Hypothyroidism Support Group
Hypothyroidism is the disease state caused by insufficient production of thyrohormone by the thyroid gland. There are several distinct causes for chronic hypothyroidism, the most common being Hashimoto's thyroiditis and hypothyroidism following radioiodine therapy for hyperthyroidism. Advanced hypothyroidism may cause severe complications, the most serious one of which is...
I have Hypothyroidism from a partial thyrodectomy.
Sunday i woke up numb on my left left side from my face to my legs. I was super shocked. When i informed the doc, she asked me to take vitamin B12 supplements.
Previously on thyroxine two weeks ago on 125mg, then dropped to 100 mg.
I run fresh, this week, see below resultss. SOMEONE PLEASE ADVICE WHAT COULD BE GOING WRONG.
Vitamin B12 : 525 (Range 165-835)
Vitamin D : 24.9ng/ML 9Range 10-29 ng/ml being moderate deficiency
TSH :
Sunday i woke up numb on my left left side from my face to my legs. I was super shocked. When i informed the doc, she asked me to take vitamin B12 supplements.
Previously on thyroxine two weeks ago on 125mg, then dropped to 100 mg.
I run fresh, this week, see below resultss. SOMEONE PLEASE ADVICE WHAT COULD BE GOING WRONG.
Vitamin B12 : 525 (Range 165-835)
Vitamin D : 24.9ng/ML 9Range 10-29 ng/ml being moderate deficiency
TSH :
TSH 1-5 Result 1.2
I'd like to take a look if you want to try again.
Vitamin D : 24.9ng/ML 9Range 10-29 ng/ml being moderate deficiency
TSH 0.25-5.00 results 0.05
FT3 4.0-9.0 results 4.23
FT4: 9.00-20.00 results 20.00
TOTAL T3 0.95-2.5 results 0.98
TOTAL T4 60-120 results 114.23
It's clear from your labs that you need Vit B12 supplements *and* Vitamin D supplements (ideal level is 60-80)
I think I know why your doctor lowered your dose but it's not necessarily a good idea.
Your doctor is most likely looking at your TSH level and thinking you are hyper. TSH is a pituitary hormone and not a reliable indicator of thyroid function.
Looking at TSH to judge thyroid status is like looking at the odometer to guess how much gas is in your tank.
If you want to know how much gas you have, you look at your gas gauge - right?
Well, if you want to know how much thyroid hormone (gas) your body has to use, you measure the levels of thyroid hormone (gas) - FT3 and FT4.
I'm guessing you live in a non-US location based upon the ranges you shared for your FT3/FT4 levels. No need to share your location but, only for those who might question the ranges. I know Canadian and European labs use ranges such as yours.
Now, your FT4 level is at the very top of its range. Many people feel great with a level like this (I certainly do...in fact, I feel great even if my FT4 level is slightly over-range)
Your FT3 level is near the bottom end of its range. This tells us that your body is not able to convert the T4 storage hormone that's in your thyroxine into T3, the active hormone.
This could very well explain your issues.
You would benefit from the addition of T3. The simplest way to get it with someone already taking thyroxine would be the addition of Cytomel/Cynomel/liothyronine. The most common (and body-friendly) starting dose is 5mcg divided into two doses/day.
If T3 meds aren't available where you live, you might want to instead talk to your doctor about switching over to a desiccated thyroid product such as Armour, Nature-Throid, Erfa or whatever might be available.
There is a logical method to follow when switching to desiccated thyroid products but many doctors don't seem capable of figuring this out.
Since your doctor isn't doing right by you now, I wouldn't trust him/her to figure out how to do things with a switch to desiccated thyroid.
Hope you'll check back with us if you and your doctor decide to go that route.
Symptoms that *could* be thyroid aren't always....
Something worth investigating would be Lyme Disease - it's epidemic and has been identified worldwide (China has something like 1.6 billion cases!)
Lyme often causes symptoms on one side of the body.
This site I'm linking below is up-to-date with Lyme (unfortunately, the situation with Lyme is just as bad as that with thyroid - lots of clueless doctors using outdated info/treatment guidelines)
http://www.ilads.org/
There's a doctor-find resource on the ILADS site and those doctors know the right tests to run. You could ask for a test at your GP's office but I wouldn't trust negative results and advise you to seek the input of a LLMD (Lyme literate MD) Positive results means your GP should be following the ILADS guidelines for treatment.
Best of luck to you!
I'm on Chris Kessler's newsletter list. Ironically, I just received this newletter about neuropathy:
http://chriskresser.com/what-causes-neuropathy-and-how-to-treat-it
Your doctor is obviously trying the simplest solution first. However, it certainly wouldn't hurt for you to review the link and see if anything else might "click" for you.
Hopefully, your issues are as simple as taking some B12.
And, for whatever it's worth, you might want to consider the more "body-friendly" form of B12 which is methyl-B12....most commonly obtained in the form of lozenges.
Many of us (easily 50%) have one or more genetic mutations that make it impossible for us to metabolize standard OTC B12 supplements and, thus, my suggestion.
If you're familiar with MTHFR issues, you already know what I'm talking about ;)