Hello. I am a 45-year-old male, and I have autoimmune hypothyroidism.
In early November 2018, I started the following dosage of Synthroid: (137 mcg, 3 times per week, and 125 mcg, 4 times per week). Also, I stopped taking Vitamin D supplements in June 2012.
In mid-December 2018, my endo ordered some blood tests, and the results were as follows:
FT4 = 1.64 (normal range = 0.82 - 1.77)
FT3 = 3.1 (normal range = 2.0 - 4.4)
TSH = 0.077 (normal range = 0.450 - 4.500)
Vitamin B12 = 739 (normal range = 232 - 1245)
Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy = 22.2 (normal range = 30 - 100)
In late May 2019, my endo ordered some blood tests, and the results were as follows:
FT4 = 1.55 (normal range = 0.82 - 1.77)
FT3 = 3.4 (normal range = 2.0 - 4.4)
TSH = 0.041 (normal range = 0.450 - 4.500)
Vitamin B12 = 785 (normal range = 232 - 1245)
Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy = 20.4 (normal range = 30 - 100)
Also in late May 2019, I paid for Selenium (serum or plasma) and Vitamin E (serum) blood tests, and these tests were done from the same blood draw as the one used for the five endo-ordered tests.
After seeing the results from the late May 2019 tests that she ordered, the endo said the following:
1) The TSH is more suppressed now than it was in mid-December 2018. Thus, she recommends that I reduce my Synthroid dosage to 125 mcg, 7 times per week.
2) Because my Vitamin D is low, she recommends that I take 800 IU of Vitamin D per day. I have told her many times that I do not take Vitamin D supplements because Vitamin D supplements always lower my FT3 and FT4 levels. Yet, she is recommending that I take 800 IU of Vitamin D per day.
When the endo made these comments, the Selenium and Vitamin E results had not yet come in. I told the endo that I would wait for those results to come in, and that the endo and I could then discuss the results of her tests and the Selenium and Vitamin E tests. The endo reminded me that she usually does not interpret results from tests that she did not order.
The results of the Selenium and Vitamin E tests were as follows:
Selenium (serum or plasma) = 135 (normal range = 91 - 198)
Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol) = 6.7 (normal range = 7.0 - 25.1)
Vitamin E (Gamma Tocopherol) = 0.6 (normal range = 0.5 - 5.5)
My Selenium result of 135 would have been in the lower 25% of the previous normal range (79 - 326), but the 135 result is in the middle of the current normal range (91 - 198). I am not sure as to why the normal range was changed. However, because excessive Selenium can be toxic, and because my Selenium value is at mid-normal range, I probably should not take any Selenium supplements at this time.
My Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol) result of 6.7 would have been in the lower 15% - 30% of previous normal ranges, but the 6.7 result is below the current normal range. My Vitamin E (Gamma Tocopherol) result is at the lower end of normal range.
The fact that the Alpha Tocopherol is below normal range, and the fact that the Gamma Tocopherol is at the lower end of normal range, probably mean that I have a Vitamin E deficiency. From what I have read online, it appears that a Vitamin E deficiency is bad, and that taking Vitamin E supplements to treat the deficiency is also bad. Apparently, Vitamin E supplements increase the risk of heart failure. Supposedly, the answer to Vitamin E
deficiency is eating foods that are rich in Vitamin E.
If I do take a Vitamin E supplement, I would need a supplement that does not contain soy (which interferes with thyroid levels) and that does has a low dose (which would minimize the risk of heart failure). Now Foods makes the soy-free Sun-E 400 (400 IU), but 400 IU may be too high a dose. Solaray makes Dry E (200 IU). The Solaray product's label states that there are no ingredients in the product other than the ingredients listed on the label, and soy is not listed on the label. However, the label does not explicitly say that the product is soy-free.
I have not yet mentioned the Selenium or Vitamin E results to my endo, and she probably won't give me any advice on these results anyway. But perhaps the people on this forum can give me some helpful information. Do I have a Vitamin E deficiency? Should I take Vitamin E supplements? Do these supplements pose a real risk of heart failure? Given my FT4 and FT3 results, is there a problem with FT4-to-FT3 conversion? If there is a conversion problem, would increasing my Vitamin E levels cure that problem?
Thank you for any information.