Help with iron & vitamins - idiot doctor guidance

[637elphaba]

Hi all, I've been following along as I try to work my way to becoming optimal without a doctor's help, until I find one in Boston.  

My PC only does TSH which I have managed to lower on my own by increasing my 100 Levo to 7 days a week. I felt awful with all the symptoms it was not working.  

So  Last week I switched to 1 grain of Thiroid from Thailand. Waiting to increase it.  

I did try to have her run more labs last week but she refused. Ugh!!!!

So this is all I have until I get them done on my own.  

I was told originally on here my iron was low. She only ran b12 and D last week with the TSH.  

April 2016 

TSH. 0.40. (0.27 -4.20)uIU/ml

Free T4 1.4 (0.9. - 1.7). ng/dl

B12. 1024 (211 - 946) pg/mL

D, 25hydroxy 35 (30-100)ng/dL

These are the only 4 tests she would check, not even my iron and I have been on and off anemic for years.  

February 2016

TSH    2.26

Free T4    1.3

Vitamin D    27.20

Vitamin B    621

Iron. 78 (37-145) ug/dl

Ferritin. 27 (15 -150) ug/dl

Transferrin 267 (200-300)mg/dl

Saturation 20. 15-50%

TIBC calculation 381. (250-400) ug/dL

So is there anything I can do for my vitamins or iron while I'm waiting for tests results and get to a new doctor?  

And I'm on the 1 grain of Thiroid for 7 days and feeling more tired than I was on and off. Still not able to get any quality sleep. Wake up every half hour to an hour, so no deep or REM sleep. Should I raise sooner or wait for 2 weeks?

Sorry for so many ?'s. I am really in brain fog and have d to comprehend all the Info!!!!

Thank you so much. Be lost without this group.  

👏🏻🙏💙💙

[Dee1980]

Your iron doesn't appear to be low, but you need to know your hemoglobin levels to know if you're anemic. If you're worried about anemia I would recommend joining the Magnesium Advocacy Group on Facebook, they are heavily into iron dysregulation solutions, ie too much iron is bad, too little isn't solved by taking iron tablets (which aren't good for you).

[Clutter]

Elphaba,

100mcg delivered good TSH and FT4.  It should be okay to raise to 1.5 grains.

VitD is suboptimal.  Use the guide in this link to calculate how much D3 to supplement grassrootshealth.net/

Are you supplementing B12?

________________________________________________________________________________________

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.

[637elphaba in reply to Clutter]

I am not taking any supplements. I wasn't really sure where I should start and with what.  

I have other test results if I need to look at something else.  CBC, etc. 

thank you for the guidance.  

[637elphaba in reply to Clutter]

Clutter  thank you for all you help over the past few weeks.  I am not taking any supplements at all. My doctor told me to stop vitamin B supplement t, which I'm not, but never mentioned my Vitamin D. 

My question is , I have finally found a new doctor to see from a recommendation on this site.  And only 3 weeks to wait, I just have to drive to another date.  But I will do just about anything!   Should I start any supplements or change anything else but having started NDT last week?   Not sure if I should start or wait for her to do all my blood work. 

Actually I have the same question, for the saliva adrenal tests. I have just received mine, should I do it now or wait.  

Thank you, thank you for the help.  

[Clutter in reply to 637elphaba]

Elphaba,

I would start supplementing D3 now, and if you do the Saliva adrenal tests now you'll have the results to present at your consultation.

[Heloise]

Hi 637, these are the suggested labs from Stop the Thyroid Madness website for iron.

RON RELATED (and you need all four, NOT just ferritin)

FERRITIN: Measures your levels of storage iron, which can be chronically low in hypothyroid patients. If your Ferritin result is less than 50, your levels are too low and can be causing problems…as well as leading you into anemia as you fall lower, which will give you symptoms similar to hypo, such as depression, achiness, fatigue. If you are lower than the 50’s, you are scooting by. Optimally, females shoot for 70-90 at the minimum (Janie’s is 80 when her iron is good); men tend to be slightly above 100. If your ferritin is much higher, you have INFLAMMATION–the latter causes iron to be thrust into storage and inflammation is common with thyroid patients for a variety of reasons. In less common cases, higher ferritin can be from liver disease, alcoholism, diabetes, asthma, or some types of cancer. If ferritin is high along with a high % Sat and Serum iron, you may have hemachromatosis or a MTHFR defect. Having heavy metals can push your ferritin low, by the way, while your other iron labs are good or higher. We learned that we should be off all iron for at least 12 hours before testing to see what supplementation is doing for us, but 5 days to see your true iron levels.

SERUM IRON (also called just Iron or Total iron): Measures the small amount of your circulating iron which is bound by the transferrin. You are looking for ‘close to’ 110 for women, upper 130’s for men, based on what we’ve seen on hundreds of lab results. European or Australian lab ranges are something like this 7-27, and optimal is in the lower 20s at the least for women and higher for men. If you are considerably higher than optimal, you could have the MTHFR mutation which will need testing and treatment. The MTHFR mutation also drives the ferritin low with normal or high iron.  If all four iron labs are high (serum iron, % saturation, TIBC and ferritin, you may have the genetic hemochromatosis and you can ask your doctor for testing for that.

PERCENT % SATURATION of IRON: Measures your serum iron divided by your TIBC. Women want to be close to 35% (or .35 for Canadian ranges), we have discovered, and men closer to 40-45%. Like all iron labs, you should be off all iron for at least 12 hours before testing to see how your supplementation is doing, or up to 5 days to see what your natural levels are. The latter may be best. NOTE: % Saturation can look falsely good or high if your TIBC is too low!!

TIBC (Total iron binding capacity): measures whether a protein called transferrin, produced by the liver, is enough to carry iron in the blood. Used to determine anemia or low body iron. If your result is high in the range and in the absence of chronic disease, you may be anemic. With healthy amounts of iron, this test will be low in the range—about 1/4th above the bottom number in the range provided.

OTHER

B-12: Measures an essential vitamin, B12, which can be low in hypothyroid patients due to low stomach acid. We noticed repeatedly that an optimal B12 lab result is in the upper part of the range, such as the upper quarter at least. It is NOT optimal to simply be “in range”.  For example, if your range is similar to 180-900, a healthy level appears to be 800 or higher. In the 500-800 range, you can benefit from taking B12 lozenges, specifically Methylcobalamin. It has been shown in studies that patients with labs under 350 are likely to have symptoms, which means the deficiency is very serious and has gone on for a few years undetected. Lab ranges are much too low for B12…in Japan the bottom of the range is 500. The urine test Urinary Methylmalonic Acid, also called the UMMA,  can be added since it is a very sensitive detection and if high, will reveal a true B12 deficiency.