Blood results. Help, please.

[Cinnamon]

Have just had blood results requested by endo. Am very pleased with her attitude and the letter sent to GP. TSH (on 50ug of levo) at 0.45 which she states she is happy about. Not worried about my BP so here's hoping this will make the GP focus on thyroid stuff and not BP. No coeliac. Low cortisol at 207nmol/l, meaning referral for synacthen, which I'm not looking forward to. Pernicious anaemia, so referral for B12 injections.

So, please, any comments on these levels? And any thoughts about what to focus on with GP would be much appreciated.

[Cinnamon]

No, not a vegetarian. I don't eat red meat, but do fish and chicken.

[PinkNinja]

It might be a good idea to see how you feel once you get your B12 up. It may help with your adrenal recovery, if it is a recoverable sort of adrenal insufficiency. Once you know the state of your adrenals, it might be worth considering T3 only. It can be very helpful with adrenal recovery. T3 is needed to manufacture cortisol. Also, conversion to T3 can be impaired by sub-optimal cortisol levels - another good reason for a T3 trial.

I don't know if you are aware, but both low cortisol and low B12 can lower your TSH due to impaired communication between the hypothalamus and pituitary. Worth keeping in mind if your T4 and T3 levels aren't high enough despite having a lowish TSH.

Carolyn x

[Cinnamon in reply to PinkNinja]

Carolyn, Thanks for this. My FT4 and FT3 are well within range. The issue of cortisol had actually been raised over the years, but always by homeopaths and alternative practitioners -- not something a GP has ever glommed on to. So, I am pleased about the focus now. I did discuss T3 with the endo, but her sense was that given how it's dosed here (ie, a sledgehammer effect) unless I was very low (or appeared not to be converting) she preferred to avoid. I am comfortable with that for the time being. I am a bit scared about the synacthen, but it will be done in hospital, so hopefully all will be ok (I am allergic to sulfanomides).