L- Carnitine and thyroid meds

[cb2]

Hi
recently my lyme dr told me to try L carnitine.. i am also taking thyroid meds... NDT and T3 . i am wondering if anyone has experience with L carnitine.. at first it gave me a boost and i felt some agitation so i lowered the dose now after a few days. i don't really fell a boost or agitation ..

i have read that it is used for "hyperthyroid" i am thinking maybe it isnt a good thing to be taking while on thyroid meds wondering if it effects the absorption .. and or do i need to give it a window of time btwn taking the carnitine and the thyroid meds?
thanks
c

 

[Ema]

i have read that it is used for "hyperthyroid" i am thinking maybe it isnt a good thing to be taking while on thyroid meds wondering if it effects the absorption .. and or do i need to give it a window of time btwn taking the carnitine and the thyroid meds?
thanks
c

I have always wondered this too! I hope someone can answer.

I dropped it after testing showed my levels were good and I didn't know if I should take it being hypothyroid and on NTH.

Here is a bit from an LEF article but it doesn't say for sure:

"Through the 1970s, Japanese researchers found that there was an increase in carnitine excretion in the urine of hyperthyroid patients.14 Carnitine is an essential nutrient for transporting fuel (mostly fatty acids) into the cellular “furnaces” known as mitochondria.15,16 As muscle cells burn fatty acids in a wasteful response to increased thyroid activity, carnitine turnover is dramatically increased,17 using up cellular stores of carnitine while potentially contributing to the increased urinary losses at the same time.18
Disturbingly, although increased thyroid activity increases the need for carnitine in cells and increases carnitine loss in urine, some evidence suggests that thyroid hormones could actually suppress natural production of carnitine,19 further reducing the availability of this vital nutrient just when it’s needed the most. If muscle cells lose the carnitine supply that helps them import fatty acids—their best source of fuel—then muscle function could be weakened.20"

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2007/dec2007_report_thyroid_01.htm

 

[cb2]

thanks Ema.. i have noticed since i have started taking it my body temps have been a bit lower-..maybe that is cycle related too.. who knows- i will also post on a bodybuilding forum and see what i find out. i have read it can be used to stop a thyroid storm, but i think that is too much thryoid.. also read that it prevents the T4 and t3 from getting into cells. but so much confusion. yes lets hope we get an answer.. thank you
c

 

[cb2]

ema.. so you were taking it and thyroid meds and your thyroid levels came out good- but then you stopped? or did i miss read?
this article says it can interferon with T4 medication ... i have heard that livestrong is a reliable source.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/549969-can-acetyl-l-carnitine-be-taken-with-levothyroxine/

 

[Ema]

ema.. so you were taking it and thyroid meds and your thyroid levels came out good- but then you stopped? or did i miss read?
this article says it can interferon with T4 medication ... i have heard that livestrong is a reliable source.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/549969-can-acetyl-l-carnitine-be-taken-with-levothyroxine/

I was taking it and NTH. I tested free and total carnitine and my level came out good according to the people at Sigma Tau that make it. So I dropped it for the time being because I wasn't sure if it was interfering with my thyroid meds. My free thyroid levels have always been good but I still have a few extra pounds that won't seem to budge.

I am not sure how reliable livestrong is in general though you can always go back to the cites if they are provided.

My current thinking (not substantiated by anything!) is that carnitine may help both too low thyroid levels and too high thyroid levels. But I need to understand better how it works in the cell...

Ema

 

[cb2]

good idea about getting it tested. that was smart! i did find some study done on mice .. and it seemed to say that it is an antagonist for thyroid absorption .. and another article that said people with low thyroid can gain weight on l carnitine. and yet there is so much info.. it does seem to help with muscular recovery esp with my legs and walking or trying to bike a tiny bit.. i dont have chronically sore muscles- that is nice. maybe that is the thyroid or hc too ?

i know what you mean about the weight that wont budge- mine seems to have gone up about 5 lbs since slightly increasing the HC .. saddly.. funny thing is i have been able to be more active- so that is good.. but past 190 on the scale.. not good. i was trying to get down to 160..

 

[sianrecovery]

I have taken l carnitine on and off for years on the advice of various pracs, but now I'm on T3, everytime I go to pick up the pot, something makes me put it back on the shelf. Hardly scientific, but I have come to trust my instincts over time. I think I'll continue to leave it out for a while.

