I have been asking alot of questions lately but I am now thinking of having sending for some private tests but I am unsure which ones to order. The last tests with G.P a couple of weeks
go were
TSH 4.3 taking 75mcg levothyroxine G.P. increased to 100mcg
Vit B12 377 using1200i.u. spray daily
Vit D 22 now using 6000i.u. spray daily
Ferritin 88ug/L
Folate 5.3uug/L
They did not test T4 or T3
Should I order A full thyroid test and I was thinking of ordering the Active B12 and do you think I should get Agrenals Cortisol checked
I am relatively new to all this so I am not sure the best way forward
I have been taking the increased dose of levo Vit D and B12 for 11 days but do not feel any better infact yesterday I felt a lot worse
Many thanks browny
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lucylocks
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Hi Well you could pay a lot of money. I use Blue Horizon,main site for TSH T4 and free T3 , they are certainly essential for the correct treatment. venous blood is ^£61 and finger prick ( as good) is about £70, provided you quote TUK 10 for discount, over a certain cost ( not sure ) bigger discounts. I always use them as very good and reliable but importantly the Lab TDL which is the one most private hospitals use, so well known if want treatment on them.Their vit D is the best one but is £55 with the discount, the only one some of my consultants like. The NHS one can be bought from city Hospital for £25.If D low then you must have a corrected calcium test before treatment. Then both tested for levels in 3 months, it takes that long. if low D , the Gp should do these and all the other bloods. If seeing a good Endo they automatically do these and often more. All autoimmune and hormonal, Diabetes, B12 and Foliates ( you want high in range), vit D ( corrected calcium if low) and importantly ferritin/ iron. There are other tests but these the most important. b12 and vit D should be on a script ,ideally endo telling GP, other wise GP ( not ideal).The other thing is if you think you have a absorption problem quite common, caeliac blood test, not too reliable. Very reliable for pancreas, absorption test,, Blue horizon or Gastro, an enzyme test for pancreas, called Faecal Elastase ,is a specific stool test, BH do it and if low, very clear result and replacement enzymes needed, not a drug.
Regarding the adrenal test. The only one my Endo says is any good, and I have proved this test is only , is done through a doctor as it is a 24 hour urine sample ,with a prescribed 1 tablet of cortisone at midnight and then a blood test at 9am.Any doc can prescribe it but in practice you will most likely only get an endo too.
Those are the basics. I would still start with the TSH, T4 and Free T3 and ask GP for the other tests. Thyroid testing specific is a problem now and essential.If see an Endo, make sure your choice ,not GP`s
best wishes,
Jackie
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Hi Browny, Confused. Did you mean you wanted to PM me.? Yes you can always either reply as above, or Pm which is click on the name in the reply, ie if for me, Jackie.
No I PM Caroline, I'm getting myself all confused, Caroroline advise someone to take 5000mcg Vit B12 if level under 400, mine is 377 and I take 1200ug daily so was quirying if this was enough, also I'm getting confused again between mcg. and ug so wanted more advice, any you may have would be gratefully appretiated
The VitD and the B12 will take quite a while to take effect so eleven days is not giving your body much of a chance.
Yes it would be helpful to have a FT3 and FT4 test done to see exactly what is going on but I'm afraid I don't know much about the active B12 test. It would also be very useful to have your calcium and parathyroid levels checked as these are tied in with your VitD and you could be doing totally the wrong thing by supplementing VitD if your calcium levels are high as they would go higher because you are supplementing - which would make you ill.
My GP found my low VitD because she did a parathyroid test and my parathyroid test came back high so she automatically did a VitD AND calcium test.
I have had a liver and kidney blood test and both came back as normal, if there was a problem with the parathyroid and calcium would that have shown up in the blood tests,
to arrange for the calcium and parathyroid test as I am taking 6000i.u Vit D daily as my level is 22 and I have not as far as I know had the calcium checked
Sorry I thought you said you were going to have private tests done, which is why I was asking why you were ringing your GP.
Don't be surprised if your GP frowns on you taking 6,000iu VitD, especially if you say you are not feeling well - in what way are you not feeling well?
She should be o.k. with giving you a calcium test as this should have been done with the VitD and I think you might have to push for the parathyroid test. Do you know how the VitD/Calcium/parathyroid thing works? Have I already given you a link to the Barts hosp paper? It might help your case if you make it plain to your GP that you know how they all work together. That's unless your GP is one of the rare ones that will do tests without question.
Sorry Moggie for confusion, yes I was going to have private tests but thought I would ask G.P. about calcium especially as he did the Vit D test for me. I have actually just rang the surgery to ask if I had the calcium test done without me knowing and yes they have level 2.41 range 2.20 -2.60 so it looks like I am O.K. to take the vit D or am I ?
I feel shattered all the time down in the dumps, disoriantated and the last few days have had stomach pains and a few episodes of going to the loo (number 2) alot, I am hoping its a bug but the same happened a couple of weeks ago before increasing levo and Vit D and B12
Yes your fine to take the VitD and I'm glad that your GP did the test. When you ask for a retest of your VitD don't forget to ask for your calcium to be retested will you.
Just remind me if you have had your iron tested - this can cause extreme tiredness and disorientation.
I woke up this morning with a bad tummy - I think there could be a bug going around and it is a well known fact that what fit and healthy people can shrug off and get over quickly bugs tend to hit thyroid sufferers harder and can take longer to get over.
Thanks Moggie sorry to hear you have a bad tummy also, I am hoping its a bug that will explain why I feel more out of sorts than usual, I wondered if hypo patients take longer to get over bugs and viruses
I am also wondering if I had it a couple of weeks ago and not got rid of it properly and its flared back up again
Regarding the iron, I am not sure if that is ferritin or folate but I had them both done and ferritin 88ug/L
and folate 5.3ug/L but I do not have the ranges.
Do you know if these levels are O.K?
Yes I will request calcium to be redone when Vit D done
Ferritin level ranges are really different - my ferritin level was 15 with a range of 18 - 50 and as you can see its not at all like yours so I wouldn't know about your levels sorry, but hopefully your GP would have spotted anything that is amiss.
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