Thyroid Test Results

[nationwid]

These are my results from Medichecks which I received today. Can anybody please assist with this, the doctors report is pretty much the same from my own GP. I said I was on 75mg Levo but am on 100mg which I put up myself from 75. I do not know what the results mean, I think I may have to bring myself down to 75mg, just waiting to get my bloods done with my own GP, any advice would be much appreciated.

[nationwid]

Hi SeasideSusie , could you please let me know if the picture I have uploaded is able to be read clearly now. I can then delete my earlier post. Thank you.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to nationwid]

Yes, that's much better

I'll take a look and comment below.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

nationwid

CRP : 0.8

Nice and low, that's fine.

Ferritin: 59 (13-150)

This isn't dire but could be better. Ferritin is recommended to be half way through range and with that range that's 82. Some experts say that the optimal ferritin level for thyroid function is between 90-110 ng/ml.

You can help raise your level by eating liver regularly, maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content, also liver pate, black pudding, and including lots of iron rich foods in your diet

apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/in...

Don't consider taking an iron supplement unless you do an iron panel, if you already have a decent level of serum iron and a good saturation percentage then taking iron tablets can push your iron level even higher, too much iron is as bad as too little.

Folate: 10.4

The range is 2.9-14.5 (even though they don't show it). Folate is recommended to be at least half way through it's range so that's an OK result.

Active B12: 68 (25.1-165)

Active B12 below 70 suggests testing for B12 deficiency according to Viapath at St Thomas' Hospital:

viapath.co.uk/our-tests/act...

Reference range:>70. *Between 25-70 referred for MMA

There is a link at the bottom of the page to print off the pdf to show your GP.

Do you have any signs of B12 deficiency – check here:

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

b12d.org/submit/document?id=46

If you do then list them to discuss with your GP and ask for testing for B12 deficiency and Pernicious Anaemia. Do not take any B12 supplements or folic acid/folate/B Complex supplements before further testing of B12 as this will mask signs of B12 deficiency and skew results.

If you don't then you could supplement with a good quality sublingual methylcobalamin until your level reaches 100, also a good quality, bioavailable B Complex such as Thorne Basic B or Igennus Super B which keeps all the B vitamins in balance. Once level reaches 100 you can just use the B Complex on it's own.

When using B Complex this needs to be left off for 7 days before any blood test as it can give false results.

Vit D: 41nmol/L

This is very low. The Vit D Society and Grassroots Health recommend a level of 100-150nmol/L. To reach the recommended level from your current level, you could supplement with 4,000-5,000iu D3 daily.

Retest after 3 months.

Once you've reached the recommended level then you'll need a maintenance dose to keep it there, which may be 2000iu daily, maybe more or less, maybe less in summer than winter, it's trial and error so it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep within the recommended range. You can do this with a private fingerprick blood spot test with an NHS lab which offers this test to the general public:

vitamindtest.org.uk/

Doctors don't know, because they're not taught much about nutrients, but there are important cofactors needed when taking D3.

D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and Vit K2-MK7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems such as hardening of the arteries, kidney stones, etc.

For D3 I like Doctor's Best oil based softgels.

For Vit K2-MK7 I like Vitabay or Vegavero brands.

D3 and K2 are fat soluble so should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, D3 four hours away from thyroid meds if taking D3 as tablets/capsules/softgels, no necessity if using an oral spray.

Magnesium helps D3 to work. We need Magnesium so that the body utilises D3, it's required to convert Vit D into it's active form. So it's important we ensure we take magnesium when supplementing with D3.

Magnesium comes in different forms, check to see which would suit you best and as it's calming it's best taken in the evening, four hours away from thyroid meds if taking magnesium as tablets/capsules, no necessity if using topical forms of magnesium.

naturalnews.com/046401_magn...

drjockers.com/best-magnesiu...

TSH: 0.15 (0.27-4.2)

FT4: 20.9 (12-22)

FT3: 6.1 (3.1-6.8)

Your FT4 is 89% through range and your FT3 is 81.08% through range. There is no need to reduce your dose if you feel well with these levels.

Don't worry about TSH being low, it just means that your pituitary is satisfied with the amount of hormone it detects. TSH is a pituitary hormone, a signal from the pituitary to tell the thyroid to make hormone - if it detects there's not enough then the TSH is high and if the pituitary is satisfied the TSH is low.

TPO antibodies: 130 (<34)

This result confirms autoimmune thyroid disease (known to patients as Hashimoto's) - did you know this? Hashi's is where the immune system attacks and gradually destroys the thyroid causing hypothyroidism.

Hashi's can cause gut/absorption problems which can lead to low nutrient levels or deficiencies so this is likely to be the cause of your low levels.

Some people find a gluten free diet helps when Hashi's is present but there's no guarantee although it may be worth a try.

[nationwid in reply to SeasideSusie]

thank you for our quick reply I will make a GP appointment and ask for a VT B12 test I will have to tell him that I have upped my Levo to 100mg not sure how the GP will take this news but I will read over the reply you have given me so I am more ready to challenge his response

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to nationwid]

I will make a GP appointment and ask for a VT B12 test

It's the B12 deficiency and pernicious anaemia test you need. Don't ask for a B12 test as he'll just do a normal Total B12 test and it will come back in range and you'll be told it's fine. You've had an Active B12 test done (which is a different and better test than Total B12) and the information I've linked to above suggests this can be indicative of B12 deficiency if below 70 so you need the specific test for B12 deficiency/pernicious anaemia.

[nationwid in reply to SeasideSusie]

will they do this on the NHS

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to nationwid]

It can be done on the NHS, it's how obliging your GP is.

