Lab Results

[SVA57]

Hi,

Any ideas about my lab results?

TSH 2.99 (0.455-4.24mlcIU/ml)

FT3 216 (210-440pg/dl)

T3, Total 104 (76-181ng/dl)

FT4 1.6 (0.8-2.7ng/dl)

TPO 1 (<9 IU/mL)

Thyroglobulin Antibodi <1 (<=1 IU/mL)

CRP,Extended Range 0.605(mg/dl)

Vitamin D3 25 (30-100ng/ml)

Ferritin 114.7 (8-252ng/ml)

Testosterone 20 (2-45 ng/dL)

FSH 5.7(mIU/mL)

Luteinizing Hormone 2.5(mIU/mL)

Progesterone 0.3 (ng/mL)(day 6 of my cycle)

Estradiol 59(pg/mL)

Need to mention that I was not on thyroid meds at the time of blood tests.My doctor said everything was normal except vitamin D. I have all thyroid symptoms, fatigue, hair loss, depression, no motivation, joint pain, puffiness, dry skin and hair,..... I ordered Thiroyd, from Greater Pharma, and started at 1 grain, 2 split doses, a week ago. Also, I started taking vitamin D3 daily, 10,000 IU.

Thanks in advance.

[108Optimist]

Your TSH is high, and your ft3 and ft4 low, based in functional levels. Plenty low enough to be feeling symptomatic.

Your vit D is very low as you know.

Your ferretin is a little high (functional ranges 70-90). Are you supplementing?

Do yo have any menstrual irregularities.

Im afraid im a little too tired to comment anymore right now, but good on ya getting your ndt, Youll know if there is another root cause such as adrenals, if it doesnt work.

There are heaps more tests you could possibly have done.

Symptoms suck, I how is your first week on ndt going? Take care

[108Optimist in reply to 108Optimist]

ps i can review your progesterones etc tomorrow if someone hasnt done that already by the time Im back (i need my books for that!).

[SVA57 in reply to 108Optimist]

Thanks a lot.

[SVA57 in reply to 108Optimist]

Thanks for your reply. I am not supplementing iron. My multivitamin is iron free. I get my cycle every 26 days and it is not heavy. Does high ferritin affect thyroid?

Am I dosing my ndt right?

[108Optimist in reply to SVA57]

I am not an expert on Thiroyd or ndt but im sure someone else here will get back to you when they are awake! At two weeks you may feel a dip (if you felt better from it) and that can be a cue to increase again. There is a book called Stop The Thyroid Madness have you read it? Website of the same name too stopthethyroidmadness.com/n...

26 days is a normal length cycle. If it was any shorter I would wonder about progesterone, but you dont have any problems. Ill check your est/FSH/LH values tomorrow. However, progesterone is always very low on day 3 so i cannot really evaluate that. Day 19 is a better day for pro tests.

Also need to evaluate CRP.

This is an amazing forum and I wouldnt be surprised if someone else has done that by the next time I look!

Your iron levels are not high enough to be haemachromatosis, but yes there can be an interaction and/or overlapping of symptoms. Just keep an eye on it with future tests.

You are going great and I hope this is a turning point for you.

[HLAB35 in reply to SVA57]

I agree with Grey Goose, the total T3 being high would possibly suggest a lot of rt3. This is definitely heading in a hypothyroid direction due to struggling TSH and very low FT3.

Just out of interest are you a vegetarian? It's just I was wondering why you had such high iron...

Maybe it's not that surprising after all, because I've looked into it and discovered this link..

verywell.com/hemochromatosi...

[SVA57 in reply to HLAB35]

Thanks for your reply. I am not a vegetarian. I eat meat twice a week and lamb liver once a month, I thought it would help my fatigue and gives me energy. I would cut it out and see how it works. It was an interesting article because I thought hypothyroidism causes low ferritin due to low stomach acid. Any suggestion for lowering my iron other than blood donation?

[HLAB35 in reply to SVA57]

Not necessarily a problem, I suppose it depends on the timing of your blood test. The timing of blood tests on/near consuming high iron foods / supplements is considered a problem as it doesn't really reflect what's going on at a cellular level.

As you consume a fairly modest amount of meat then it's a possibility that you are a 'super absorber' of iron. The danger of avoiding iron would be that you may end up consuming less B12 rich foods. B12 is essential for all of us, especially those with autoimmune issues.

[108Optimist in reply to SVA57]

Yup I agree with HLAB35 - the slightky raised ferretin on its own is not a good enough reason to cut eating meat. It can provide many other beneficial nutrients.

As for hypo and low stomach acid, what I have learnt is that different cells are affected differently. Therefore your hair may fall out, and you can be tired, but you have no digestive trouble. Or like me you are constipated and cold and tired, but hair loss is not significant and stomach acid okay. Different cells/tissues and responding differently to the the available T4/T3.

