Understanding my blood results

Your ferritin level, while in the test range, is too low for optimum health. You want it in the middle of the range. Are you taking iron supplements?

Low liver enzymes can mean a few things. Often it due to inadequate vitamins/minerals, so if someone supplements and then is retested in a few months they fall in the normal range.

(When I get on a computer I will post links so you can interpret the results alternatively go to the labtestsonline.org.uk website and search for each test.)

I have been told that my iron was low. I was asked if I'd been taking any but they didn't actually tell me to take any but I know I should follow that up. Any reccomendations? Or can it be through food?

Thank you so much for helping! I shall look at that website today.

If your levels are insufficient or deficient you need to supplement.

Something like one ferrous fumerate tablet a day with vitamin C would be sufficient. This may turn your stools black and may give you a stomach ache as you are suppose to take it on an empty stomach.

A more expensive option if you have difficulty with that is to take something like 2 x feroglobin a day. The idea is to take supplements that give you around 60mg of elemental iron a day. The vitamin C is to help with iron absorption.

That sounds complicated to me. The doctor said a multivitamin but is that not enough? But anything to help. Is this why I'm feeling not up to scratch and not because my thyroxine is too low? I'm 19 and this is just all out of the blue so am not really sure what I'm doing.

A multivitamin will not contain sufficient iron for you at the moment.

A low ferritin level is often followed by iron deficiency anaemia in menstruating women, which will make you feel even worse than you are feeling.

I know you are young but sorting out your health now is vital to stop you spending years of your life feeling awful, suffering and not living the life you want.

I suggest you write things down then go to a pharmacist and show them the piece of paper. In this case you just need to write down ferrous fumerate and vitamin C. ( It is cheaper to buy ferrous fumerate off prescription.)

I have to write down medications and supplements I need if I buy them in a shop either because I'm not sure of the pronunciation or because I need to remember the right dose.

You also need to be aware that doctors do not have nutritional training as part of their courses. So their level of knowledge depends on their own personal interest in specific diseases or sports medicine. Most of the information about vitamin/mineral supplements levels required for optimum health comes from disciplines like sports science and health communities like this one.

Wow sorry for the late reply I really appreciate the help. My prescriptions are free as I'm underactive but if they're not ridiculous in price I am more than happy to do as suggested.

I know it's sad as they said some levels were low but not how to fix or do anything about that!

I presume you're on thyroid hormone replacement, Molly. How much are you taking, and how long have you been on that dose?

Why did you black-out the TFT results from February? Your February TSH is still too high for someone on thyroid hormone replacement, but it's not the most important number.

I see your FT4 was low in December, but can't see any sign of a TSH. Very weird! lol

I agree, your ferritin is too low. You need it around 100 for your body to be able to use the thyroid hormone that you're giving it.

It would be a good idea to ask for your vit D, vit B12 and folate to be measured, too, because they all need to be optimal for the same reason.

I am indeed. Taking thyroxine 25mcg since December 4th. I feel its helped a little bit but I don't feel like I think I should.

I just blacked out my weight, bmi and optimal weight as I thought wasn't necessary but can always post that below if it would help?

So is it probably just not taking vitamins thats making me feel a bit rubbish and not too low on medicine?

Really appreciate your help!

Ask your GP to test what greygoose said asap as everything will make you feel completely rubbish and if you solve one thing you will still feel bad.

If your GP is being difficult testing vitamin D point out to them you are in one of the groups NICE says should be tested as you are indoors all the time due to not being well (https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph56 ) If s/he absolutely refuses as they are aiming to save money, then buy a test from City Assays which is about £30. (If s/he refuses and makes statements like you can get sufficient vitamin D from food or you need to go outside more in the UK, then get another GP. )

With your ferritin level you need to be retested in 5-6 months to check what your level is. Be aware ferritin levels rise slowly but if you are deficient in other vitamin/minerals and thyroxine dose is not sufficient it may not rise at all.

Thankyou so much for your help blue bug. This is a lot of information...So ideally I need to buy some ferrous fumerate and vitamin c? And then have some tests for all vitamins?

Yep - make sure you can argue why you need all the tests in case your GP isn't co-operative. Once s/he realises you are an informed patient they will realise they can't say any rubbish to you.

Sorry if it's information overload as while the NHS is good at emergency medicine it's not good at treating chronic conditions.

Oh, I didn't realise what you'd blanked out, sorry. I thought they were FT4 and FT3 because it said 'TFT' at the top. No, that wouldn't help.

No, it's not 'probably just not taking vitamins'. I mean getting tested for vitamins and minerals will help over-all, but first of all you have to be on a decent dose of thyroid hormone replacement. And you aren't.

25 mcg is a starter dose for little old ladies with heart disease. I take it that's not your case. A starting dose for 'normal' people would be from 50 to 100 mcg.

And you have been on 25 for much too long. You should have been retested after 6 weeks and given an increase. I do not understand yor doctors reasoning for treating you like that - if he has a reason, that is. More like he's just groping in the dark without having any clear idea what he's doing.

You should go back to him and ask for an increase of 25 mcg. And then get tested again after six weeks.

But also ask for the vitamin and mineral testing so that you can supplement deficiencies.

I forgot to add point out to your GP that your red blood cell count is lower than the range and therefore your folate and vitamin B12 needs to be checked to confirm that deficiency in these are not the cause.

(All this information is a lot to remember so make some brief notes which you can refer to in the consultation with the GP. )

I thought 25mcg was a little, when my mother in law is on 125mcg...

I got told I had to wait 2 months on 25, and then book a blood test with the nurse. So I had this blood test and got told to ring for results and a new prescription. This was last week, I rang and all the receptionist said was "normal". And no changed prescription So i had to get a repeat prescription.

I have a telephone appointment on Monday so is there a list of things I should ask about, mainly being put up.

In future with blood tests go in and put in a written request for a copy of the test results. All "normal" means is the result is in the lab range however if you get the numbers you know or can find out whether you need to modify something.

Thankyou I shall do that. Can either of you see a difference on the paper in my December test and March test? Or would I need the actual results

Impossible to see any change because they're not the same tests.

For December, all I can find is an FT4, which is much too low, and for March there's just a TSH. Which is too high for someone on thyroid hormone replacement. It should be Under one, so that indicates that you need an increase in Levo. But you can't compare the two.

Ask the doctor if anything else was done apart from TSH for March. He should be doing at least an FT4 - preferably an FT3, but that's unlikely. He should also be testing antibodies - TPOab and TgAB. And a few nutrients : vit D, vit B12, folate and ferritin. So, that's what you need to ask for.

Tell him you still have a lot of symptoms and that you would like an increase up to 50 mcg. And ask where his receptionist got her medical degree! lol I really Don't think it's her place to tell you that everything is normal - especially when it isn't. And a TSH of 2.04 is not 'normal'.

Thankyou loads for helping! Really do appreciate it. Phone appointment on Monday so hoping for something good to come of it

I hope so, too, Molly.