New Blood Results. I need help again please!

[jimjim]

I am seeing the Endo again next week - after RAI treatment some years ago now, I am on 75Levo and 25 Liothyronine. I am worried they may make me drop my medication a bit and have fought to get more T3 up until now. I do feel better than before - where I was constantly freezing cold 34.6 temp regularly with awful brain fog and the usual lethargy. Since adding the T3 I have improved considerably. In August I was low B12, Low Vit.D and Low Folic Acid. Had a few months of mega doses of these so levels went up but I see they are dropping again so that will be one thing to point out. I know he will concentrate on my TSH which always flags up as very low - 0.05 (range 0.30-5.00) marked LOW. I was wondering about /reverse T3/ which I don't quite understand - is this something I should question?(Wasn't tested for it!)

Todays Results:

Serum TSH - 0.05 mu/L ( - 0.30-5.00) LOW result

Serum Free T4 - 7.7 pmol/L (7.0 - 20.0)

Serum Free T3 - 5.4 pmol/L (3.5 - 5.8)

B12/folate level

Serum folate 10.9 ug/L (4.0 - 20.0)

Serum Vit B12 = 464 ng/L (180 - 900) (last May it was 667 ng/L)

Serum Vit D = 46.1 nmol/L (50 - 150) = LOW

Serum Ferritin = 42 ug/L (15 - 200)

FBC -

Lymphocyte - 1.7 10*9/L

Total White Cell Count - 5.1

RBC - 4.69

Platelet Count - 257

Neutrphil Count - 2.8

Monocyte count - 0.3

MCV - 81 fL

Mchc - 335g/L

Mean Corpusc. haemoglobin (MH) = 27.3pg - LOW

Haemoglobin Estimation = 128g/L

Eosinophil Count = 0.2

Bone Profile:

Serum Calcium 2.36 nmol/L (2.20 -2.60)

So - I can see that my Vit. D & Haemoglobin is marked LOW

Also I feel my B12 is too LOW (although perhaps acceptable?)

My T4 looks a bit LOW, and my T3 is at the high end - I worry that he will make me drop that?

Any further info greatly appreciated! (I am overweight and struggle to lose any - have managed to lose half a stone since adding extra T3 so desperate not to give that up!)

Help! Thanks for reading if you are still here!

J.

(Jimjim is not my name BTW - I am a post menopausal woman nearing 60! and although I am usually mostly cold, I do suffer hot flushes too!)

Suffering from joint pain and lumpy fingers, hands & shoulder lumps. Insomnia, itchty skin & ears, throat swelling and dry mouth/throat and dry/itchy eyes that have a habit of twitching a lot! Now I have read that list, I am thinking is it really worth even trying! I jest - since the T3 increase I can actually have a laugh at myself now, rather than being gloomy. I am still pretty exhausted though, but can stay awake a lot longer all day. I just wish I could actually sleep at night, rather than just lie in bed exhausted and fidgeting all night!

Love to all you fellow sufferers, and hopefully a productive appointment next week once you have armed me with the right info and questions to ask!

Cheers.

[Clutter]

TSH is suppressed and FT4 low because you're taking T3. Your FT3 is within range, top quartile, which is good. Just don't mention its helped you lose weight

You need a prescription for VitD and if you can't get one for B12 because its in range, I suggest you self supplement to boost it. Ferritin could go up, try Spatone with soluble vitC.

Have you had a coeliac screen to rule out gluten intolerance. You appear to have absorption issues.

May be totally wrong but dry mouth & eyes etc post RAI, could it be Sjorgen's? Lumpy fingers & shoulders, RA?

I don't know enough to comment on your other bloods.

[jimjim in reply to Clutter]

Thank You! Yes - I am supposedly suffering 'probably' Sjorgen's, or 'maybe' Raynauds - they never are specific enough and there doesn't seem to be any real 'treatment' other than I need to keep warm! And of course put stuff in my eyes! & take anti-inflammatories most of the time! Will have a look at the Gluten info.

[Heloise]

Agree with Clutter. Your FT3 is good. I know you are taking additional T3 but it looks like your T4 is converting well, too, which probably means you don't have a reverse T3 problem. Reverse T3 comes about when your thyroxine isn't converting into FT3 so it becomes a useless form, reverse T3. Doesn't appear that way though. I think you will continue to lose weight if you can keep your T3. I would run out and buy some magnesium glycinate. All that muscle twitching and sleeplessness. Take it at bedtime and it will help with sleep. stopthethyroidmadness.com/l...

[Marz]

...such good replies already. I would bear in mind that not all the B12 in the blood reaches the cells where it is needed. Only about 20% - hence it is important to be near the top of the range so at least you get some. B12 patches are excellent if you have absorption issues.

