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How much carnitine supplement are you taking and what brand? What's your current XXXXzole dosage?

Posted , 3 users are following.

hypnocool
hypnocool

So my arm finally has some free time for a non TSH blood test.  I finally went in for Free & Total carnitine blood test.  Still waiting for results.  But as I wait I'd like to get more info about it on how much to take? Good brand less toxic additive.   Have you taken the free and total carnitine test? How much are you taking per day? or if you haven't taken the test How much are you also taking?  Do you often get tested for the Free and Total carnitine Test if you're defficient of it or got it to normal?

0 likes, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • linda187
    linda187 hypnocool

    Posted

    Hi,  I was tested for both Total Carnitine and Free Carnitine before I started taking it and I was deficient in them.  I started the Regular L-Carnitine at 1,000 mg a day to see how I felt on it and when I felt okay, I raised it to 3,000 mg a day as per the research paper.  I felt better and labs improved slightly but TSH was still not in range so I dropped it to 2,000 mg of Regular and added 1,000 mg of Acetyl-L-Carnitine and my TSH rose to 0.70 (in the normal range).  Then I couldn’t get Acetyl for a year and it dropped again.  I also added Vitamin D 1,000 IU (at one point I was taking 5,000 IU) and Magnesium 200 mg.  Lowered the Acetyl dose as they really affected my TSH very quickly and finally was just taking Acetyl instead of both.  Currently I am on 2.5 mg of Methimazole every other day and 500 Mg of the Regular L-Carnitine on the off days and labs are steady for all in range. I re-tested Free &Total Carnitine after I had been on it for a while and I was md range for them.
    • hypnocool
      hypnocool linda187

      Posted

      was your endo responsible for giving you the right dosage of carnitine?  did you fast when you got tested for carnitine?why did you stop acetyl L car and now just regular L car?  whats the brand name of your carnitine supplement?
    • linda187
      linda187 hypnocool

      Posted

      My Endo only took responsibility for adjusting the Methimazole dose and I took responsibility for the Carnitine dosage based on the research paper done on it suggested.  I always start low and increase.  The suggested dose of Regular L-Carnitine was 3,000 to 4,000 mg per day.  I did not fast for the Carnitine tests.  The Acetyl dose I learned is better at 500 mg, certainly no more than 1,000 because it rapidly affects your lab tests, especially TSH and you have to adjust as they change or you will go hypo.  I used different brands of Carnitines.  As long as it's from a good Health Food Store, it doesn't matter the brand.  I stopped the carnitines when my lab tests were ALL stable off of it including TSH. 
    • hypnocool
      hypnocool linda187

      Posted

      Why are you taking Regular L-Carnitine now if Acetyl L Carnitine is better? Just curious the reason behind it because Acetyl absorbs faster into the body.  Also I did find 250mg Acetyl L- Carnitine by Jarrow.  I just wished Dr. would be so open to known deficiencies connected to hyperthyroidism and get patients tested, instead of finding it out on message boards.  Thanks for entertainig my questions.
    • linda187
      linda187 hypnocool

      Posted

      I took Acetyl when my TSH was essentially 0 and I wanted to raise it.  My TSH is fine now at 1.4 along with normal FT3 and FT4.  I am taking a very low dose of Regular L-Carnitine on the days I do not take low dose Methimazole because it is more stable than Acetyl and I want the minimum of change to my labs.  I was in the process of weaning off my meds but had a setback when I only took meds 3 days a week and now take it 4 days a week.  This is just protection against another setback.
    • hypnocool
      hypnocool linda187

      Posted

      Looks like my total and free are normal.  But my esters are on the low side.  Component Your Value Standard Range Flag

      CARNITINE, TOTAL 40 umol/L        25 - 58 umol/L

      CARNITINE, FREE 35 umol/L         19 - 48 umol/L

      CARNITINE, ESTERS 4 umol/L        4 - 13 umol/L

      ESTERIFIED/FREE RATIO 0.12     0.13 - 0.42 L

      but my esters are low... do you know by any chance about esters?

    • linda187
      linda187 hypnocool

      Posted

      Sorry, I dont know about Esters.   You still have room to manoeuvre and you can try taking 500 to 1,000 mg of Regular L-Carnitine and see how you feel  and see if it affects your results like Esters.
  • hypnocool
    hypnocool

    Posted

    I will give acetyl another try 1mg...
    • linda187
      linda187 hypnocool

      Posted

      I only used Acetyl to raise my TSH.  The research was done on the regular L-Carnitine and it showed that it provided a lot of benefits to hyperthyroid patients.  While the Acetyl was good for what I wanted it to do, others who tried it and were not as cognizant of its actions and how fast it acts went very hypo very quickly.  To my knowledge, Acetyl does not come in 1 mg dosages.  It comes in 250 mg, 500 mg and 1,000 mg.  Even I was getting hypo symptoms before I discontinued it and lowered my dose of Methimazole.  I would only use Acetyl if I was on a higher dose of Methimazole or if my labs, especially TSH, warranted it.
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