glucose in urine / thyroxine medication responsible?

[Hamste]

hi there

I have been on thyroxine medication for 20 years and now have glucose in my urine . I have to have a diabetes blood test. Anyone know if this might be to do with the medication as I am not overweight and very active.

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

How much Levo are you taking now, I'm hoping its more than 25mcgs?

You had some very good suggestions here a few years back. Did you ever get your vitamin levels tested?

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

There are many causes of diabetes including genetic. Levothyroxine just replaces what your own body should be producing but if you dont have enough Levo then symptoms do occur.

Do you have a copy of your latest blood results that you can share with us? You are legally entitled to a printed copy of your results, ask at GP reception. In England you can get the NHS app and ask for permission to see your blood results on that by asking at GP’s reception.

[Hamste]

I am on 50mg of Levo per day ; the blood test I am going for to test glucose levels also includes checking my thyroxine level so let’s see!

[Lora7again in reply to Hamste]

Why are you on such a low dose? 50mg is just a starter dose

[Hamste]

I have been on 50 mg per day for about a year and blood tests come back as showing this level is ok : I was on 75mg per day before that

[Lora7again in reply to Hamste]

I am surprised but everyone is different so if you feel well just carry on taking the low dose

[Lora7again in reply to Hamste]

What are the levels that came back? I am interested

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hamste]

and blood tests come back as showing this level is ok

What were actual results

Bloods should be retested 6-8 weeks after each dose change or brand change in levothyroxine

For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 tested

Also both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested at least once to see if your hypothyroidism is autoimmune

Very important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least once year minimum

optimum level vitamins

Vitamin D at least over 80nmol

Serum B12 over 500

Folate towards top of range (top of range usually 20 or 60)

Ferritin at least over 70

[Hamste]

I am going for the blood test today. I found on the higher dose I was always in need of the toilet!

[Lora7again in reply to Hamste]

Have you ever tried NDT? I have taken Thyroid S in the past during a hypo phase It suited me and I never needed to rush to the toilet

Also what brand Levothyroxine are you taking?

[Hamste in reply to Lora7again]

I haven’t tried that but my understanding is that gp’s can’t prescribe that can they?

[Lora7again in reply to Hamste]

No I sourced my own like a lot of members do on this board. I wanted something completely natural just to add a lot of people do fine on Levothyroxine and it is really cheap for pharmacies to purchase NDT is more expensive

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hamste]

You may simply need dose Levo fine tuning

NHS will prescribe T3 alongside levothyroxine, but won’t prescribe NDT

if …..after getting dose Levo optimal and all vitamins to good levels…..if Ft3 remains low in relation to Ft4 at 60-70% through range, then endocrinologist can prescribe small doses of T3 alongside levothyroxine

Graph showing median TSH in healthy population is 1-1.5

web.archive.org/web/2004060...

Comprehensive list of references for needing LOW TSH on levothyroxine

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi...

If symptoms of hypothyroidism persist despite normalisation of TSH, the dose of levothyroxine can be titrated further to place the TSH in the lower part of the reference range or even slightly below (i.e., TSH: 0.1–2.0 mU/L), but avoiding TSH < 0.1 mU/L. Use of alternate day dosing of different levothyroxine strengths may be needed to achieve this (e.g., 100 mcg for 4 days; 125 mcg for 3 days weekly).

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

The optimal daily dose in overt hypothyroidism is 1·5–1·8 μg per kg of bodyweight, rounded to the nearest 25 μg.

[Lora7again]

You might be allergic to one of the fillers in the Levothyroxine. Have you considered that?

Here is a link about side effects it mentions diarrhoea as one

bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/levot...

[Hamste in reply to Lora7again]

Thanks for this link. I have been on Levo for 20 years so think if I was allergic to one of the fillers I would have noticed more side effects by now. It’s a shame they have to put so many ‘fillers’ in this drug!

[Lora7again in reply to Hamste]

They put fillers in all drugs

[SlowDragon Administrator]

suggest you get FULL thyroid and vitamin testing

50mcg is only standard STARTER dose

Approximately how much do you weigh in kilo

High sugar, high cholesterol, and low kidney function all linked to being hypothyroid

which brand of levothyroxine are you taking

Do you always get same brand

What vitamin supplements are you taking

Essential to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12 at least once a year and maintain at good levels by supplementing if necessary

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

Post all about what time of day to test

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

Testing options and includes money off codes for private testing

thyroiduk.org/testing/

Medichecks Thyroid plus BOTH TPO and TG antibodies and vitamins

medichecks.com/products/adv...

Blue Horizon Thyroid Premium Gold includes BOTH TPO and TG antibodies, cortisol and vitamins

bluehorizonbloodtests.co.uk...

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

Only do private testing early Monday or Tuesday morning.

Tips on how to do DIY finger prick test

support.medichecks.com/hc/e...

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

Just testing TSH is completely inadequate, but frequently all GP tests

[Hamste in reply to SlowDragon]

I weigh 57 kg and am 5 foot 7 inches tall. I always have had wockhardt brand constantly for the last five years. I also take vitamin D daily.

Thanks so much for your very comprehensive reply!

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Hamste]

Come back with new post once you get results

Weight suggests you are likely to need something between 75mcg and 90mcg daily

Important to maintain GOOD vitamin levels

Ideally test vitamin D twice year, especially initially

Many members find they need daily vitamin B complex too

[Hamste in reply to SlowDragon]

Thankyou for all your advice !

[klr31]

Do you have Hashimoto's? One autoimmune disease can lead to another. You may be developing type 1 diabetes. You need it checked out.

Karen

[Hamste in reply to klr31]

I have an Under active thyroid gland; is that hashimotos? I have had a blood test for diabetes and am now waiting on the results

[klr31 in reply to Hamste]

It can be but you need a test to see.

[radd]

Hamste

Yes, Levothyroxine up-regulates all aspects of metabolism including glucose clearance. Usually optimising thyroid hormones will rectify an unbalanced glucose metabolism but if a patient is on the verge of diabetes type 2 (high blood glucose levels and slow/blunted insulin response) it can tip you over.

This is one of the reasons why older people have their Levo dose reduced, but of course this risks slowing metabolism in other systems that might not need it. It is a balance between all systems.

Blood glucose problems are common in hypo which induces insulin resistance and decreases the sensitivity of insulin receptors responding to insulin hormone.