Hello everyone 👋🏽✨️I'm so late to the party as I have only just learned about this forum! I've suffered with underactive thyroidism for too many years and everything that comes with it 😮💨
It would be great to know if anyone has managed to lower their Levothyroxine intake, I'm currently on 200 mcg daily and want to improve what I can (in an ideal world I wouldn't want to take any). I feel that between the 20 years being on Levo and my new non alcoholic fatty liver diagnosis I'm in a rut. The Levo and my Type 1 diabetes are the cause of my NAFLD and well I don't know where to go from here guys... feeling hopeful, thank you 😊
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AIP_123
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To be honest, it's a number of things that have accumulated, brain fog, lethargy (I'm a keen gym goer but just push through the fatigue), hair loss to name a few. I guess I want to see if I can lower my Levo dose and if there's more natural ways that can help? Xx
Hi, this is part of my answer to someone else I've just replied to who has nafld. I don't have diabetes type 1 so not sure how that plays out with everything. This is just me take.
I've had fatty liver disease. I likely had it before I was diagnosed with thyroid issues as I was already showing raised ALT'S. It took years to get diagnosed with thyroid issues!
I feel that the fatty liver played a part in all my iffy bloods, high/ low cholesterols, high crp, low folate, low GFR and likely insulin resistant.
This last 2.5 years my ALT'S have been coming down and been in range for over a year.
All my bloods are normal now and very slowly I've been able to lose weight over the last 2 years.
This has been through a diet of increasing calories, high protein, healthy fats and carbs, plenty of water, exercise of weight training and walking and minimal alcohol. I'm building up my fitness very slowly as i wasn't fit and didn't have much energy.
I can't say 100% I've reversed the fatty liver without a ultrasound or fibro scan but my endo thinks I have. My health is so much better due to these changes.
First step is to get FULL thyroid and vitamin testing done ……timing is important
VERY important to test TSH, Ft4 and Ft3 together
And frequently brand of levothyroxine is important too
which brand of levothyroxine are you taking
Type one diabetes is autoimmune immune
Therefore virtually guaranteed your hypothyroidism is autoimmune
EXACTLY what vitamin supplements are you taking
Lower vitamin levels more common as we get older
For good conversion of Ft4 (levothyroxine) to Ft3 (active hormone) we must maintain GOOD vitamin levels
Hair loss frequently low iron/ferritin
Are you on gluten free and/or dairy free diet
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested
Very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least once year minimum
Low vitamin levels are extremely common when hypothyroid, especially with autoimmune thyroid disease
Also both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once to see if your hypothyroidism is autoimmune
About 90% of primary hypothyroidism is autoimmune thyroid disease, usually diagnosed by high TPO and/or high TG thyroid antibodies
Autoimmune thyroid disease with goitre is Hashimoto’s
Autoimmune thyroid disease without goitre is Ord’s thyroiditis.
Both are autoimmune and generally called Hashimoto’s.
Significant minority of Hashimoto’s patients only have high TG antibodies (thyroglobulin)
NHS only tests TG antibodies if TPO are high
20% of autoimmune thyroid patients never have high thyroid antibodies and ultrasound scan of thyroid can get diagnosis
In U.K. medics hardly ever refer to autoimmune thyroid disease as Hashimoto’s (or Ord’s thyroiditis)
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)
Private tests are available as NHS currently rarely tests Ft3 or all relevant vitamins
If you normally take levothyroxine at bedtime/in night ...adjust timings as follows prior to blood test
If testing Monday morning, delay Saturday evening dose levothyroxine until Sunday morning. Delay Sunday evening dose levothyroxine until after blood test on Monday morning. Take Monday evening dose levothyroxine as per normal
Your symptoms suggest undermedication....or more likely wrong medication
Do you know how well you convert T4 toT3?
You say you are taking 200mcg T4 which is a fairly big dose and makes me wonder if you are having to take this amount to achieve a workable (but not adequate) level of T3, due to poor conversion.
Do you have any test results giving both FT4 and FT3 levels ,if so, a high FT4 with a relatively low FT3 indicates poor conversion and the need to add a little T3
If conversion is poor you will need to reduce levo and add T3
Suggest you have a full thyroid test as SlowDragon describes above, post the results and we can then see what is going on
Welcome.Do you have any thyroid blood test results?
That really helps the wise ones on here to help understand what is going on
If you thyroid has "packed up" I think it is rare it would start working again and let you get off T4/levo. That might be a separate new question to the group.
The wise group on here will help.
It is a busy forum, repost if you are not getting answers as your post might get missed.
Hair loss can be due to low iron, amongst other things, so best to check those. Often hypothyroid sufferers have low vitamins, these in particular, and they aid absorption.
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*New here* My T3 never budges; significant symptoms persist
HELP!!! DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO NOW!! NEW TO T3!
New to Levo - Does anyone know if you can also take - Tramadol 50-100mg daily (when needed) and St Johns Wort with Levothyroxine please? 
I'm new here...
New here