[nationwid in reply to SeasideSusie]

will give them a call and see thanks if not do I just go back to Medichecks think that's what the doctors report was saying about getting another blood test done did not pay much attention to that bit he said I should take advanced tiredness and fatigue blood test which would check red and white blood cells, iron, diabetes and some vitamin levels

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to nationwid]

I don't know if you need the other tests, addressing your low nutrient levels first I'd consider a good idea.

But I'd see if you can get the B12 deficiency test as a first step.

Don't start all supplements at once. Start with one, give it a week or two and if no adverse reaction then add the next one. Again, wait a week or two and if no adverse reaction add the next one. Continue like this. If you do have any adverse reaction then you will know what caused it.

[nationwid in reply to SeasideSusie]

I am waiting for the doctor to call me thanks

[nationwid in reply to nationwid]

just off the phone from GP said there is no other b12 test other than the one they do which I had done in febuary and it was normal was very dismissive so they can't do another one as the labs will not do as its not 12 weeks since my last test said if I wish to spend money on private test then I was just wasting my money

[nationwid in reply to SeasideSusie]

hi can you explain what hashi's and why my gp has not told me about this too

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to nationwid]

nationiwid

Hashimoto's which is where the thyroid is attacked and gradually destroyed. The immune system attacks the thyroid, during these attacks the thyroid releases a load of hormone into the blood. This causes false "hyper" episodes where TSH will go very low/suppressed and FT4/FT3 high, over range. The antibodies come along and mop up after one of these attacks. Each attack destroys a bit more of the thyroid and eventually will lead to full blown hypothyroidism. So fluctuations in symptoms and test results are common with Hashi's.

Most doctors dismiss antibodies as being of no importance and know little or nothing about Hashi's and how it affects the patient, test results and symptoms. This is why they rarely mention it to patients, mainly because they don't understand it or because it's an autoimmune cause of hypothyroidism and the treatment is the same - you treat the hypothyroidism not the Hashi's. So uYou need to read, learn, understand and help yourself where Hashi's is concerned.

Some members have found that adopting a strict gluten free diet can help, although there is no guarantee.

Gluten contains gliadin (a protein) which is thought to trigger autoimmune attacks so eliminating gluten can help reduce these attacks.

You don't need to be gluten sensitive or have Coeliac disease for a gluten free diet to help.

Gluten/thyroid connection: chriskresser.com/the-gluten...

Other information about Hashi's:

stopthethyroidmadness.com/h...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/h...

hypothyroidmom.com/hashimot...

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/about_...

Supplementing with selenium l-selenomethionine 200mcg daily is said to help reduce the antibodies, as can keeping TSH suppressed.

[nationwid in reply to SeasideSusie]

I am just getting so overwhelmed with this thyriod stuff I just thought when I was told I had a thyriod issue and given medication I would get better but it has opened a whole can off worms which just seems to go on and on is there light at the end off this tunnel

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to nationwid]

nationwid

Doctors tell us that hypothyroidism is easy treat, that taking a little white pill every day is all that we need. They are totally ignorant of how to treat hypothyroidism, how devastating it can be when not optimally treated, they have no concept of how important nutrient levels are, have little to no idea about antibodies or Hashi's, most have never heard of Central Hypothyroidism (which is where the problem is with the pituitary or the hypothalamus rather than the thyroid but still causes hypothyroidism). They diagnose and treat by numbers, they ignore symptoms, they can't join the dots. It's not entirely their fault, they just aren't taught enough about it, do the tutors at med school even know any of this? Probably not. Do doctors listen to their patients - rarely.

Many Hypo patients do very well on Levo and just get on with their lives. Those that don't end up here and it's by sharing experiences that we start to understand it ourselves and either try to educate our doctors (sometimes works) or end up helping ourselves (as many here do).

[nationwid in reply to SeasideSusie]

Do I now have to explain this to my doctor as well or just not bother

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to nationwid]

nationwid

Well, you could just say something like "I see the cause of my hypothyroidism is autoimmune" and see what he says.

[nationwid in reply to SeasideSusie]

Will try this thanks

[nationwid in reply to SeasideSusie]

hi just of the phone to the doctor who was really nice told me my bloods were fine he said the same as you about my results I put on here about t4 through range t3 through range told him I upped my dose to 100 he that's ok we can test again 6 weeks I then said about my iron levels active b12 being deficient he told me I have had three tests done in the past year and they were in range said about the false negative test that could come back and he said he did not think there was a problem as like he said I have had the three test done and would have flagged up something he said he they get different results from the labs when I told him my b12 was low 68 told me there was nothing for me to worry about he seemed very nice and seemed to listen to what I was telling him iill just need to up my levels myself and try and take in more information and just keep on at them or am I better just getting my bloods done private

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to nationwid]

nationwid

I then said about my iron levels active b12 being deficient he told me I have had three tests done in the past year and they were in range

It's not just being "in range" but where in range that's important. Neither of these levels are optimal but they're not bad enough for your GP to be compelled to do anything about them UNLESS you have symptoms of B12 deficency which I gave you a link to check, with B12 it's symptoms not numbers that they are supposed to take notice of.

I would suggest you do as I mentioned in my original reply and buy your own supplements. You should retest about 4 months later to check your levels, when optimal levels have been reached you'll need maintenance doses to keep them there and testing once or twice a year to keep an eye on levels.

[nationwid in reply to SeasideSusie]

I will buy the vitamins you have suggested the doctor says it’s just the standard b12 they do he said they only get ranges from the labs and mine wer at the top so how do u argue with them comments he was a lot better than the other doctor I spoke to last week so I now know his name I can request to speak to him again it’s just a constant struggle trying to get ur point across