[Ski]

#1061946

Vitamin deficiencies/supplements are very individual ~ there really aren’t any that we can point to as specifically good for Graves’ patients or thyroid patients. It’s best to know that you NEED vitamins/supplements before you start taking them, and then take only what you really need (not necessarily 20 vitamins in a pill, for instance, just the ONE vitamin you need).

The most important thing is to make sure your doctor knows everything you are taking regularly, for several reasons. Supplements can interact with your prescriptions in unpredictable ways, and sometimes just adjusting the time of day they are taken can spell the difference between success and failure on all fronts. In addition to that, there are some vitamins/supplements that are toxic in large amounts if we don’t really have a need for them, and others have limited routes to leave the body once we have taken them.

Your pharmacist may be a very good guide in terms of interactions between prescriptions and supplements, so use them as a resource (it is their specialty), but also make sure your doctor is aware of what you are taking. If it just takes an additional tic on the lab form to ensure you’re not overdosing on anything, it’s worth it, and they wouldn’t know if you didn’t tell them.

[susan]

#1017971

I was wondering what kinds of vitamins are helpful. Right now I am on a multi vitamin, a calcium with magnesium and 2000 units of vitamin D. It is believed that many people are D deficient and I was when I went for a yearly checkup. I started taking it and had a terrific reaction like no winter blues and my joints do not hurt at all. A friend told me to take probiotics, vitamin B complex and fish oil. What are your/anyones thoughts on vitamins?

[Bobbi]

#1061947

I’d double check the Vitamin D recommendation — although it sounds like you may have just started, and that may make it OK. But Vitamin D supplementation became all the rage a year or two ago. My GP put me on 50,000 units for a while, to bring my levels up to what was newly recommended at the time. My maintainance dose was to be 4000 units. Then I started reading information to the contrary and asked my doctor about it, and she said that, yes, the recommendations had been LOWERED since I had started on the stuff last summer. Vitamin D is one of the vitamins we are warned about. Unlike water soluble vitamins, that we simply eliminate in our urine if we take too much, D can build up in the body. And if it does, it isn’t good for us. So make sure your levels are being checked periodically.

Warning about vitamins and mineral supplements: If you are on replacement hormone, you must allow a minimum of FOUR HOURS between your replacement pill and your vitamins etc.

[susan]

#1061948

Thank so much for the information. I had planned on calling my doctor this coming week.

[Kimberly]

#1061949

Hello – For those who are taking ATDs, just wanted to mention that it’s important to watch out for supplements with iodine, as this can interfere with the effectiveness of the meds. (I’ve read this about PTU, and I assume that a similar effect would occur with Methimazole).

As Ski said, it’s always a good idea to make sure that your doc is aware of any and all supplements that you are taking — including vitamins.

[ShannonW]

#1061950

How do you get your vitamin levels checked? Is it a routine blood test or do you have to tell your doctor that you want to check your vitamin levels? I know there are some symptoms of not having enough of certain vitamins but others I didn’t know if there were symptoms or if one should be checked.

Edited 8/9/12 to remove spam link

[Ski]

#1061951

That’s a good question for your doctor ~ it depends on the vitamin, I believe. They’re the experts ~ there may be one "vitamin/mineral" panel, but they can tell you for sure.

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