Im Hyperactive Thyroid (Graves). I just got my lastest Thyroid Blood Test results today.
Free T4 is (5)
THS is (4.20)
Free T3 is (3.0)
TPO Antibodies is (<1)
The comments that the lab wrote are: These results are consistent with excessive Antithyroid treatment.
The doctor reduced my Carbimazole from 25mg to 10mg. Ive been on the lower dose for 2 weeks now.
I have also started taking Acetyl-L-Carnitine, Vit D, Magnesium for the last 2 weeks.
Im unsure where all of this is at the moment. Feeling a bit confused. Im hoping when i go for next bloods in 4 weeks, i can bring Carbimazole down to 5mg.
can anyone give me some advice here.
Jody
Jody, it looks as though the meds are working well but up to your doctor whether they can be reduced again after the next blood test. Listen to your body too. You don't say how you are feel physically which is most important.
Hi Sue,
Im feeling good,healthy. Just a little bit down from the extra weight i have put on from carbimazole. Im hoping weight will start coming down now im on 10mg. Im only 4ft 10" and weighting 51kilos at present. in the last 2 months i put on a lot. Not matter if i exercised or watch what i ate, the weight still come on. So hoping to stabilise that.
Your TSH lab value is too high for you to continue to take Acetyl-L-Carnitine and it will send you hypoactive very, very quickly. I would stop the Acetyl immediately. When you get your lab results in 4 weeks, you can see where your TSH is at then and if it remains normal, you don't need Acetyl. I think your taking the Acetyl is what brought your levels down and enabled your doc to lower your meds but if you continue taking it, you will suffer just the opposite of being hyperactive which is not fun.
Hi Linda,
Thank you i will stop taking Acetyl immediately. Ive only been taking it the last week. My levels were down before i started having supplements. I started taking 5mg Carbimazole this morning, unsure if its the right thing to do. Going by my levels i have stated above, what would you think is happeneing?
The dose of Carbimazole you were on combined with the Acetyl has caused your values to go lower than you would want. I would take doc's advice and keep on the 10 mg until your next set of labs. Also when you post your labs, you need to post the ranges for normal beside each result as each lab is different in that respect, except for the TSH. A TSH of 4.20 is indicative of underactive thyroid although with Graves the first to normalize are the Free T3 and Free T4. Also pay attention to diet, avoid the artificial sweetener Aspartame especially, eat fresh fruits and vegetables and proteins and limit gluten and wheat and sugar. Hyperthyroid patients get depleted of a lot of vitamins, minerals and amino acids so replacing these is a good idea. I would start with vitamin D, 1,000 to 2,000 IU, and Magnesium 200 mg. Your low TPO indicates that there is now a low level of inflammation. I think if you do the above, you will find you are starting to feel better. Your doc may decrease your Carbimazole dose to 5 mg. Do not stop the meds altogether until he checks TSI and TRAb antibodies. If he doesn't suggest this, you might mention that you have done your research and that is what you have found out and you want him to check these. But not necessary unless you are ready to stop meds altogether. The difference between being euthyroid (normal thyroid values) and being in remission is in the antibody tests. With remission you have both normal thyroid values as well as normal antibody levels.
Thanks again Linda,
When i read your message this morning i had just swollowed the Acetyl (so you can imagine how i felt). As of now i wont take anymore. I also went to my doctor this morning and she got me to go for more bloods as i told her im concerned regarding the last bloods the specialist did. I also told her i have downed my doseage to 5mg as of this morning. I have pretty good diet at the moment, but seem to exercise with no weight loss result? I will let you know the next lab results. Hoping to get on top of this all soon. Thanks again for your help.
Jody
Hi Linda,
My latest lab test results:
TSH (mU/L)
(0.4.0 - 4.00)
is now (0.08)
FT4 (pmol/L)
(10-20)
Is now (18)
FT3 (pmol/L)
is now (6.5)
Lab Notes: Suppressed TSH. Suggest repeat with Free T4 and Free T3 in 2-3 weeks.
My doctor said, i may be heading towards Hyper once again.
Im on 10mg carbimazole as of 3 weeks ago. Hoping it may settle after coming off 25mg carbimazole.