A blood donation is a worthy cause lol

Ferretin is not a complete picutre: Iron can also be measured with

Serum Iron

% saturation

TIBC - total iron binding capacity. Can you get them all for a fuller picture? You may already have some of those if your doc has done a standard full blood profile in addtion to the ones you have listed in your post.

I looked at your estradiol level, assuming it was blood? it looks okay - later in the cycle (12) would show it nearer its peak, and a reading on about day 19 of pro/oes would give a better reading of the ratios they are in.

Your FSH looks normal for a day 3.

Your LH looks normal for day 3.

Your CRP looks nice and low.

CAN I FLAG YOUR TESTOSTERONE? It could be low. Can you let me know if this was a blood test? An optimal range would be 75-130ng/dL blood.

Okay thats all Ive looked at. Im going to read through the rest of the responses and be amazed at what people know!!! Take care

[108Optimist in reply to 108Optimist]

PS here are your ranges AND OPTIMAL RANGES for thormones:

TSH 2.99 (0.455-4.24)

Optimal 0.3-2.5 or even as low as 1.0 some say. So yup you are rising here.

FT3 216 (210-440)

WHAT UNITS IS THIS IN? I dont recognise these kinda number at all! Anyway, as others have said, you are at the low end of the range.

T3, Total 104 (76-181)

- not sure optimal ranges as we tend to stick with free vlaues, but anyhow you are at the lower end of this.

FT4 1.6 (0.8-2.7) 1.45-2.5 is optimal, so you are just scraping in.

[SVA57 in reply to 108Optimist]

Thank you so much for your time. I edited my post and added units. All of these are blood results.

Next time I will get a full iron panel tested and see what is going on.

That's really interesting. My doctor emailed me and wants to get another fasting blood test because she thinks my CRP is moderately high. she says it's inflammation. However, I searched and found it that CRP higher than 3 means inflammation. Some say higher than 1. mine is 0.605(MG/DL)

For Testosterone says, on my results, Testosterone,Total(Women/ Child) 20 (2-45 ng/dl) I really don't know if it is high or low.

Thanks again for your help.

[radd]

SVA,

Your results show you are euthyroid, although both FT3 & FT4 are low and negative for both thyroid antibodies.

Vit D is low. Members supplement D3 with K2 which helps improve the uptake of calcium from the diet, directing it to the bones.

Medicating Thiroyd will hopefully raise FT3 levels a little but only raise slowly. You will need to retest hormones in about six weeks to see what is going on.

Ferritin is only a storage protein and results can vary. It is also an acute phase reactant which means it can raise with inflammation, etc.... Your result is fine and will not negatively effect your thyroid in any shape or form but if you are worried, have it retested in 3 months as a lower level is better..

[SVA57 in reply to radd]

Thanks for your reply. Is 10,000 IU vitamin D3,daily, enough to bring my level up?

What is euthyroid?

Do I have to retest all thyroid hormones? Or TSH, FT3, FT4 are ok?

What do you think about my CRP? Does it show inflammation?

[radd in reply to SVA57]

SVA57,

I am not good on Vit D as have never suffered a deficiency myself and only supplement 2000 IU between oct - may. Repost a new question as there are many more knowledgeable than me.

Euthyroid is a "normal functioning thyroid" (in your doctors eyes) as your results fall "within range". As I previously advised your T4 & T3 are low, so together with hypothyroid symptoms, may indicate a problem which hopefully the NDT will help.

It is prudent to test TSH , T4 & T3 after six weeks of initially medicating the NDT & post results complete with ranges (numbers in brackets) for members to comment.

Because you don't have Hashimotos, you have the luxury of raising NDT more slowly and this will acclimatise your body to the T3 which is the more active hormone and can be difficult for your body to adjust to when it has been missing for a while....

Vit D is a great immune system modulator so you may find your ferritin levels decrease once Vit D is optimal. I have haemochromotosis and have to have monthly therapeutic phlebotomy ... your ferritin levels are absolutely fine... you should have seen mine in days gone by .. ! ! ...

A small amount of varying inflammation is acceptable as these levels change daily ... even with a cold. If your CRP levels are measured in mg/L, it looks fine.

[HLAB35]

Do you feel better, or worse during and just after a period? If having a period improves your symptoms, it may be worth checking those iron levels again in a few months' time.

[SVA57 in reply to HLAB35]

I get worse after my period, no energy at all. That's why I had been eating lamb liver.

