sister's blood test results

[super1]

Hi, my sisters blood test results have come in, Im wandering what to advise her to do?

tsh 0.19 (0.35 to 4.5)

FT4 20 (12-22)

FT3 3.7 ( 3.1 - 6.8)

She is suffering from tiredness especially in the evenings. The doctor advised her to lower her dose from 100 mcg thyroxine to 88mcg. based on the tsh and ft4 results. I suggest she get her ft3 tested privately before she did it and the result came as 3.7 which is very low. She is taking vit D supplements and well woman vitamins.

Do you think she should reduce her dose as the doctor suggested or look elsewhere to improve her Ft3 result.

[Moggie]

I would say your sister should definitely not reduce her T4 but it does look like she could have a conversion issue, which means her body is not converting the T4 she is taking into the T3 her body needs.

Has she had her B12, iron and ferritin checked?

Moggie x

[super1 in reply to Moggie]

No, she has not had these tested yet. Getting her ft3 tested is the first time she responded to my advise as she fast realising that her doctor is not god. But I know her well woman supplements has 14 mg of iron she takes that daily.

[Moggie in reply to super1]

She really does need to get her ferritin, B12, iron and folates tested. If any of these are low (and I don't mean the GP's version of low, I mean the thyroid version of low) it will hinder the bodies conversion of T4 to T3.

I am low in iron and I am taking 65mcg's of iron and my levels still haven't moved much in 5 months so, if your sister is low in iron, then it could take years for her to get her iron levels up with what she is taking. If she does have an iron test she might want to stop the 14mcg's of iron she is taking for a week just in case it gives her blood results a wrong reading.

Has she had a VitD test and that is why she is supplementing and how much is she supplementing?

Moggie x

[super1 in reply to Moggie]

she is taking a 1000iu a day of vitamin D

[Moggie in reply to super1]

But has she had a test to show her true levels.

1,000iu a day is a maintenance does - in other words it will not increase her VitD levels so if she is low once again she wont be getting very far.

She really does need to get all the above tested first and then supplement if needed. Taking supplements without being tested first can really confuse issues.

Moggie x

[shaws in reply to super1]

If she is supplementing with Vitamin D it should be D3 and not D2.

[super1]

thanks for your help.

I will advise her not decrease T4.

to test Vit D, Vit b12, folate, Iron and ferritin

[Moggie in reply to super1]

When she has had these done get her to post her results on here for people to comment on and advise because as I said earlier what the GP will say is "normal" or "in range" is sometimes far from normal for thyroid sufferers.

What a lovely sister you are to be helping her in this way.

Moggie x

[super1 in reply to Moggie]

LOL

im her brother in law....

thanks for your help

[Moggie in reply to super1]

I'm so sorry - but that makes it even nicer. Why do we automatically think we are talking to a women on this site (well I do anyway).

Sorry again - very sexist of me.lol.

Moggie x