I have been on the same dose of Levothyroxine for about 13 months (212.5mcg) and seem to be doing ok thyroid wise.
However, I have had a fungal infection in my nails and excessive gas for as long as I can remember, and I get recurring fungal infections on my face, scalp, back, chest and feet. Last year my gastroenterologist prescribed VSL#3 (a probiotic) for the gas and within 2 days of taking it my tongue became sore, inflamed and swollen. My gp advised that this would pass so I persisted. Then 3 months later I got a sore throat. My gp again advised that this would pass so I continued for another 6 months but neither my tongue or throat improved. I stopped the VSL#3 at the end of November and my tongue started to improve the very next day; my throat on the other hand has got worse. At times I have found it difficult to catch my breath, so my GP prescribed asthma inhalers - they haven’t helped.
In December I spoke to a lovely lady in my local health shop who recommended trying 2g of vitamin c as a pick me up, and she also advised that it would clear my gut of bad bacteria as that may be the root of the problem. I duly followed the advice and within days my tongue was sore again, so I stopped taking it. Then when I was out shopping I saw some Yakult on the shelf and thought I’d take it as a little experiment - my tongue flared up the next day.
I was tested for h pylori, which was negative, and now my GP wants to put me on a PPI.
My own belief is that I have SIFO but I have no idea how to get that tested or whether that matches my symptoms, especially the reaction to probiotics.
If anyone could shed any light on what might be going on it would be much appreciated.
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BreifneKing
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What are your most recent thyroid and vitamin results
What vitamin supplements are you taking
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)
Testing options and includes money off codes for private testing
In all the remedies/meds you say you've tried, I don't see mention of any actual systemic typical fungal treatments, such as fluconazole. Or have I missed that?
oops, yes I tried terbinafine for almost 2 weeks but couldn’t tolerate the side effects - dizziness, fatigue, headache and nausea - so I was switched to itraconazole which I took as a pulse dose for 4 months - 1 week on, 3 weeks off (from June onwards) - as it was easier to manage 1 week of side effects at a time rather than continuous side effects.
Fungal infections (e.g. Candida) can happen when thyroid hormones are too low. Once they take hold, they can be difficult to control, even with optimal thyroid levels etc. This is something that many thyroid (and non-thyroid) people have to deal with that the medical profession don't understand and frequently deny.
Completely agree with RA. I had years of gut candida issues but I think it systemic as always suffered from fungal areas in between my toes although they weren't itchy as in athletes foot.
However, once optimally medicated on thyroid meds, this all disappeared along with many other mystifying ailments, and have never com back.
What a shame you couldn't tolerate VSL#3 as they are good. I've paid a small fortune for probiotics in my time which I've found helpful. Maybe you could try an individual as opposed to a combo? The other thing I found helped to an extent was to put tea tree oil on the fugal infection.
I have posted my thyroid results below and they suggest I am (numerically) ‘optimally medicated’ - what do you think?
Over the years I have tried individual and combo probiotics but they have all caused issues - typically a persistent headache, head pressure and fatigue. VSL#3 didn’t cause any of these issues, and actually seemed to help my symptoms, but my tongue was so sore and swollen that it really affected my speech. I’m guessing it was just an autoimmune response??
Yes, numbers look good but if you remain symptomatic this only indicates you have enough ‘frees’ in the bloods stream so transporters are working well but the rest of the journey is not.
For wellbeing those ‘frees’ have to become active by crossing the cell membrane through transporters isoforms and T3 acting on the nuclear receptors. Within the cells FT3 and FT4 are regulated by the three deiodinase enzymes (D1, D2, D3) and the removal of specific iodine atoms.
These actions are all nutrient dependant and will not work well with deficiencies. Hence the forums constant encouragement of adequate iron, Vit B’s, Vit D. Other essentials are selenium and zinc but also most of the minerals in minute quantities. This is why a good diet and a healthy life style is so important to get meds working as they should.
If you have candida or SIBO or any other condition that leads to chronic inflammation, these would also be inhibitory factors of good thyroid hormone function. Why don't you try an anti-candida diet combined with your Biocare Eradicidin Forte and say, a probiotic such as Saccharomyces Boulardii which is great for GI tract disorders. It you want stronger I have used the Biocidin protocol twice, although I fear you may need help from your doctor if the condition is deep rooted.
I had poor nails which looked fungal and peeled away ( no other skin rashes) and a sore tongue and throat. I also had some bleeding gums. My folate level was very low and all these symptoms have resolved with folate.
I would suggest it is worth testing iron, B12, folate and vit D if you haven’t don’t it recently.
Vitamin D - 73.4 nmol/L (> 49.9) - I take 4000iu daily.
B12 - 777 ng/L (187 - 883)
Folate -14.2 ug/L (3.1 - 20.5)
Ferritin - 77 ng/ml (22 - 501) - I also have haemochromatosis but actually have difficulty raising my ferritin level. This is the highest it has been since 2022 and my GP is rather baffled by it.
I too have haemochromatosis and ferritin levels that don't go over-range. In this instance the number to assess is the 'transferrin saturation %' which will likely be raised. Mine goes up to 99% sometimes 😳. I reduce by having a ferritin maintenance goal of 50 which of course if far too low for the majority on this forum. Are you bled?
Hi, yes I donate every 4 months and also have the same issue with my TS%.
I also aim for ferritin to be 50+ but there have been times when a single donation has lowered it from around 100 to the low 20s and it takes ages to recover.
Fungal infection is a sign of low immunity. Thyroid issues can lead to low vitamin levels. You should get your vitamin levels checked, especially folate and B12. If you find they are on somewhat lower side, you should take some supplements.
I get fungal infection when I am low on B12 but it resolves when my B12 is high.
Are you on any kind of B12 supplementation(injection/tablets)? That can artificially boost the serum B12 level while the active B12 and what the body gets can still be low.
If you are not taking any B12 supplementation, then it is highly unlikely to be a B12 problem with this level of serum B12 (there are some rare exceptions that we should not be too much concerned about).
I understand this has 400mcg of methylcobalamin. This will certainly boost your serum B12 levels without necessarily giving you enough active B12. A lot of B12 in the blood is inactive and when we supplement, the B12 in the blood increases temporarily while the bodily stores may still be low.
Apart from these tablets, you can try a monthly shot of B12 and this may help improve your active B12 levels. Since you don't have any overt serious B12 symptoms, this will probably be sufficient for you.
You can also get an MMA or homocysteine test that can tell you if you have a functional B12 deficiency.
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