[HLAB35 in reply to SVA57]

I think the lambs liver may explain the high iron levels. Feeling rubbish after a period is a classic problem for us I'd expect your B12 and folate should be ok, but may be worth checking anyway. Your Free T3 is way too low to be feeling good right now, so taking Vit D should help. However if you're taking high doses of Vit D, please look into taking it alongside some vitamin K2 at the same time. The K2 works with the D to get Calcium into your bones and away from soft tissue. It may also prevent that 'buzz' feeling you may get from high doses of Vit D.

If your Free T3 levels do not improve in a few months then you may have a conversion problem and you'll need to rethink your thyroid medication.

[SVA57 in reply to HLAB35]

Do you know how much vitamin K2 should I take with my daily vitamin D3?

[HLAB35 in reply to SVA57]

Vitamin K2 doesn't hang around for long in the body. It may be an issue if you take any form of anti-coagulant?

I'd say between 100 and 200mcg of Vit K2 Mk-7 should be fine. Mk-4 is very fleeting with a very short half-life, so you can take that in higher quantities. I've not noticed any side effects on 100 mcg of Mk-7, but I'm taking only 25 mcg of Vit D (1000 IU) as my levels are fine now (I was taking 5000 IU of Vit D for a few months last year and was at that point unaware of the Vit D / Vit K connection).

[HLAB35 in reply to HLAB35]

Here you go with a useful link...

vitamink2.org/k2-dose-findi...

[greygoose]

Well, euthyroid is is a bit of an exaggeration. A TSH of 2.99 is too high. It shows your thyroid is struggling, and it becomes hypo at 3.0 - although doctors don't know that.

Besides, your FT3... That is the weirdest FT3 range and result I have ever seen. Did you forget the decimal points? This wasn't done in the UK, was it? If it is correct, then your T3 is much, much too low. Your FT4 is too low, too. So, I'm not surprised you don't feel well!

[SVA57 in reply to greygoose]

Thanks for your reply. I'm in the US. Numbers are exactly what has been posted on my lab results.

Do have any ideas about right dose? I have heard people do fine with no hypo symptoms on 3-5 grains. Don't you think that it would be too much?

[greygoose in reply to SVA57]

It's impossible for anyone to tell you how much you are eventually going to need. We need what we need, there is no upper limit. I was on 6 grains, but not the least bit hyper. It's all trial and error for everybody. And, the idea is that you continue to increase your dose, very slowly, in small amounts, until your symptoms are gone. That's all I can tell you.

[108Optimist in reply to SVA57]

Consider getting the book Stop the Thyroid Madness - there is all the answers to dosing in there. of course I could not say that it is the right advice for everyone but that book is like a vital companion for anyone starting NDT! Take care

[HASHISmom34]

Hello. Yes even though your Tsh is not best between 1 & 2...... all of your levels look good except you are very deficient in D3. You can have hypo symptoms when you are deficient in vitamin d or iron. I would have my iron and ferritin checked if i were you. They should be at the higher range to prevent symptoms. You do not have hashi's as i see with your Thyroglobulin and also your TPO levels. they are non existent so you are not auto immune induced thyroid disease if you are starting to develop a subclinical thyroid condition.

[SVA57 in reply to HASHISmom34]

Thanks for your reply. As I posted, my ferritin is 114.7 (8;252). Do you think that it is still low?

[108Optimist in reply to SVA57]

Can we get the units you are measuring ferretin in? Does it say serum ferretin ? Lab ranges can obv come as low as 8 and up to 310 (depending on the lab). Optimal ranges are 70-90 serum ferretin ug/dL.

I talk in OPTIMAL ranges, but most people use standard lab ranges. As we all know, the standard ranges are the average of the population locally. That doesnt mean the local population are healthy!! So thats why I use optimal ranges.

I honestly wouldnt spend too much time on this, get retested in another 4-6 weeks, possibly including some of the other iron tests, and look out for heamocrit and RBC count and heamoglobin concentration as well.

I dont know the absolute answer to your dosing. However, what I read is to start slow with NDT. Only you can make that choice after reading the literature on it.

Optimal vit D is 75-90 and your suggestion of 10,000IU a day sounds sensiblle to me but PERSONALLY I would take the vit D for a 4 days at least, days before adding the NDT or vice versa. You never know when you will react to something and that way you can tell what is what (somewhat anyway!)

I always want to chuck EVERYTHING I have at it, but until I really knew what was happening, I could never get it right! So I understand why you are so keen for a NDT higher dose and all the Vit D.

Whatever you choose will be for the best learning experience. Take care x

[HASHISmom34 in reply to SVA57]

it should have a range on your labs SVA57. They say iron and ferritin should be always at top of range.

[SVA57 in reply to HASHISmom34]

This is my ferrtin result. So confused if it is high or low.

Ferritin 114.7 (8-252ng/ml)