Elevated platelets low ferritin - any advice?

[ariel1973]

Hi all,

Just a query in case anyone can help.

I have been barking up so many trees recently (see my other posts) and I am finally starting to get somewhere with getting a private endo to look at my hypothyroid type symptoms (feeling cold, low basal temp, severe mental fog, multi-joint and muscle pain and cognitive symptoms, can't lose weight, fatigue). I'm having a thyroid scan soon and increasing my ferritin (from 30) as she thought it could be affecting T4 to T3 conversion. The other iron markers all look ok.

However, today the GP who has been telling me it was all psychosomatic for 3 months (she knows that I have 20 years working in mental health and I don't actually mind having depression - at least there is a clear treatment pathway - you can imagine our meetings!). Well, she rang me, unsolicited, and said that my platelet count has gone high again. In the last six weeks it seems to have shot up again:

469 April 2014

398 March 2014

420 November 2014

434 March 2014

I understand iron deficiency anaemia and high platelets can go along together and at the moment the plan seems to be to monitor me, but I wanted to know if anyone had heard/experience of this before?

For the sake of completeness, I have a history of haemorrhages (after nose cautery, tonsillectomy and childbirth), heart murmur, isolated diastolic hypertension developed at age 30 y with papillodema of optic nerves, enlarged heart, PCOS (currently not too bad), migraine (usually menstrual).

Thank you.

[Ashanat]

Hiya, just got your message and will shout back tomorrow - I've been away :).

But your haemorrhage point is one to explore - it can cause sheehans syndrome which is damage to the pituitary resulting in secondary hypothyroidism which presents with low to normal tsh but all the same crappy symptoms. Treatment is the same no matter what the cause though.

My guy pointed to this with me, although I didn't haemorrhage, but do have very low BP which can also cause same damage.

Might be worth a discussion at next appt

[ariel1973 in reply to Ashanat]

Ah, now that is something for me to check with GP next time, thank you. I seem to have a dedicated seat in the waiting room now ;-). Thank you. Hope you had a lovely break.

[MariLiz]

Hi Ariel, have you ever had your B12, ferritin and folate tested? I have underactive thyroid, but I was also diagnosed with Low B12 and fibromyalgia. Apparently they are associated illnesses. Might be worth testing for, or at least asking your endocrinologist? Good luck MariLiz