I would not worry about the TSH level. Your doc should not be dosing for the TSH level but rather for the Free T3 and Free T4 and hyperthyroid patients usually feel better if the level is mid range or higher which yours are. Other hyperthyroid patients and myself have found that slow and steady wins the race. In other words, a low dose of Carbimazole combined with the supplements will help to lower your antibody levels as well as your lab values. You can now do one of two things. Instead of the Acetyl-L-Carnitine, you can take regular L-Carnitine, 3,000 mg daily OR since your TSH has lowered, you can take Acetyl-L-Carnitine, no more than 500 mg every other day and see where your labs are when tested again. You can also take the regular L-carnitine daily and also take the Acetyl-L-Carnitine every other day along with the regular, but no higher than 500 mg of Acetyl and be sure to be tested again soon.
Thanks Linda.
I will start taking Acetyl every other day from tomorrow. Also my Vit D was very low in test, so the doctor has me on 6000mg daily for 2 weeks then i come down to 1000mg.
So at the moment am i Hyper or Hypo?
Your TSH level currently is hyper, your Free T3 and Free T4 are at the high end of the ranges indicating heading towards hyper. When your TSH level was 4.20, all your lab results indicated hypo. That was due to the Acetyl combined with the high dose of Carbimazole. Even at every other day, you need to monitor your labs frequently and adjust a lot when you use Acetyl. I was on a very low dose and had difficulty preventing hypo when I used Acetyl. Why don't you take the Regular L-Carnitine instead of the Acetyl at a dose of 3,000 mg daily ? That would give you a lot more stable results..
Thanks again Linda.
I will stay taking the normal carnitine. I will message again in 2 weeks after next bloods.
Thank you for taking the time and answering my messages. Makes me feel im not alone with this.
Jody
Sorry meant to say.
Start taking the normal carnitine
That's good Jody. We will see where your levels are at in 2 weeks. Keep us posted.
Hi Linda,
I have my latest blood results for Graves (Hyperactive Thyroid).
Just above is the last bloods and i was going under. At that time the doc had me on 25mg Carbimazole daily.
Ive now been on 10mg Carbimazole for the last 3 weeks.
My new blood test results are below.
TSH (mU/L)
(0.4.0 - 4.00)
is now (0.03)
FT4 (pmol/L)
(10-20)
Is now (25)
FT3 (pmol/L)
is now (10.0)
The doctor has now up the dose by 5mg. So im now on 15mg carbimazole.
Im taking 2000mg of Vit D as its very low, Daily.
Im taking 1000mg Acetyl-L-Carnitine every second day.
Ive just started taking Omega 3, 1000mg Daily.
Hoping this extra 5mg will be what will help settle the thyroid.
Are my levels bad again?
Thanks Linda for you help.
Your levels indicate you are now slightly hyper. How do you feel? It's always important to know that as well as your values. The change in dosage should help to bring your Free T3 and Free T4 down slightly.
Hi Linda,
Thank you for your reply.
Im actually feeling good. So i was a bit surprised with the slightly hyer result.
I started on the extra 5mg yesterday, so hoping in 6 weeks when next bloods are done its in range.
Shall i continue with the 1000mg Acetyl-L-Carnitine every second day.
Ive stopped putting on weight while on the 10mg carbimazole, so hoping that an extra 5mg a day will not creep the weight back on.
When i go in to have my next bloods i will ask them to also measure my antibodies.
So far its has taken 8 months to try and get my dosage right. Fingers crossed its nearly stable.
Jody
I think you are okay to continue for a while now. Your results seem to be a little high. With the way they vary so much, I am wondering whether you also have Hashimoto's as well as Graves? I was on a dose of 10 mg and my Free T3 and T4 were always stable. The only thing that would not move was the TSH and that moved when I added the carnitines. How many weeks until your next blood draw?
Hi Linda,
I have asked the doctor about hashmoto's and she basically just said, i have graves and the uptake scan confirmed it, and then just didnt want to chat about it.
My next blood draw is in 6 weeks.
HI Linda
I have some new blood results
TSH (mU/L)
(0.4.0 - 4.00)
is now (0.03)
FT4 (pmol/L)
(10-20)
Is now (14)
FT3 (pmol/L)
is now (5.0)
I cannot seem to raise my TSH.
Im still on 15mg carbimazole. Im also off to doctors next tuesday as they said my blood is boarderline (something about white cells). So will find out more on tuesday.
I have not been taking the L carnitine.
What do you think the problem is?
Jody