More blood test results

[HarryE]

Just picked up some more test results

Ferritin has dropped from 34 to 28 (10-420) in 6 weeks despite supplementing with 2 x Spatone daily.

Serum B12 410 ng/L (220-700)

Serum Lipids - never had this done before so don't really understand which are the important bits

Cholesterol 5.2 mmol/L (no range)

Triglycerides 1.7 mmol/L (0-2)

HDL 1.8 mmol/L (0.9-2.2)

LDL 2.6 mmol/L (no range)

Total cholesterol:HDL ratio 2.9 (no range)

Thyroid tests as follows from earlier in the week

TSH 2.26 (0.27-4.2)

FT4 13.7 (12-22) FT3 3.8 (3.1-6.8) ( so in the 17th & 19th percentiles)

Any advice, input as to what else this tells me, or what else I can do until I persuade them to medicate me?

Thanks

[puncturedbicycle]

Gosh, your t3 and t4 are low. Do you feel rubbish?

Have you heard about the Dr Toft book (or I think there is a Pulse article? someone can send it to you)? He says that some people only feel better with their tsh under 1. Give that a go with your gp - ? I showed it to mine and he said he knew that already and put me on more meds. Maybe he knew it and maybe he didn't, but I think actually having the book in my hand with that passage highlighted may have helped me get the increase.

I don't know about your cholesterol because there aren't really any ranges. (Is 5 considered very high? Maybe someone else will know. I thought the range went up to 5 but maybe different labs have different ranges.) Being undertreated you will possibly have a problem with high cholesterol. When you're on enough meds you should see an improvement.

I benefitted a lot from adding in a little t3 too, but it's probably best to try taking enough t4 for long enough to see if that will help.

Good luck!

[HarryE in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Thanks, yes I do feel rubbish! not on any treatment at all yet! I don't know anything much about cholesterol as I've never had it tested before, so hopefully someone knows what high is?

[fixit in reply to HarryE]

My cholesterol is 6 and my GP says that's ok.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to fixit]

Total cholesterol should be under 5 (though I'm sure some people here would argue that it's a red herring so take that as you will): webmd.boots.com/cholesterol...

[humanbean in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Cholesterol goes down when hypothyroidism is properly and adequately treated. Mine had dropped by about 25% the last time it was checked, and may have gone down even further since then.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to humanbean]

Yes! Can make a huge difference!

[Marz in reply to HarryE]

Your cholesterol is fine ! I'm not an expert though !

[humanbean]

Is there a reason why you are using Spatone in preference to stronger supplements? It only has 5mg of elemental iron per sachet. If you were to supplement with ferrous fumarate (for example), a 325mg pill of ferrous fumarate would supply 108mg of elemental iron.

Iron Supplement Tablet Size Elemental Iron

Ferrous fumarate 325 mg 108 mg

Ferrous sulfate 325 mg 65 mg

Ferrous gluconate 325 mg 35 mg

I got that chart from an American website, and I'm not sure if that strength of iron supplement is available in the UK without prescription. I use ferrous fumarate 210mg and I take them 3 times a day - I buy them in boxes of 84, which is enough for 28 days. Each pill contains about 69mg of elemental iron. I take each pill with 1000mg (1g) of vitamin C. I get them without prescription.

[HarryE in reply to humanbean]

Only that I heard it was best for not making constipation worse. Happy to try something else if that's better.

[humanbean in reply to HarryE]

The high dose vitamin C I mentioned is taken to help absorption of the iron. But high dose vitamin C can also cause diarrhoea. If you got the proportion of iron to vitamin C correct for you, it might actually solve two problems at the same time - your low ferritin, and what I'm assuming is a tendency to constipation?

I buy my ferrous fumarate from Lloyds and it only costs £4.14 per box (therefore you won't waste much money if you can't tolerate it), although I've read that many pharmacists will sell it without prescription, not just Lloyds. Boots insist on a prescription apparently, so avoid them.

I managed to get my ferritin from low 20s up to high 60s in 5 months using my iron pills and high dose vitamin C.

It is a good idea to take iron with food or immediately after food because it can irritate an empty stomach. Vitamin C has an added advantage besides softening things up - it is also supposed to be very good for the adrenal glands.

[HarryE in reply to humanbean]

Thanks, will give it a go!

[puncturedbicycle in reply to HarryE]

...and when you're being properly treated constipation should go away.