it might pay to settle on this treatment before tweaking anything else. Change one variable at a time then you will know what is doing what.
Chouchou1234 . This is a really good video about treating the whole person. Have a calm Christmas and don’t worry. Fab advice from the others my goodness - a dream post. 🤗♥️🎄🎅
Hey Witchy, yep I found taking Levo made me dairy intolerant can't cope with the casein (protein) either 😕.... It's a known thing that taking Levo orally can switch off the mechanism that triggers lactase production... mind you I can't tolerate nightshades, beans, pulses and high histamine foods either 🙃 all since starting Levo
Though having done a biome test it turns out my gut is pretty healthy in the top 75% 🤷♀️ brought up on home cooked and not really a processed fan, just stick with what I can tolerate now and comfort myself that it's mostly organic
I have been taking TUDCA to aid bile production which I think I shall stick with
If your gut health is poor, then there are many diets out there to mend the gut. I was very ill 6 years ago when diagnosed with hashimotos. I spent many months studying root causes and I came across the autoimmune protocol diet. This diet works on mending the gut. It's tough but i went cold turkey. All or nothing. I was on it for 10 months and it changed my life
There was someone on here a few weeks ago who highlighted an Australian doctor’s research on gut health. I thought I would give it a go, along with stuff I had already tried and tested and found good. The research kind of threw a lot of ‘accepted’ science into the wind. One of the main issues I found interesting and definitely against what is considered ‘common knowledge’ a la constipation. Less Fluid intake!! I wish I could acknowledge (and find) this information again because it’s made a huge difference to me. My constipation has improved immeasurably and dare I say my well being.
I was born like the birth described in ‘The Citadel’. My Mother had a heart attack whilst in labour. I was thrust aside whilst medical staff worked on her. No breastfeeding for me - I kind of got the impression from my Mother it was disgusting and so I made sure to breastfeed my children. The NHS was brought about to put ‘births’ right at the top of the agenda after the losses of the war. It seems to me it’s the only time in the history of healthcare that women were considered a priority but really it was for future generations, not truly for ourselves.
I think it’s about time all this changed and we (at least) take our health (and history) seriously. I think what you say is hugely important.
AND if the person who put up that Ozzie doctor’s research into gut health sees this, please make contact again.
There was a period in time where we thought we knew everything and that we could improve on breast milk. 🙄 Formula was pushed hard as the 'correct' way to feed a baby.
I'd love to know the impact on our collective gut health. Anecdotally, I didn't breastfeed my first. I was given zero support and didn't manage it. She is the world's fussiest eater.
I breastfed my son for 2.5 years and he eats anything and everything. 🤷🏻♀️
Yes it seems it’s very much a case of us understanding the ‘clues’ and following our instincts, asking questions, observing and changing our thinking on the basis of experience. Whoops! Maybe doctors could learn a thing or two like that, or maybe as soon as they get out of medical school many of them just want to shelve ‘all that learning’. They have had enough and/or they have learned the arrogance many seem to use to get by. It’s not an attitude I am familiar with (even being hypo) I always come back to learning, no matter what.
Hrt reduced available T4 and T3 because it increases thyroid binding globulin leaving less free hormone available. Be guided by symptoms but it’s likely you may need to increase your thyroid meds.
Hey Popscicle, this only happens when hrt is in the form of a pill and has to go through liver and that's where it increases globulin. I think Witching is using transdermal, which doesn't do it (at least according to my gyno, I'm about to stick one too in a few days 😀).
Have you checked for SIBO Witchy? Research and my endo say that 50% of hypo patients have SIBO therefore reduced absorption and conversion. It also affects your iron or folate sometimes.
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Iron dosage question?
PTU dosage question
Follow up question to high antibiodies
Low or high stomach acid? this is the question! 
Question about starting dosage of LEVO
