Just had a load of test results back that Dr Clark in the States wanted me to have done. Does anything stand out like a sore thumb to anyone as being not quite right. Lots of "normal no actions" as usual. The TSH is a little out of date as Clutter and Goosey are aware of recent results before I started the t3 a week ago and the red blood cell (RBC) count (near the bottom) was a little low, is that my iron levels? Do I need to supplement again for a while?
Haemoglobin A1c level - (JCAD5929) - Normal - No Action
Please note the change of reporting units to IFCC mmol/mol Hb.
The equivalent to the DCCT HbA1c targets of 6.5% and 7.5%
are 48 mmol/mol and 59 mmol/mol in the current IFCC units.
HbA1c levl - IFCC standardised 40 mmol/mol
! B12/folate level - (JCAD5929) - Satisfactory - no action
No clinical significance to high vitamin B12 levels - no action required.
! Serum vitamin B12 994 ng/L 191.00 - 663.00ng/L
Serum folate 8.2 ug/L 4.60 - 18.70ug/L
! B12/folate level - (JCAD5929) - Satisfactory - no action
! B12/folate level - (JCAD5929) - Satisfactory - no action
Serum ferritin - (JCAD5929) - Normal - No Action 79 ug/L 15.00 - 350.00ug/L
Serum total 25-OH vit D level - (JCAD5929) - Normal - No Action
Serum total 25-OH vit D level 75 nmol/L >50.00nmol/L
Normal kidney if no proteinuria, haematuria, or abnormal kidneys on US S.
GFR calculated abbreviatd MDRD >60 mL/min/1.73m2
Serum creatinine 83 umol/L 50.00 - 90.00umol/L
Serum bicarbonate - (JCAD5929) - Normal - No Action 27 mmol/L 22.00 - 29.00mmol/L
Other than RBC everything is in normal range. RBC mildly below range may not be significant as haemoglobin, haematocrit, MCV and MCH are within range. This link explains possible causes for low RBC labtestsonline.org/understa...
how do I get my Ferritin and Folate levels higher? Is that via an iron supplement? When I had my last thyroid test with Blue Horizon on 7th June my Ferritin was 89.7 (20-150 . The above tests were done via the NHS on the 21st June.
My folate has gradually decreased over the last few months. March it was 29.10 (10.4-42.4 - End April it was 19.94 - early June it was 13.08.
Had a VitD test done privately which was tested at Birmingham Hospital and it came out at 94 which according to them was more than adequate but still supplementing.
I drink gallons of bottled water a every day. It was a fasting test, not requested, but I didn't eat anything before the bloods were drawn
B vitamins are water soluble so you need to keep supplementing as you body doesn't really store them.
If the level gets too high on a test either take a supplement with a lower amount in, skip to supplementing every other day or stop for a few weeks than recontinual.
Your ferritin (iron stores) level is 19% of the way through the reference range. This is too low (in my untrained opinion), and needs to be closer to 50% of the way through the range i.e. around 180 ug/L.
I keep records of my own blood tests and, very generally, the better my ferritin is the better my RBC is. The body needs sufficient iron to create red blood cells.
You need to supplement iron to raise your ferritin. This link
tells you how the NHS deals with low ferritin/iron, what they prescribe, and how much. I don't know if you have ever supplemented iron before. From personal experience and reading the comments of others, I would avoid ferrous sulphate. It is very difficult to tolerate. Also I would suggest that if your chosen supplement involves more than one dose a day then you should build up to full dose over a couple of weeks.
Always supplement each dose of iron with 500 - 1000mg vitamin C. This helps the body to absorb the iron and also helps reduce the problem of constipation induced by the iron.
If you take thyroid meds, supplementing iron will reduce your absorption of them dramatically. Iron and thyroid meds should be taken at least 4 hours apart.
humanbean I normally have my Ferritin checked each time I do a Blue Horizon blood test. In April it was 79.4, March 58.3, Feb 87.3. I fast for each test as normal. Am not supplementing with iron at the moment. Different labs different results I suppose
Yes, different labs, different results, but yours seem to vary a heck of a lot. Since high levels of iron are not good for people I'm not sure what to suggest that is safe. What were the reference ranges for all those different results?
Whenever I get ferritin tested I always give up iron supplementing completely for 7 days before testing.
Quote
Iron blood test
Iron blood tests are usually taken in the morning before you eat anything. You should also avoid taking iron pills or tablets for 24 hours before your test. Your body absorbs iron very quickly from food or pills, so this can raise your iron levels and affect the test results.
Iron blood tests help diagnose conditions such as iron deficiency anaemia (lack of red blood cells caused by low iron levels).
As you can see, the NHS and STTM don't agree with each other about the length of time to stop taking iron. I err on the side of caution and usually stop iron for a week before testing and I try to be consistent every time.
The only thing I can suggest is that you eat foods which are high in iron rather than supplementing. It should at least keep your levels healthy, without pushing you over the top.
I hadn't realised they were all BH, I thought they might be a combo of BH and NHS.
I've run out of things to say about iron and it doesn't seem to have amounted to much in your case. You're ferritin results are a bit of a puzzle.
One final comment is to suggest that (perhaps just once) you get a full blood count and a full iron panel. But that can be expensive. I get testing done a couple of times a year, and I use this test from Spire in association with BH :
depending which one is cheaper on the day. They usually have a special deal on where you can get a free test included, and I always get a Free T3 done with it.
I find it useful because it gives me practically everything I need to know about anything iron related. But your ferritin results don't look as though they have ever been bad enough to justify the extra expense. So it may be completely unnecessary for you.
Did you have a cold, sore throat, feel tired or otherwise feel unwell when you had your Blue Horizon test? I know some posters had sore throats in June.
Ferritin levels increase if you have an infection.
If you are having the same BH tests it should be sent to the same lab, so the difference is probably due to amount of iron your body has used and how much you have stored in that particular time period.
I know my ferritin level varies monthly but that's mainly due to my periods as even my haemoglobin level can vary.
Haemoglobin A1c level - (JCAD5929) - Normal - No Action
Please note the change of reporting units to IFCC mmol/mol Hb.
The equivalent to the DCCT HbA1c targets of 6.5% and 7.5%
are 48 mmol/mol and 59 mmol/mol in the current IFCC units.
HbA1c levl - IFCC standardised 40 mmol/mol
Quote
It is now recommended that HbA1c can also be used as a test to diagnose diabetes. An HbA1c value of 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) or above is recommended as the blood level for diagnosing diabetes. People with an HbA1c level of 42−47 mmol/mol (6.0-6.5%) are at increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (see also the separate leaflet called
Your TSH is quite high for someone on meds (if you are on meds). Depends how you feel. I wonder why they didn't do Ft3 nd Ft4 as the rest is just the same as the standard NHS full blood count plus vit D. Folate's a bit low.
Tsh has reduced greatly last 3 weeks. Dont need ft3 & 4 results cus do them privately, they wont check t3 rsgularly on nhs. Yeah folate is dropping every month now, dunno how to get that back up
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so feed up ,help with blood results
Re posted blood for help
High TSH, normal/high FT4 and high TT3? What is going on?
