Blood Results

[julia20]

Just received results back from Blue Horizon. Their Doctor's comment was my Thyroid function is currently normal. I am taking 100mcg Levothyroxine at bedtime. I was diagosed hypothyroid 20 years ago.

Result Range Units Comment

CRP 2.80 5.0 mg/L

Ferritin 207.3 20 - 150 ug/L HIGH

TSH 1.14 0.2 - 4.20 IU/L

T4 Total 75.4 64.5 -142.0 nmol/L

Free T4 14.85 12 - 22 pmo/L

Free T3 3.70 3.1 - 6.8 pmol/L

Anti-Thyroidperoxidase abs 121.6 < 34 klU/L High

Anti-Thyroglobulin Abs 165.5 <115 kU/L High

Vit D 68 (Deficient< 25, insufficient 25-50, consider reducing >175 nmol/L)

Vit D12 495 (Deficient <140, insufficient 140-250, consider reducing >725 nmo/L)

Please can I have advice on these numbers from your wealth of experience. At present I take Vit D with Vit K, Magnesium, B Complex, coQ10, multi vit & mineral and Primrose Oil all from Natures Best. Have got Vit B12 to take if necessary. Was considering trying T3 along with Levo, but wanted the blood done first.

My ferritin has registered high in previous test results. My Doctor thought I was over supplementing but more likely to be inflammation. For many years have had pain and stiffness, which totally disappeared when I was given a week on Prednisolone 30mg for investigation into disappearance of sense of smell after bad chest infection.Could be Polymyalga although saw a Rheumatologist some years back and nothing was diagnosed.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Do you know that you have Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroiditis?). If so are you addressing this by being gluten free?

Your FT4 and FT3 are low in their ranges but as TSH is 1.14 there's little chance of an increase in your Levo.

Start taking your B12 (hopefully you've got sublingual methylcobalamin by Jarrows or Solgar, and not cyanocobalamin), you need to get the level up to 900-1000.

Also you could increase your Vit D and try to get that to around 100, maybe a bit more.

I personally don't think you need to add T3 with those results. FT4 and FT3, although low, are fairly well balanced. Adding T3 will increase your FT3 and suppress your TSH. Once your TSH is suppressed you will have problems with your GP wanting to lower your Levo. So I think adding T3 at this stage will muddy the water.

[julia20 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you for your reply.

One of the reasons I decided to have a Blue Horizon blood test was to see if I was Hashimoto's. I don't even know if my antibodies have ever been checked, never given any information if they have! I wanted to know because of gluten and iodine etc.

I am partially gluten free but will take this seriously and go total.

The B12 I have is methylcobalamin 1000, so I will start taking that, and increase my VitD as advised.

Pleased that adding T3 is not necessary, as that would have caused its own problems.

Thank you for your help.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

I would agree with SeasideSusie

Your high antibodies suggest ongoing immune response.

Suggest you try going gluten free (see if GP will do coeliacs test first) but even if result is negative .........it is definitely worth giving a go.

I have just finally gone GF after more than 20 years of hell. (Negative gluten test 20 years ago) been truly astonished at the positive result. Felt considerably better within days and still improving.

Lots of gluten free foods available, and GF cookery books are all the rage. M&S brown seedy GF bread is the best I have found so far.

I tried NDT and T3 several years ago, both made me much worse.

[julia20 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you for replying. I am taking SeasideSusie's advice.

The M&S brown seedy GF bread sounds good. I dont eat bread at all, but I will give that a try.

I use GF pasta and spagetti. Will go GF now I know that it is Hashimoto's.

Thank you again.

I have been so ignorant about my condition for so long. Even when I have spoken to the Doctor about certain symptoms and questioned if it was my thyroid, I was always told "no", i.e. sweating, aches & pains, stiffness where I have been unable to get out of bed, weight gain, that was a definite "NO".

Finding this site has helped enormously.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Yep, I have found the same complete lack of support from all the medics. Couldn't have made progress without support on here.

I have joined Coeliac society as you get access to their vast and constantly updated electronic directory of GF foods. This is also useable as an app on mobile phone, very handy out shopping. I have been very pleasantly surprised how much of my normal foods I can still have.

You need to watch out for malt vinegar - eg ketchup, Worcester sauce, chutneys.

But there are GF alternatives available. Just done my first online order of GF flour etc to get baking home made puddings and cakes.

Also found lots of GF blogs online about where to eat out in London, etc, or visiting cities abroad etc

[greygoose]

Doctors do say some stupid things! If your thyroid function was 'normal', you wouldn't need to be on thyroid hormone replacement, would you! I doubt your thyroid is functioning at all! Some of them see to think that T4 is a cure, a treatment to get the thyroid going again, to 'kick-start' it, as some docs even say! And one said to me... They can't seem to get their tiny brains round the fact that what you are actually doing is replacing the hormone that your thyroid gland can no-longer make! Not making it all better!

OK, rant over. So sorry, but these people do so get on my nerves!!! lol They should know better.

[julia20 in reply to greygoose]

Thank you for your reply. No need to apologise, its good to be able to have a rant and let of steam. At least everyone here understands the frustration. Good to hear from you.

[greygoose in reply to julia20]

[K1k1_belle]

Hi julia20 👋🏻 I too have Hashimotos and the ladies above are so right - get off the gluten (go Paleo or ideally Autoimmune Paleo) full stop - the proteins in gluten are the same as the proteins of our thyroid tissue (it's called molecular mimicary).

It's more than likely you have leaky gut, they pretty much can guarantee that all autoimmunes are linked to leaky gut - you'll have to heal that - again the Paleo diet (you'll hopefully eliminate your triggers this way). Any chance you've had Glandular Fever in the past? You should get tested for gut parasites, candida, IBS and SIBO if you think you could - that's the next step - ridding your body of the bad bacteria (note we need some) and rebalancing the good bacteria. Basically it all starts and ends with the gut.

[julia20 in reply to K1k1_belle]

Have not heard of the Paleo diet, will investigate. Got lots of homework to do! Finding out about diet. Mostly eat fruit and veg with fish, turkey or chicken, no convenience stuff. Thank you.