Only half of blood test results

[Joell]

After being diagnosed borderline hypo , getting horrendous symptoms, and after a lot of faffing about back and forward from the GP and insisting on referral to an Endo, I started taking 25mg levo in July, then upped to 50mg from Sept on advice of Endo and he said to have a further blood test 3 months from starting meds..I took a list for the nurse at this blood test in November of what I needed...ie Free T4 Free T3 etc etc , I have just collected the results from the GP's which only give my TSH Level and not the breakdown of thyroid function test....Arrrrgh ! Looks like the labs did not do the full range of tests...am so frustrated as I have been waiting impatiently to post my results on here so I know whether I need to stay at 50 mg or up it slightly..it now has to be the doctor who authorises another blood test ( he is off for a few weeks) but the receptionist has emailed asking him if we can re-test. Why is this all so difficult ? What I don't understand is that after seeing the Endo in Sept, he told me to up levo to 50mg and said he was signing me off back to the doctor. Why do they do that when it is still early days of taking meds...or before he has seen that I am on the right dose and feeling better? So it looks like I will be waiting a few more weeks before I can get re-tested but in the meantime I feel like I am getting bigger by the day, still can't sleep properly and most of the symptoms I started with are still there, although not quite as bad as they were....according to the Endo, the levo would at least halt if not stop the weight gain but it seems to be the opposite is happening. I have still been taking all my supplements since starting the levo and the test results are that I have way too much vitamin B so I will post what results I did get back today and any advice would be really helpful ( I realise there may be no point posting results until I get the thyroid function test done again , but could someone let me know if I should be just stopping the vitamin B supplements in the meantime ? Thanks so much for any replies.

Serum TSH level -2. Normal 1.58mIU/L 0.30 - 3.94mIU/L

Serum ferritin 134 ug/L 13.00 - 150.00ug/L

Serum vitamin B12 1489 ng/L 191.00 - 663.00ng/L

Serum folate 15.6 ug/L 4.60 - 18.7ug/L

The vitamins I am taking are :

Vitamin C 1000mg daily

Selenium 200 ug daily

Methyl B-12 5000 micrograms daily

Vit D3 10,000 iu daily

Cod liver oil capsule daily

Glucosamine sulphate 500mg daily

High potency probiotic daily

[Poshpenny]

My first thoughts are that your TSH if I'm reading correctly is still a little on the high side at 1.58, I think optimal is around 1 from memory if on Levo. 10,000 IU is a lot of Vitamin D to be taking, what was your blood test result? I take 5000 IU a day in winter, less in summer. my last result was 90 which is pretty good. I would also consider that your ferritin is high at 134, and would think that could indicate inflammation in your body.

To be honest though, the TSH on its own tells us nothing, you need to have ft3 and ft4 to get a clearer picture of what's going on.

[PinkNinja]

Poshpenny has made some good points.

The only thing I would add to that is that if you are taking vitamin D it is a good idea to make sure you are getting enough magnesium. Look into it before supplementing though because some forms are better than others. Some people prefer magnesium sprays and oils. The magnesium blood test isn't much help as the body is very good at keeping blood levels constant (which is crucial) by removing magnesium from the cells to maintain blood levels. By the time a serum magnesium test is showing as low, the cells have none left to spare.

I hope you get your increase of levo. Hopefully it will help you to feel better!

[Rose54]

Hi

I to asked my GP for full Thyroid blood panel

But he says the blood test form does not have the format to request T3 or T4 these are only tested if the lab feels they do need to be tested.

If your Gp is not able to help you could look at the Thyroid UK website and have a private one done.

Good Luck

Rose

[Clutter]

Joell, B12 will be high because you are supplementing. Excess is excreted in urine. No point in peeing out expensive supplement so you could maintain levels by reducing to 1,000mcg daily.

10,000iu D3 is a high dose. You ought to check vitD level every 6 months to make sure you don't have possible toxicity which can cause kidney, bladder and gall stones.

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I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

[Joell]

Thanks All for your replies...I will cut down the B12 and Vit D (didn't realize that about magnesium Pink Ninja, so thanks I'll look into it ) and I will push for a full thyroid test with T4 and T3 when I hear from the GP. Annoying that it wasn't done when I specifically asked the nurse.