Hi everyone, I haven't posted in a while as I've been really busy and had a lot going on.
I just got my medichecks results today and wondered how everything is looking?
Im supplementing 1000iu vit D, 500mg vitamin C, 500mg b12, 1 igennus super b complex and one sachet of spatone iron daily. (I stopped supplementing b12 and b complex for one week before test)
It's interesting to me that my TPA Antibodies have fallen drastically. They were off the chart at over 1000
The doctor who commenting on my results says everything is normal bar my folate being on the lower end and to eat more folate rich foods.
My TSH last check was 0.97 so seems to have risen. But my FT4 is on the upper level. Would an increase be beneficial?
Thanks
Diane π
P.s All my previous results are on my profile
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Diane17884
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No, an increase in levo would not be beneficial. It would decrease your conversion - which is already poor. What you need is some T3 added to your levo.
If the Medichecks 'doctor' thinks those levels are good, he should be shot! Your TSH is too high, for a start. And, it doesn't matter if your antibodies have decreased, you still have Hashi's and they are still way over-range.
Your vit d is a little low, too. It should be up around 100. And your ferritin could be higher.
Just goes to show what a waste of time those Medicheck 'doctor's' comments are.
Thank you for your reply. Could you explain to me how my conversion is poor? I'd like to be able to articulate this to the doctor and unfortunately it's an area I don't know much about x
Do you mean how I know that your conversion is poor? By comparing the FT4 with the FT3. They should both be about the same percentage through their ranges - FT3 perhaps slightly lower than the FT4. But, your FT4 is right up the top of the range, and the FT3 is only just mid-range. So, that is not right.
And, if your FT4 goes any higher, the T4 will start to convert to more rT3 (inert) than T3 (active), so your FT3 level would go down rather than up. So, increasing your levo is not a solution.
Why your conversion is poor is anybody's guess. Could be low nutrients - have you had your vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin tested? It could be insufficient calories in your diet, or an infection, or high cortisol, or just because you're Hashi's, or any one of a lot of other things. So, fixing it is not often an option. To get well, you need T3.
I still feel symptomatic. Altho a million times better than before diagnosis. But still have fatigue, achy/stiff muscles. Weakness/no stamina. Internal and external trembling, anxiety and my hair loss is horrendous.
I take my levo at night time so they're was around 12hrs between.
That's a great idea about the b12 I will do that immediately. And will also increase my vit D.
No I don't have a list, who's dionne and where do I get her email? Would I need to pay to see a specialist?
So your FT4 is not as high as it looks in this test, as you only left 12 hours between last dose and blood test
Therefore you can probably take another increase in Levothyroxine
Ask GP to increase dose of Levothyroxine, initially by 12.5mcg. Retesting 6 -8 weeks later
As you normally take Levo at night. If, for example doing test Monday morning. Saturday dose of Levothyroxine delay until Sunday morning. Then Sunday evening dose, take immediately after doing blood test Monday morning. You can still take Monday evening dose as per normal.
Likely you will need to increase again to 125mcg
Improving vitamins will help too
If GP is difficult about dose increase use this
New NHS England Liothyronine guidelines November 2018 clearly state on pages 8 & 12 that TSH should be under 1.5 when on just Levothyroxine to be adequately treated
Dr Toft, past president of the British Thyroid Association and leading endocrinologist, states in Pulse Magazine,
"The appropriate dose of levothyroxine is that which restores euthyroidism and serum TSH to the lower part of the reference range - 0.2-0.5mU/l.
In this case, free thyroxine is likely to be in the upper part of its reference range or even slightly elevated β 18-22pmol/l.
Most patients will feel well in that circumstance. But some need a higher dose of levothyroxine to suppress serum TSH and then the serum-free T4 concentration will be elevated at around 24-28pmol/l.
This 'exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism' is not dangerous as long as serum T3 is unequivocally normal β that is, serum total around T3 1.7nmol/l (reference range 1.0-2.2nmol/l)."
You can obtain a copy of the articles from Thyroid UK email print it and highlight question 6 to show your doctorβ¨β¨ please email Dionne at Thyroid Uk
tukadmin@thyroiduk.org
(The Thyroid UK office is shut until Jan 3rd )
Professor Toft recent article saying, T3 may be necessary for many.
Thank you so much slow dragon that's really helpful and informative. I have NHS blood tests again in January so will wait till then and take it from there.
I really hope I don't need T3 as its such a blooming nightmare to get, so fingers crossed π€
Couple of things that leap out... Better you recommend 1000 vit d for every 25kg of body weight... Maybe an idea to increase your vit d until your nearer 125-150. Do you take vit k mk7 with the vit d? It help direct the increased calcium from vit d to bones and teeth rather than where you don't want it to go. Your folate could do with being higher, the recommended serving of Igennus b complex us 2 a day as was pointed out to me when I was struggling to increase my folate level, and only taking 1 daily lol, it worked a treat on the right dose π
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