 

[cb2]

i am trying to work to better develop my instincts - . how is the T3 only working? how much do you take ? do you take anything for adrenal support? i have considered T3 only.. currently on naturethroid and some T3 and HC.. waiting for labs to come back.. thanks

 

[Lotus97]

My TSH, free T3 and T4 are in the normal reference range, but I was told that my free T3 (2.8) and T4 (1.20) are actually a little low. My TSH is normal even by stricter standards (under 2.0). Compared to someone who has full-blown hypothyroidism, will taking carnitine cause me problems? I'm not taking thyroid meds since my doctor considers my thyroid levels normal. I realize a lot of people would be hesitant to give out any advice, but I have a hard time interpreting these studies so I'm not sure if the risk is overstated or not.

 

[adreno]

I doubt a relatively small dose of say, 500mg carnitine is going to cause trouble for the thyroid. For hyperthyroidism, at least 2000mg is recommended.

 

[helen1]

Your fT3 at 2.8 seems definitely low to me. My conventional lab puts ranges at 3.5 - 6.5 whereas my naturopath puts optimal range at 4.6 - 5.0. Mine was 3.6 and am now taking T3.

 

[Lotus97]

Your fT3 at 2.8 seems definitely low to me. My conventional lab puts ranges at 3.5 - 6.5 whereas my naturopath puts optimal range at 4.6 - 5.0. Mine was 3.6 and am now taking T3.

The range for my lab in regards to free T3 is (2.3-4.2). As I mentioned earlier, my TSH is normal even by stricter standards, but my lab considers any TSH below 4.78 to be "normal". I'm not sure if I want to take thyroid meds, but even if I did I doubt my doctor would prescribe any. I had a hard time just convincing her to run a free T3 test after my free T4 and TSH came back normal. I'd like to know my reverse T3 too, but I don't feel like dealing with trying to convince her to run that test too.

 

[Little Bluestem]

If you look at this thyroid scale, you will see that your FT4 falls in the optimum range (0), but your FT3 is low (-3). One possible explanation for this is that too much T4 is being converted to reverse T3.

The lab my doctor uses considers 2.0 - 4.4 to be the normal range for FT3. She does not. My FT3 was 2.6, with high normal FT4 and high RT3, so she put me on supplemental T3.

 

[Lotus97]

If you look at this thyroid scale, you will see that your FT4 falls in the optimum range (0), but your FT3 is low (-3). One possible explanation for this is that too much T4 is being converted to reverse T3.

The lab my doctor uses considers 2.0 - 4.4 to be the normal range for FT3. She does not. My FT3 was 2.6, with high normal FT4 and high RT3, so she put me on supplemental T3.

From what some people have said in regards to the causes of high reverse T3 (infection, inflammation) I wouldn't be surprised if mine was high. What do you mean by "supplemental T3"? Is it a supplement or are you taking a medication? And have you found it helpful?

 

[Ema]

Your fT3 at 2.8 seems definitely low to me. My conventional lab puts ranges at 3.5 - 6.5 whereas my naturopath puts optimal range at 4.6 - 5.0. Mine was 3.6 and am now taking T3.

It's really important to always include units when discussing optimal, especially when dealing with an international group like PR. I'm guilty of doing this too but it's a good reminder.

Lotus97's labs in the US are likely pg/mL as the common (overly wide) range is 2.3-4.2ish.

helen1's labs are likely in pmol/L in Canada and the (overly wide) range is 3.5-6.5.

Ema

 

[Lotus97]

lol 2.3-4.2 pg/ml is exactly the range for my lab

 

[Little Bluestem]

From what some people have said in regards to the causes of high reverse T3 (infection, inflammation) I wouldn't be surprised if mine was high. What do you mean by "supplemental T3"? Is it a supplement or are you taking a medication? And have you found it helpful?

I take a prescription form of T3 called liothyronine. A common brand is Cytomel.

It may be helping me a little, but I am not sure. I am currently on a very low dose of 5 mcg twice a day. Everything I have read says the the dose needs to be gradually increased until the optimum dose is found. My doctor did not want to increase the dose until we had the results from the tests at my recent visit. Since I live nearly 2 hours away, she usually sends me test results with her recommendations. This time she insisted that I come in for an appointment to discuss them. I had an appointment made, then injured myself and had to cancel. Since then, a ridiculous series of unfortunate events have occurred that have prevented my rescheduling the appointment. Essentially, my thyroid treatment is on hold.