peripheral neuropathy

[VeraSimkiss]

Do many people get this symptom with hypothyroidism?

[TiggerMe Ambassador]

Often due to low vitamin levels especially B vits and iron

Though beware pyridoxine form of B6 as this can block uptake, no more than 10mg P-5-P form of B6 daily for any length of time

[Jazzw]

They do if they’ve had it a while untreated or undertreated, because hypothyroidism causes poor gut absorption, which can lead to deficiencies in vitamins and minerals like B12, folate and ferritin.

Have you had blood tests recently?

[SlowDragon Ambassador]

extremely important to regularly test B12, folate, vitamin D and ferritin levels when on levothyroxine

Low vitamin levels are very common on levothyroxine, especially if not on high enough dose

Low B12 very common anyway if over 65

Exactly what vitamin supplements are you taking

When were vitamin levels last tested

How much levothyroxine are you currently taking

Do you always get same brand levothyroxine at each prescription

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)

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

[humanbean]

I took a very high dose B Complex years ago, thinking that many of my symptoms were caused by too little vitamin B6 amongst other B vitamin deficiencies. In fact my peripheral neuropathy did reduce very noticeably after a few weeks and stayed away for a few months.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitam...

I continued taking the high dose B Complex but after a while I developed peripheral neuropathy again.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megav...

Following some research I realised my high dose B Complex had a huge amount of B6 in and it was causing my problems. I stopped taking the B Complex and after some time the neuropathy disappeared again.

I didn't take a B Complex at all for several years after that, but eventually I started taking one again, but at a very much reduced dose. I know that if someone persists in taking high dose B6 after developing peripheral neuropathy the damage can be permanent.

B vitamins are generally water soluble and the kidneys eliminate any excess, but I now know that B6 is an exception to that.

[Star13 in reply to humanbean]

Can you define “high dose” B Complex? What do you advise as a more appropriate dose one to avoid the above?

[humanbean in reply to Star13]

I was taking a B100 product from Holland & Barrett - a place I now avoid. Almost all the ingredients were included in 100mg or 100mcg amounts. It never occurred to me at the time (about 15 years ago) that this is not remotely scientific!

The other thing I didn't know at the time is that good products containing B vitamins should contain the Active B vitamins only rather than the cheaper inactive B vitamins. I don't think this had any bearing on me developing neuropathy, but I'm just mentioning it anyway. It was the sheer size of the doses I was taking that was the problem.

A list of inactive and active B vitamins :

jigsawhealth.com/blogs/news...

I have never bought any of the products being sold on that link - I just like the table at the top of the page.

...

I now take either Thorne Research Basic B or Igennus Super B but I'm sure there are other popular products around that get mentioned on the forum, I just can't remember what they are.

[Cornwaller]

Hypothyroidism does not directly cause peripheral neuropathy.

However b12 deficiency is a very common co morbidity of Hypothyroidism and can directly cause peripheral neuropathy.

Do you have b12 serum results?

Be wary of GP interpretation of total b12 serum results. The correct interpretation (BMA and others) is

< 200 deficiency almost certainly present

200 -350 deficiency may be present use symptoms to diagnose

350 - 500 deficiency unlikely but there are cases of deficiency at these levels.

The above is valid where b12 supplementation has not been undertaken. With recent supplementation blood results are difficult to interpret.

The pernicious anemia (b12 deficiency) Forum on health unlocked is an excellent source of information.

[posthinking01]

As someone who hubby has just been diagnosed with Parkinson's I have been doing a lot of research on neurological issues and have found that Vitamin B12 is absolutely crucial for the neurological system - luckily enough B12 can't be toxic as it is dispersed via the urinary system - B6 you have to be careful with not more than 50 mg I would say but when I take a B complex I am running to the loo passing water all day and I think that is B2 - it doesn't agree with my kidneys - B1 is also being used in neuro symptoms and doesn't seem to have any toxic issues - the lower doses the better really but B12 you can take up to 1,000 ug a day. which can help the thyroid convert T4 to T3.

[humanbean in reply to posthinking01]

If you ever have doctors telling you that high levels of B12 are dangerous, show them this :

perniciousanemia.org/b12/to...

...

Oh, and I disagree with you about taking low dose B1. I take high doses quite often (which for me means 100mg or more per day).

If you want more info on it and why high doses are good for some people, see this website and search for "thiamine" - there are 197 references to it!

hormonesmatter.com/

...

Izabella Wentz (thyroid pharmacist) has recommended taking 600mg of thiamine per day and has taken high doses herself.

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

[BadHare]

I had burning feet & hands until I started supplementing with sublingual (methylcobalamin not cyanocobalamin) B12. It was cheaper to inject than use sublinguals, especially as I found I needed to take far less NDT.

You could try supplementing with a good B12 complex containing folate & methylcobalamin to see if that reduces your symptoms. If they persist try a sublingual form, but make sure you have plenty of folate. There are sprays available as well as lozenges. You might need to try different brands to see which suit you best.

Lots of good advice online re low B12, & on the PA forum.