Coeliac tests are not a guarantee of the condition in the UK. Check out Tom O'Bryan - The Gluten Summit and register to learn more. More on-line audios due any day and currently there are 5 available to listen to for FREE if you register for the next round of talks....

[jimjim in reply to Marz]

Done! Thanks for the info!

[Marz]

..when on the Stop the Thyroid Madness website it may be good to read up on Adrenals and see if any bells ring

[jimjim in reply to Marz]

I don't look at that one - do you have a link at all so I get the right pages please?

[Marz in reply to jimjim]

stopthethyroidmadness.com/a... - there's lots more. Even a page with Paul Robinsons Circadian treatment of Adrenals....good luck with the reading. Wasn't sure which you meant - in the above post.....joined the Gluten Summit or bought B12 patches - or maybe both

[jimjim in reply to Marz]

LOL! No - I didn't get patches - joined the Page! I always like to get them to prescribe if possible - at least that way they have on record exactly what I AM taking - but if they won't do it I will research getting my own.

I am also mindful that we can be blinded by blaming all our problems on Thyroids etc., when in fact there may be other causes. At least my brain fog is not so bad and I can actually read all of this and make a bit of sense out of it all! It's a start!

[Marz in reply to jimjim]

b12deficiency.info/signs-an... - some of the signs and symptoms that Docs are not aware of. Also the video on YouTube of Prof Smith delivering his research to the PAS conference about B12 and Alzheimers. That knowledge should help you to persuade your GP to test.

[jimjim]

Thank you people!

I knew I could rely on some solid support! I had forgotten about Adrenal fatigue - was wondering if that might be a problem. I didn't take any meds for about 30 hours before I had the bloods done - I have 'probable Sjorgen's & Arthritis, but probably Osteo' according to them, although I feel it is more Rheumatoid personally - what do I know, I am just an old woman with NO training!

Well I will be pushing to get replacement vits and minerals and to hang on to the meds I have so far. Their reason for not allowing me more thyroxine of any sort is to protect my heart, but as I said - if I am slobbing about all day unable to get out and about, that in itself is really bad for my heart - so which is worse? I know about the weight thing, and I am always clear to say that it has helped me not because of the drugs themselves, rather that if I have sufficient, I am capable of getting up and actually DOING some exercise, rather than the bare minimum with afternoon naps and sloth-like behaviours I can't control for the rest of my days and nights!

What makes me so mad is that they make us feel that they have the power to help, but only if they really 'feel like it' and rather than if it will make our lives more 'normal'. The heart concern cannot be that important because they have NEVER done any monitoring or recording over and above the usual Blood Pressure/Pulse rates, so how would they know if taking thyroxine has made any difference occur? Bonkers! With no 'baseline' - who is to say if my heart went wonky, it wasn't before? So I cannot take that argument seriously.

I was also looking for the 'average' replacement thyroxine levels usually applied for females over 55 following RadioActive Iodine Therapy, plus the minimum levels of vitamins, iron & minerals blood results required for optimum health - if anyone can signpost those to me please (with relevant published proof of course!)

I feel with the right evidence, I might be more convincing when I go to see my man! Incidentally - does anyone else on here live on the Isle of Wight, and can I find out if my Endo man is good? They really are more Diabetes and Rheumatologists than necessarily specialists in the Thyroid. Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful that I am being treated, looked after and getting better, but so cross that the doctors and specialists seem quite pleased that we are all "ADEQUATE" as far as blood results are concerned, with no real effort to make us actually "feel well and back to fully fit" with a bit more effort! If they did this properly, we would not have to keep having scans, X-rays and take other medications for random symptoms which might be better treated with proper thyroid support!

Sorry folks - more questions!

[Marz in reply to jimjim]

Regarding heart issues - have a search on the net - heart and thyroid ! You will be amazed as to the information out there. It was suggested to me to take a look at a book on amazon - The Thyroid and Heart Failure. You can look inside and have a read of the contents and you will see that T3 is the star of the show. It is the first time that both Cardiologists and Endocrinologists have come together for the research. It was done in Italy. The reputation that T3 has adverse effects on the heart is really old hat - like anything - even coffee - if you have too much your heart can go into overdrive.

We have to keep on tweaking and improving ourselves - mostly by learning from others. As my hubby recently pointed out - no conventional Doc has improved my health - only those that think outside the box - like Dr P....

[jimjim]

Do you have a link to the Swedish study at all please?

[Aurealis]

Your T3 and T4 are in range so maybe you can argue this is ok. I find that poor sleep and hot flushes are associated with low levels thyroid hormones. Also joint pain and itchiness.